Thoughts on Last Night's Ride?
Thread started by
Sir Terrence Tuppins at 08.12.06 - 10:52 am
Hiya.
Does anyone have an estimated attendance number for last night's ride?
Any thoughts / observations / comments / anecdotes?
It seemed to be a rather dispersed ride. I got caught in the middle-to-the back somewhere. Many of the people in the group I was with (about 30-50 folks) I was with were not always aware of the route, and expected to keep moving forward at red lights with non-corked intersections and oncoming traffic. A few potential serious disasters were just barely averted, yet everyone continued to have a fuck-all jolly good wheeze attitude, while I had a near cardiac arrest getting others to stop due to an oncoming-n-speedy tractor trailer. I've always had a good time at these rides, but I must admit being very disappointed in the some of the carelessness observed (this despite having the bike/traffic etiquette fliers being handed out beforehand).
There seemed to be many more flat tires than usual as well. Lots more.
On the flip side of this, once I reached the bar I was talking with some people. One couple happened to be in LA for the very first time and last night was their 4th day in town. They are from a small town in North Dakota. The female half of the couple has a sister who lives in LA and she told them about the ride. The male half of this couple confided that **the number of bicyclists last night equalled 1/7 of his entire hometown population in North Dakota**. They were amazed.
And I'm still smiling about how f*ckin' awesome that is.
Enthusiasm is contagious.
What did you notice? Talk to me Ridazz...
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The rediculous number of flats, and the generous numbers of people helping those folks with flats contributed to the amount of stragglers. Apparently the majority of Ridazz stuck together, drew all the cops, and made it to the HMS Bounty within an hour & a half. While by midnight this Rida was still deep in downtown, lost with a huge (100+) group of people, no one had the map. I gave my (own) last one away at the start. I helped several groups with flats. The culprit were the thorns picked up along the river path. When a 1000+ tried to squeeze through what was simple a single lane bike path, people went off roading and suffered. then you have the potholes of LA, which decided to tweak my rear wheel to where I found myself dragging myself for several miles until I found a spot I felt safe to work on it.
Even without the flats I think this ride would have still been one of the most challenging rides ever seen on Midnight Ridazz, especially heading back.
I actually really enjoyed it, but I'm kind of a masochist, especially on bikes. But I really feel bad for all the new folks that didn't know what they were getting themselves into. [Hell, no one knew what we were in for...] I didn't see any incidences with traffic or cops, except at the beginning. But there were a LOT of busted tubes littered across LA. My friend, Joe Borfo had a handful that he picked up and tossed properly into the trash. I bet a lot of them could have used a simple patch. There is no excuse for littering people, WTF!
Taking Vermont's gradual cliff to the top of Los Feliz was totally worth it. The decent back to the fountain was awesome. How fast!?
the reverend dak08.12.06 - 11:30 am
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The 'A-Hoy Mate-eeee' Ride....
Well, I'm always amazed at the how contagious these rides are.
Lotsa new folks, all saying 'Yarrrrrrrrrrrr'.
Congrats to the folks pulling the strings.
That said, riding the LA River Bikepath, with it's congestion and the numerous flats, was ironic at best. Lots of LAPD, right from the get-go. After exiting the path, I flatted (didn't everyone?). As I repaired my ride several other flats joined me at our impromptu repair station. One poor fellow had both tires on his borrowed bike 'chock full of thorns'. We did our best to get him back to his car. Subsequently, we missed the ride and became mechanics.
When we got back to our car, there were lots of parking tickets, both in the lot and on the street.
So....next ride I'm selling hotdogs and tubes.
Perhaps we can visit a kinder stretch of road next ride and get our groove back.
10-4
Otojames08.12.06 - 11:33 am
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Yeah, tons of flats (not myself luckily); at least I have a pump now & was able to help out a little. Overall I observed a lot of folks helping other Ridazz with flats & directions and generally being more considerate, offering thanks to the corkers and motorists. Some Police presence, but it didn't seem as heavy-handed as it was last ride.
I don't know if sending 1000 (?) Ridazz down the bike path to start the ride was the best thing, but I think the new revised format is good attempt to deal with the issues the ride has been facing and I'm sure it will be adjusted accordingly.
Pics are ready to go up as soon as there's an album to put them in.
mr rollers08.12.06 - 12:13 pm
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Arrr!
Right at the beginning, an ambulance driver blipped her P.A.: "Arrr!" Set the tone.
Fun ride, great destination. Where does one get maps pre ride, or at least info as to destination? I was with a couple of relative newbies whose legs were pretty done by the time we got to the HMS Bounty. Woulda left a shuttle vehicle had we known. I know, I know, gotta ride it. And the descent down Los Feliz at the endd was a blast. Still...
