#sfbikeparty

Friday was the first SF Bike Party. A group of I'd guess 400 cyclists met up and rode a preset route around the city, bikes covered in lights and a few big stereo systems in tow. The group left the ballpark around 8:30pm, stopping to play music and dance at a beach past Fisherman's Wharf, at Alta Plaza park (with a jungle gym and great views of the city), outside the De Young Museum in Golden Gate Park, and finally, after midnight, in the plaza outside City Hall.

(source: David Nichols's flickr, used with permission)

(source: ibid)

(source: my lame cell phone camera)

Thanks organizers and everyone on a fun, respectful ride-- like Critical Mass without the unfortunately sometimes-present subset of aggro antagonism. As far as I could see people were having fun, stopping at red lights, and leaving space for cars to pass, about 95% of the time. I saw pedestrians cheer from windows and high-five cyclists from sidewalks, families smile and wave from passing cars, and only saw one unhappy cyclist/pedestrian interaction the whole night.

I also heard secondhand of cops rolling down their car window to say "thanks for stopping at lights" to cyclists, and the security guards outside the De Young museum looked unfazed by the sudden crowd of celebrants in their front yard.