Because social factors affecting cycling rates are important, and poorly understood, I’ve tried to get connected with as many cycling sub-cultures as I can, to get a sense of how different people are relating to bikes. One sub-culture I’ve participated in for years is East Bay Bike Party. I’ve been DJ’ing at EBBP since I built a bike sound system as a COVID project, and I had an interaction this year that led me to consider the meaning of the EBBP community.
I don’t know if anyone has dug into the sociology of East Bay Bike Party. (There’s been some work on San José Bike Party). My take is that Bike Party initially spun off from Critical Mass. Critical Mass was born in San Francisco, where it was huge, peaking in 1997 in a Mass that was reported to have over 5000 riders. That event’s embarrassment of then-mayor Willie Brown, and the SFPD’s attempts to control it, led to San Francisco adopting its first bike plan. That moment could be chosen as the starting point of our current era of American bike advocacy.
Critical Mass means different things to different people, but the founding philosophy, partially explained by co-founder Chris Carlsson in the Critical Massifesto, is about the creation of community in a context of prompting collective action and social change.
We exchange ideas and learn about new things in a simple, “natural” community of bicyclists who have chosen to voluntarily gather in our monthly organized coincidence. As this experience becomes more common and familiar we begin to develop ideas about life’s possibilities that are considerably richer and more communal than the atomized, individualistic solutions that are the only ones that make sense when we are trapped in our “normal” late-capitalist lives.
The philosophy was rooted in anarchist concepts, and some of the participants it attracted were physically aggressive, especially towards any drivers who tried to force their way through the Mass. Conflicts were a regular feature of local news coverage, with cars sometimes running into bicyclists, and bicyclists sometimes breaking car windows with U-locks and confronting drivers directly. Aggressive policing was also common.
Some folks who participated in Critical Mass enjoyed being part of a “natural community of bicyclists”, but didn’t want to participate in the conflicts and didn’t care about the political undertones. Bike Party creates community in ways similar to Critical Mass, but with a different vibe, more focused on the fun aspects of the ride. It rolls at 8:00 PM, instead of 5:00 PM as Critical Mass did, has a code of conduct (marginally adhered to) which encourages riders to stay to the right and stop at traffic lights, and plans a number of stops in parks for dance parties.
East Bay Bike Party is now the largest monthly ride in the Bay Area, attracting over 1000 riders on pleasant nights in Oakland or Berkeley. I love seeing the diversity of groups it attracts, and DJ’ing has brought me back into music discovery, which has been a real gift.
While rolling down Alcatraz a few months ago a guy was digging the track I was playing, Shaggy, “Keep’n it Real.”
It’s a sweet song with a good groove, and I was enjoying it, but this dude was really into it, getting a bit emotional. After the song he rolled up to me and said “thank you man, that was a great experience.” I thought later about the chorus and the bridge.
Gotta big up all my peoples who be working
On the future though they know they gotta struggle
Keep’n it real
To all my homies working on the 9 to 5
And doing right to keep themselves up out of trouble
Keep’n it real
Although sometimes I know it seems impossible
There ain’t no need in drowning in your sorrows
Keep’n it real
If things are as bad as they can be
You can be sure there’ll be a brighter tomorrow
All the harsh realities
Appears to come in twos and threes
Don’t worry ‘cuz there’ll be a better day
One thing I can promise you
Just keep on keeping on, I swear to you
There’s gonna be a brighter day
I didn’t know the guy and am only guessing at what might have been going on for him. But I imagine that he was dealing with some rough stuff, and being in this community and hearing a message of hope was a meaningful thing at that moment.
We can all use more human connections in a troubling time. Bike Party doesn’t have an agenda beyond creating its mobile community, and maybe that is ambitious enough. The community creates possibilities for mutual aid, and even with Bike Party’s apolitical stance, some riders use the bicycle as a tool in other kinds of organizing; there have been political actions which have come out of Bike Party’s community, like the 2020 BLM Solidarity Ride and the Great Ride of Return series.
We’re entering an era that’s going to be rough for a lot of people. I’m inclined to keep contributing to Bike Party just for the joy of it, and at the same time, I hope that members of the community can come together and work in solidarity towards positive social change.
For now, enjoy Bike Party’s “Best of 2024” on Spotify. And come roll with me if you are interested in an eclectic playlist rooted in old-school funky horns. My rig is called Booty.