West Siddazz represent!
MrMountainHop08.12.06 - 12:43 pm
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The starting point was so much nicer to kick it at than pioneer. Loved that. A big shout to Muff and the rest who put this thing together. It was a lot more organized than the last ride and most people did respect the safety issues and the other riders a lot more.
Routing a ride this huge right from the start in front of a freeway onramp and off ramp was probably not a good idea. I noticed that the 5 was all backed up from the stoppage at los feliz exit.
Man there was a fuckload of flats!
There was no choice but to stop at the light a fletcher. There were two cop cars and a whole lot of angry drivers combined with gaps in the ride towrds the rear that just made it impossible to keep the corking going. I tried to be a ride leader and encourage people to close the gaps. The reactions to "keep the gaps closed" were mixed with some people acting insulted and some people understanding and getting a move on. The worst was seeing someone on a cellphone wobbling back and forth on the bike path and slowing up everybody behind her. Ridiculous.
I estimate the rider count was somewhere around 1700....
A few People still were flipping off drivers and jeering at them? People were riding in opposite direction lanes and I even saw straggler riders staying in the left lane blocking a car behind them and plenty of room to the right. Somebody threw something at a car in the neighborhood south of fletcher causing a whole stir with some locals. Whoever it was ran off when the driver confronted him. Someone was throwing firecrackers like a funny fuck (not)
Finally I got my flat.... Fixed it rode on and got a second fucking flat on the other tire and a broken spoke so I along with a friend who also got a flat called it quits at chinatown hit the metro back home. On the metro were another 4 heads with flats. Lol what a trip.
I heard there were a lot of cops at the bounty?
Personally I think the ride is no longer fun with this many people... With this many people The routes have to be so carefully planned for rides this massive that it takes the fun out of experiencing LA on a bike and the amount of knuckleheads still present who don't respect the ride and respect drivers is not going to go away until they can no longer hide in the numbers.
I think its gonna have to take some serious re-engineering to make these rides small and fun like they once were. My own personal opinion.
Peace
Roadblock08.12.06 - 12:47 pm
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Yeah, um... Last night was a fiasco, as I experienced it. I've never seen so many flat tires at any event. And it seems like not sucha good idea to start us off in a 2-bike-wide bottleneck when one of the biggest complaints of the last ride was that the group was being broken up too often (and making it harder to justify corking traffic).
The result was a huge faction of us basically not knowing where to go next (the maps didn't make it around to many people). I brought my friend from Japan along, and I don't think he enjoyed it much -- at least, not as advertised.
Anyway, I know the organizers must be struggling to keep things cool for such a huge number of people, so I totally appreciate your efforts and dig experimenting with some variables in each ride. But I think it's really key to stay on reasonably wide streets as much as possible. Pissing off a few drivers is worth keeping us together and safe.
seagoat08.12.06 - 1:19 pm
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i just want to say good ride everyone. i was fortunate enough to survive the flat tire fiasco on the LA river bike path as well as finish with the group, which is a personal first. let's keep this up. hope to see a good turnout for the riot on sunset next week.
firetongue...burning_stomach08.12.06 - 2:21 pm
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Obviously a first effort at starting from a new location. After the initial traffic jam, which had the side benefit of stretching out the crowd the ride was cool. Even if I didn't really know where I was going through out the ride.
I didn't get a spoke card.
With this many people and the cost and trouble to print up the cards, I think they should break with tradition and publish the route at least the night before. Maybe some people will wimp out and reduce the attendance as well.
I had no problems with the police and think they did a great job showing discretion and even corking a few intersections themselves. The only comment I heard from a passing squad car was "Keep to the right lane". And the firemen out on the street cheering us on in front of their station was cool as well.
Still a fun ride.
dave08.12.06 - 2:31 pm
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Well, this was my first ride with the ridazz, and it went pretty well from that standpoint.
However, there were some colorful moments. The group got really discombobulated when 1500 bikers got pushed onto a two lane path, resulting in a really long distribution. After the bike path, we went through the ghetto, and I saw some of the locals hassling a few ridazz. Once past the yoshinoya beef bowl, the group shattered and I found myself riding with two awesome pirates down the alleys of the fashion district. The main group, and even the sub group I was with, having broken apart and disseminated through downtown. Eventually we locked back together, but it thinned out again on 7th street, sometimes almost being entirely alone. In order for the group to roll as a unit, I think it needs to stick to streets that can accommodate the volume of bikes.
