Blog: Partying on a Bike

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Partying on a Bike - Friday, July 15, 2011
I was chilling at home around 11:30pm when I heard loud music outside going slowly by, too slow to be from a car. Peering out the window, I watched hundreds of bicycles pass by, some sporting multi-colored LEDs and some towing sound systems, and lots of people sounding like they were having a good time.

A quick Google search told me it was San Jose Bike Party, a ride around South Bay held the third Friday of every month. Tonight was science themed. The last six miles of the route passed by my house. I decided I might as well join and get some exercise and see what the fuss was all about. I caught up with the mass at a regroup in Santa Clara University where I saw probably over a thousand cyclists, and soon we were off to the final destination at Taylor and 9th in San Jose.

The ride was fun, but with so many people it got crazy. A lot of people were naturally clumped at the head of the group, causing problems with traffic flow and creating a Critical Mass mob mentality. People rode in the left lane even when there were cars behind them. People blatantly ran red lights and sometimes didn't even check cross traffic before doing so. I saw two fallen riders, one of whom had paramedics at the scene all around him. I can guess how that happened.

Bike Party is designed to be fun and safe, with calls for safety on their website and volunteers along the ride to make sure things go smoothly. But some people disregard safety and the law, making the rest of us look bad. Hopefully that will improve.