Bike Partiers,

Last month, you blew us away with how many friends you brought to Bike Party.

Over 400 riders total for “Let’s Be Twinsies!” Amazing! The good news is, as the weather gets warmer this summer, you can expect rides to be just as epic as our last. It’s no secret that the nicer the weather is, the more people will want to come party with us on bikes!

We’ve grown so large we need to change the way we ride!

The bad news is, when we have so many people, it gets really hard for us to keep the group together on bike party rides like we’ve been doing for the past two years. Our safety volunteers have done an amazing job in the past two years holding traffic off while the bike party group stays in one coherent group, but when the group gets really large, holding an intersection open for 400 bike partiers to get through all at once gets dangerous and impractical when the group spreads thin. That’s why, this summer, starting this month for our next ride, “Boogies Lights,” we’re trying something new….

Starting this Friday for “Boogie Lights!“, Boston Bike Party is going to ride in “Summer Mode” for the rest of the summer!

In “Summer Mode,” Boston Bike Party is going to feel different than past bike parties. Instead of one mid-ride party stop with an end at a bar for an after-party, we’re going to have a total of three party stops, and the third party stop will be the end of the ride. Instead of standing in an intersection and holding car traffic at intersections, our safety marshals will stand on the sidewalk and point you in the direction of the route. This means all riders will be following traffic laws, stopping at red lights, and only rolling when the light turns green. This also means that even if you lose the group of riders ahead of you, you’ll never get lost if you just ride straight and make turns whenever you see Bike Party Turn Marshals waving lights and glowsticks at you.

Here’s a table to help you understand what will be different about riding with Boston Bike Party in Summer Mode:

In Boston Bike Party “Summer Mode” In Past Bike Parties There may not be an after-party venue.Our three outdoor party stops ARE the party. Summer mode is Bring-Your-Own-Boogie! Leave no trash behind and ride sober! Our route had one party stop and ended at an after-party venue, usually a local bar. Volunteers will NOT hold/block any car traffic and will stand on the sidewalk to direct you which way the bike party route is. Volunteer Safety Marshals stood in the intersection and held car traffic at intersections so bike party could roll through altogether. You will STOP at ALL RED LIGHTS and STOP SIGNS, and wait for the signals to change before riding. Bike Party riders could ride through intersections even when the lights changed because volunteers held car traffic for the ride You will ride straight until our Volunteer Turn Marshals direct you to turn. Look for our volunteers waving bike lights or glow-sticks on the sidewalk at every turn on the route. This way, even if you get separated from the main group, you will never get lost if you follow the turn marshals’ directions. You rode with the bike party group and stuck together through intersections as volunteers held traffic. Bike Party will feel spread out a lot thinner into many smaller groups of bike partiers with gaps between them, but that’s okay, because our marshals will be directing you where to go at every turn, and you’ll regroup with your friends at party stops. Bike Party stuck together as a group, like one giant snake winding through the city streets.

So things will be different this Summer as our big epic group bike party rides keep getting…bigger and more epic, but we know you’ll work with us on sticking to Summer Mode boogieing with the next Boston Bike Party ride, “Boogie Lights!”

You might be wondering where the idea for “Summer Mode” came in the first place.

The answer, my friends, is: the same place the idea for Bike Party came from: California!

Last summer, I happened to be in Berkeley, California the same day East Bay Bike Party was riding, so I joined their July 2014 ride with my HumDrum and followed around Curtis, who not only had drums, but was volunteering for the ride that day.

There were over 1,000 riders that night, and the volunteer team managed to direct 1,000 people to three different party stops without a hitch, including this guy and his canine counterpart:

So we’ve been chatting with organizers out west on how to make Bike Party fun with so many people. Thus, Boston Bike Party’s “Summer Mode” was born.

One more thing…

Here’s a photo I took of the ride leader at last July’s East Bay Bike Party:

We’re cooking up something similar for this month 🙂

See you on the ride!