clive08.12.06 - 3:08 pm
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Since the IAAL/MAF rides that river path every week and we'vew all gotten flats anytime any of us get near the dirt I'm pretty sure sending that many people down that path was the cause of the flats we all saw all night night, that damn goathead thorns. While there seemed like more people this time at the start, the ride was so spread out that most of the trip I was only with the 5-6 people I ride with every day and rarely saw a group of more than 20 except at the finish. I think if we'd originally headed straight down riverside instead of the river path the ride probably would have been a little tigher and had less flats. Definitely the huge mass of people should be considered for future routes. Big roads > small paths
seanbonner08.12.06 - 3:14 pm
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Yeah... the two bike lane was probably not a good idea. Riverside Dr. would've been perfect. Also, "Frogtown" that little neighborhood next to elysian park isn't the safest... 1700 people? Now that's a lot of people. Some dude was bleeding pretty bad from a spill. I heard he fell on his beer bottle or something but I hope the rider is fine. I'm down for the Ridazz and even though there were a lot of gaps I just love to ride. Still... I still give plenty of props to the organizers and it's still amazing to think that this started from just a couple of people. See you all next month.
digablesoul08.12.06 - 4:38 pm
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Last night was my first ride with the Midnight Ridazz. I'm a new biker and fairly new to LA. I came by myself and didn't actually end up talking to people until the end at HMS Bounty. I guess it's difficult to strike up new conversations with strangers while riding the streets of LA.
Riding through LA at night with 1000+ riders was quite an experience for me. I really enjoyed myself. I did feel bad though when we were riding through the residential neighborhood after the river path and we had the guy with the huge sound system blaring music in the middle of the night when I'm sure some people were trying to sleep. It just seemd to be a bit disrespectful to the community.
Riding through downtown LA was awesome. I loved the part where we were riding with the tall famous US Bank building right in front of us.
I met some cool people at HMS Bounty and hope to see them again. If anyone I met reads this, please drop me a line. I think my info shows up on my profile link.
And thanks so much for everyone that organized this event. I know you put in a lot of work to get it done.
future man08.12.06 - 4:47 pm
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yeah i agree with most that the river road was a good idea but with thorns and the limited space it was kind of bad afterall... riverside would have been a lot better route. i never seen so many flats! also there seemed to be a lot more hills this time? i think we may need to be a little more mindful of the things that separate the group... hills, bottlenecks, heavy trafficcrosstreets and copz. i'm sad to hear people dissing stopped cars and being loud in certain neighborhoods... i still like the massive amount of people. if we were all together more i think it'd work a lot better.
above i think this ride is the BEST. i have a lot of fun and i can't wait for them every month. winging it home with around 10 people was not nearly as much fun as riding alongside hundreds of people. heck we were a bit aimless on the way to the HMS bounty, i think i want to make a necklace with a clip so i can access the route easier...
i tip my cap off to all of the organizers i think you're doing a great job. thanks for all your hardwork and putting up with all of the logistic headaches! if there is any financial need for rider cards i'm willing to donate!
neverclever08.12.06 - 5:53 pm
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too many flats this time. that river pass area is full of thorns and a large parts of the group took Sunset? lost? . whatup with that.
all in all still always fun.
tocatzin08.12.06 - 9:02 pm
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why in the hell would they put thorny bushes next to a friggin bike path anyways.... who runs this city?
Roadblock08.12.06 - 9:31 pm
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it's the same fuckin way down in compton bike path and up in the valley too... put some godamn grass or just make it dirt or some shit I dont know I'm not a gardner
Roadblock08.12.06 - 9:33 pm
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While the thorns are a pain, they are part of most trails, there is no getting away from them. I see it mostly on trails that are seldom used. MOre travelld trails seem to have less of the thorn problem as long as you stay on the trail. The section of the LA river trail we used should be good for a few weeks, thanks to all that flatted.
As for the ride itself, it was different from ones in the past since the group was effectively broken down to smaller groups. Due to the 3 flats in succession I had even before I entered the bike path, I was a good 15 minutes behind the end of the group. A buddy of mine stayed with me and we hauled ass to catch up with the main group. When started we used te helicopter to give us a reference to where the main group was and we were a few miles away. I haved never seen so many mechanicals, I couldn't really help anyone since I was out of tubes and CO2.
Due to the mechanicals and cops at some intersections, the big group was broken down to a few small ones. The smaller groups seemed a lot nicer and made it safer since you did not have to deal with crowd and you had room to maneuver. My buddy and I passed several small groups, riding with each for a few minutes then chasing the next group ahead. We did this until we caught our usual group of 12 or so people by the first street bridge. From there our group picked-up and dropped riders as we went through the route. Our small group flactuated from 20 to about 40 people. Most people we picked up did not have route cards, we had 1. Finally around midnight we reached the destination.
