When the monthly Midnight Ridazz bicycle cruise hit an estimated 1,300 riders last month - complete with 15-minute cattle-call takeoff time, LAPD chopper "escort" and intersection after corked intersection, something snapped.
Now, some veteran Ridazz cyclists are wondering aloud in the Ridazz forums whether the sometimes brontosaurian event is - at the ripe old age of 2 - growing just too damn big to survive.
"TadpoleRider" posts some suggestions, including ...
2. This may be unrealistic but... have you considered having an alternate course, kinda of a B course that you can hold in reserve for rides where the numbers get above 500. Both courses could end at the same location, with half leaving the front of the parking lot, and the rest leaving out of th rear of the parking lot.
3. Another thought was to pass out flyers to explain the problems with having such a large crowd, and explaining that after a certain number of riders pass the staging area, that the leaders would hold the remaining group for 10 to 15 minutes before starting. This would keep the drivers from having to wait so long that they loose their patience and start acting dangerously.
Thanks tadpolerider. Your words mean a lot. The consensus is overwhelming that Its not about keeping rides at levels of 1300... Rides that big require much more guidance and control than the group as a whole could offer considering that we ride though streets with laws that need to be abided by. Someone may get hurt. Guns are being pulled.... Knives kicks... Its turning into a mob rule. That's not the mission of midnight ridazz no matter how glorious the sight of 1500 ridazz might be its too much to be responsible for.
Sadly, the rides no longer carry the vibe and spirit that Skull created the rides with and inspired us all lovingly to follow her on her adventures through Los Angeles discovering the fun of bicycles. I even find myself becoming "drunk with power" so to speak amidst a huge crowd of bicyclists.
We are losing sight of the real joy of Midnight Ridazz which is getting together with friendzz on bikezz, being goofy and dressing up.
It used to be that you ride through an intersection and drivers would honk in support and cheer. Now addays the cheers are mostly jeers and anger. We don't want that.
Seriously the rides are just as fun when they are only 200 - 150 ridazz. Imagine how much bike culture could grow if we managed to divide up the rides by 4 rides a month and spread the love. It would reduce the number to a safe ride.
What is a safe ride?
To me, a safe ride means one lights worth of ridazz. That way we no longer will need corking. We can obey laws. We can still remain strong and protected as a group. That's likely about 150 - 200 ridazz.
I love the idea of rolling strong 1500 deep through LA but its even more lovely to think that midnight ridazz could sustain itself at 4 rides a month and in different parts of the city to help inspire rides elsewhere.
Then once a year we could hold an all city midnight ridazz rally or something at a parking lot huge enough for thousands. All Ridazz to the center ride. Look for it in a year.
even with 2 rides a month being a possible goal it would take a lot of planning.
Responsible people need to step up and be apprenticed so to speak into the roles of planning rides. It takes monthly love and dedication. Many times the only reward being the comraderie of the ride.
It doesn't really cost much in terms of money other than spoke cards. But those can be sold for a buck and pay for themselves and beer money. Its mostly time, thought and responsibility.
Skull Muff and Mabell have delivered so much to us over the years it became something taken for granted.
My personal goal is to see more and more bikes across the city. I want to see more mass commutes. I want to get more calls from friends asking if I want to ride. I want to get more excercise and discover more dive bars and blaze more stickie icky.
The future of ridazz?
I know one thing, we're working to reduce the size of rides and spread them to new areas. Not so much that they evaporate but enough that they sustain themselves.
My .02: I went on the March "Saftey Ride" - which was rained down to a nice, tight crowd and thoroughly enjoyed it. I rode with one bud and about 299 strangers, I ran into good friends, made new ones, and managed to avoid crashing into anyone or anything.
I've ridden in events with 2,300 riders - which worked out fine because everybody had been heavily briefed on riding safely (signal, pass on the left, watch out for car doors) and no one (so far as I know) was drinking beers.
From what I've seen and heard, the Ridazz events are by and large peaceful, peppered occasionally with bikers who can't hold their booze or figure out what a double-yellow means in the face of an oncoming semi. But Darwin will take care of them.
And for comparison's sake, vehicle-for-vehicle, even the largest Ridazz events are a lot less disruptive to traffic in the long run than the average Dodger game.
So the question should be - are you having fun?
For old-timers yearning for the old days of 200-rida rides, probably not. You have to empathize with the chagrin of the founders, who now find themselves responsible for infantry-battalion-scale logistics.
They're suffering the growing pains of all popular open-source communities, which find out very quickly that do-what-you-will isn't quite an organizational model.
But for newcomers who love the orgy of 2-wheeled independence and freedom to roam this cool, weird city with like-minded friends, fun's fun, and bigger is funner.
So long as you're abiding by the California Motor Vehicle Code (does "corking" qualify? hmmm ...) then sheer numbers shouldn't matter, right?
Look - if Ridazz doesn't work for you, then grab some friends, pick any of the other 29 or 30 nights in the monthly calendar, and go explore. It's a big city.
But if you're into it, the next Midnight Ridazz comes down Friday, Aug. 11.
You might consider pinging the organizers, and offering to help. If the organization's going to survive its own growth, its members will have to step up.
Posted by: Mack_Reed on Tuesday, August 01, 2006 - 07:04 PM
