NOTE: All timestamps are in the future because WE are in the future. The care takers of Midnight Ridazz.com reserves the right to remove, edit, move or delete anything for any reason. None of the opinions expressed on these boards represent the Midnight Ridazz nor can anyone purport to speak on behalf of Midnight Ridazz.
Aw, this is sad. I'm too new to MR to be old school, but I'm too old in dog years to be new. This feels kinda like riding circles under the streetlight of an empty intersection, waiting for the ridazz to catch up, only to find out all too late that three blocks back there was a call to go "Left!" Dang!
Nurblie responding to a comment by Tarmonster.
11.4.09 - 5:54 pm
I think it's like moving to a small town.
At first everybody is friendly and you get excited meeting new people. You rapidly make new friends, you think everybody loves you, you think you are on top of the world.
Then as time passes, you discover that X won't talk to Z anymore and D won't talk to F because of whatever reason. Then you discover that this has split the town into cliques. Some side with X some with Z and wether you want it or not you get associated with one or another.
Then it starts to become uncomfortable to go to some public events because you run into people from the wrong clique or you don't get invited to some events because you don't belong to the right clique.
Now add to that anonymous vandalism(trolls) and thefts in a community where you used to think that everybody was friends and then the little town is not so idyllic any more.
Having said that, I still find most rides to be fun. It's the forums that have turned kinda ugly. I think the way it goes is towards fragmentation. Many smaller groups in different parts of Los Angeles doing their own smaller rides. That's totally cool as long as it doesn't get petty or competitive. "my ride is better than your ride" Good examples are Wolfpack and Bicykillers. They do their own thing without rubbing it in everybody's face.
Yeah, it's actually never really happened to me, but it painted a good picture, right? Just a bit of poetic license - though in life I often have trouble following the leader, or even identifying who the leader actually is...
Nurblie responding to a comment by imachynna
11.4.09 - 6:37 pm
people change. A couple of years ago I felt like I was part of something bigger than myself, bicycling, to me, was a social phenom that was in the air I breathed, an attitude that seemed to be something shared in common with many people. something that was right and would change the world.
oh well.
I still ride my bike, grocery shop, go to work on it but the magic isn't quite the same, its different, (maybe the state of my marriage, after 20 yrs, is coloring my world view), but the sun still shines as bright and I still enjoy that ride first thing in morning to go get a cup of coffee, even if its not what 500 other people want to do at the same time as me.
I miss PC. And July. And Bertha. And Syomka. And Rbi. And Chynna. And Mikey Walle. And Llana. And Sarah Sitkin. And Krista. And Junu. And Kenji. And Tron. And Borfo. And the Dak. And E. And Mixte. And Julia. And Larsen. And you.
There are a ton of new riders on rides that are just waiting to make a new friend. How about u stop looking for those people that stopped riding on m.r and just introduce ur self to people. Out with the old and in with the new... and if you don't wanna make time for this then your just riding the wah wah wahmbulance...
I prefer Soylent Tan myself, the green flavoring got a little too dull after awhile and was soon transferred over to the dog-food division of the Soylent corporation.
What can I say, it's cheaper and less time consuming than butchering a live one.
I'm younger than you though! My peers are Alfredo and Ray. Your peers are Frozen Fingers (happy birthday), B.Willow, Sarah Danya, Gav, barely legal team etc.
imachynna responding to a comment by Tarmonster.
11.5.09 - 1:42 pm
I don't really know either of you girls yet, Tarmonster and Chynna (though, Chynna, I think I was on a ride with you - Where the Wild Things Ride) but I'm still a noob(I guess), and I know I'm a lot older than you guys. But I get along with Ray, Alfredo, and Sarah. At least I seem to. And I know I like all three of them very much. They're really cool people. So is Gav - though I've only met him briefly. I don't think it's so much a matter of age as it is about attitude. If people are cool, and friendly - like I know both of you are - well, that's gonna transcend age, or whether you're a noob or not. I've only been doing Valley rides so far, but I gotta say that everyone has been really friendly and welcoming. And I'm really excited every day that some crazy tall bike Wednesday night ride went by my apartment one night earlier this year, and incited me to google up Midnight Ridazz.
Nurblie responding to a comment by imachynna
11.5.09 - 7:27 pm
Haha... I'm glad you clarified that, AGISM really scared me for a minute there. I'm not sure there's an AGISM antidote yet - though I guess this might count as an AGISM anecdote. And AG-ectomies are probably gonna be experimental for the next few years, considering how "Mother Hen" the FDA is about new procedures an drugs.
Aw, for Pete's sake, did I really write that? I was told there'd be side effects.
Nurblie responding to a comment by Joe Borfo
11.5.09 - 9:29 pm
Im just more disappointed that the young riders who have come in to the community think theyre hot shots and are too cool to meet anyone else. Well, thats been my experience. I ant to meet new cool people.
Aw, bentstrider, my secret is out. Now that you've figured it out, I might as well admit it. My secret powers include sounding like a teeny-bopper, being able to say no to medicine when it is passed about - even though my every pore craves it - and being able to tear up he roof of my mouth from eating too much dry Cap'n Crunch.
As for the Furbies, and the etymology of Nurblie, I'll tell ya next time I see ya.
Nurblie responding to a comment by bentstrider
11.6.09 - 6:44 pm
A community is a constantly changing and evolving entity. Each person gets out of it what they put in, and changes the community a little by what they put in. What a lot of you talk about are just growing pains: don't forget that MR is five (six?) years young. Its impressive what has been done here.
Personally I've been away from MR and my bike now for 8 months and I miss it all like crazy. I came in, made a lot of GOOD friends, spread the culture that they taught me. I hopefully, by the time I left, made my own little impact on those around me.
Lastly, who wants the same thing all the time? As far as I can tell, rides are still going on. People may be coming and going, but in the end though, one thing is for sure: more and more people ride their bikes because of this community.
"Nothing is ever good as it once was, but remember that its always getting better"
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Magical, I tell you.