As many have mentioned earlier, this ride is getting big and we have to consider this when planning a route. The bottleneck at the start was a nightmare. Holding up traffic especially freeway traffic cannot be safe for anyone involve. I would like to acknowledge the Riddaz who directed the traffic at the freeway exit, thanks Rich for taking charge. The corkers did a great job of appeasing motorist at the intersections. Aside from the start, good job everyone. Thanks again to the founders for the ride. While the reason why we do this is lost to many, the majority still understand. Ride On.
sc_nomad08.13.06 - 2:09 am
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thanks to the echo park crew for inviting me to ride with them. i hope my buddy with the full mouth grill got that tire and wheel up and running after all of our efforts. keep on rolling. NO RIDER LEFT BEHIND!!! see ya next month.
seppo00708.13.06 - 9:34 am
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thanks to skull and whole bones brigade for keeping these rides going.
if ya'll need help with anything, holla.
about flats: i used so many patches on my friends bike that i ran out, and that was en route to the meeting point!
i hope the rydazz can survive its populaitry, one-time attention, and everything else.
BYQ08.13.06 - 12:52 pm
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This was my first Midnight Ridazz, and I brought 2 other newbies, we all had a great time. Obviously the flats on the bike trail were bad, however, because they spread out the group so much I think that It was too hard for the police to harass us to much because it was too much ground to cover until the arrival at the HMS.
I also noticed that at the freeway offramp before the bike path people were trying to cork the intersection when we were not moving. That was one intersections we should have been obeying the lights and leaving a lane open. With the size of the group and the slow speed, is corking really necessary anymore?
The size is definitely going to get difficult to manage without police difficulties. Options: Do more of these each month, or have multiple routes. With the number of people this will cut down on congestion. If we really had 1700 attending, and the group unlikely splits exactly in 2 on the next ride we still have 2 very large groups. If the group splits 20/80 or something like that people still have the option of a riding in a big group or a really big group.
I don't think that the route was published in advance, but maybe it could be posted like a couple hours before the ride. That way people could print it out themselves and the organizers won't have to print so much of that stuff out themselves.
uhkuhjillion08.13.06 - 7:28 pm
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WTF? Wow. When guys without bikes start handing out store coupons ,you know its turned into an EVENT. I've seen this ride grow quickly from a couple hundred to the contagious chaos it is today. Lots of really YOUNG people. And Daryl Hannah? IS it any coiencidence that her character in Kill Bill wore an eyepatch? Crazy. I was super dissapointed in how people were treating motorists. LOOK THIS IS LA PEOPLE DRIVE. I have a car. I drive it twice a week to move it for street cleaning. BUt this is not Mad Mx beyopnd thunderdome here, people. STAY to the right and keep a lane clear. AND THEN THE FIGHTS. I was the first biker to stop when i saw an altercation occuring between this kid on kis bike and some homeboy who had been in his car at the intercection. Basically the guy claimed the biker through water on his car windshield. The biker guy just sat there denying it which made the other guy even more mad, and who was then joined by his hommie friends, particularly this short asian kid with a bad temper. I tried ot settle the arguement as it was getting physical. TO whoever that biker was: "Why on earth would you just sit there on your bike, knowing how bad the situation is? Thats why we ride bikes,. so we can get away! And if you do throw water on someone's car either admitt it or fucking get out of there. Anyway, it escaladed and the guys started atttacking the kid and grabbing his bike, and the homie's minon busted out a knife and preceded to slash at the tired of the bike, FINALLY the kid got on his bike and pedaled away. TWO THINGS: Dont start shit you cant handle! and PLEASE stop to help a fellow biker who has gotten themselves in that situation. Theres what, 1300 of us? And there were 4 of them. Interesting enough, tho I agree the ride should stay together, its the random splitting and joining of different groups, many not familiar witht he terrain, navigating the city streets together , exploring odd corners, that make this one of the more interesting social expereicnes in LA.
toph08.13.06 - 11:25 pm
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One more comment I'd suggest is make sure your bike is mechanically sound. While it does not matter what bike you bring, it should at least make it 20 miles. How many bikes did you see that had under-inflated tires? How many rusty chains do you see? Please do basic maintenance before the ride. Also bring tubes and/or patch kits, the most common mechanical that can be remedied quickly is flats, you can't fix a flat without one of these. The last ride had an inordinate amount of flats, I had 4 total and over 10 in a group of 12. I sure plenty had the same experience.
While we strive to leave no ridazz behind, there is nothing more frustrating that ending your ride early because someone came unprepared. There are other factors that might cause us to end our ride early but there is really no excuse for a preventable mechanical. We have close to a month before the next one, check your bikes now!
Ride On!!!!!!
sc_nomad08.14.06 - 2:07 pm
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