FFArtRide Pajama Party: Some Do’s & Don’ts

Light up your bikes and the night with a new monthly ride the First Friday of each month to coincide with the monthly First Fridays Artwalk! This month, BE RAD IN RED! Dress as flamboyantly as you dream–negligees anyone?–for a preValentine’s Ride and PAJAMA PARTY Friday February 6!!

Friday is National Wear Red Day sponsored by the American Heart Association: One in every 3 female deaths in the United States is due to cardiovascular disease.

Some people have asked: is this a Critical Mass ride?

Well, it depends on what you think a Critical Mass ride means!

Are we out on our bikes to raise awareness that riding is fun? YES!
Are we out on our bikes to harass motorists and cars? NO!
Are we out on our bikes to create a culture FOR bikes? YES!
Are we out on our bikes hoping a MASS of people will join us? YES!

Also–it’s a RIDE not a RACE!!

Here are some ride “Dos and Don’ts” from Chris Carlsson, one of the original instigators of Critical Mass and author of Nowtopia who is speaking this weekend in SoCal:

DO

• talk to stranger, bystanders, bus riders, motorists

• welcome people to join us next time

• help cars stuck in mass to exit to the right

• stop regularly if you’re in front (no matter how slowly you think you’re going, gaps are opening up behind you)

• stop at red lights when in front to allow the rest of the ride to “mass up” behind.

• keep going in dense packs through red lights to stick together and keep it safe for everyone (hopefully, we will make it through lights safely)

• fill gaps; Critical Mass depends on bicycle density to displace cars.

• remember that pleasure and friendliness are more subversive than anger and blaming

DON’T

• race ahead to block cross traffic before the Mass has arrived

• ride into oncoming traffic on the wrong side of the road

• pick fights with motorists, even (especially) if they’re itching for one

• fail to turn and twist through the city to make the ride more interesting

• forget to smile and wave and talk to strangers!

• imagine that you are morally superior just cuz you’re on a bicycle (you’ll be in a car again soon enough)

• hesitate to tell other Massers what you think of their behavior, whether good or bad. Talk to each other!

• forget—we are all responsible to make Critical Mass what we want it to be.

Here’s a link to more Critical Mass info.

Below are some links to help us ride with more safety and knowledge:

• Bicycle Safety: How not to get hit by cars
• Bike to Work 2008 Flyer (PDF)
• CalTrans Bike Program
• Bicycle Safety: What Every parent should Know
• 10 Reasons Exercise is important for your child
• Links to Ventura County Bicycle Resources
• Employer’s Guide to Bike to Work Week & Rideshare
  
• CO2 reduction calculator
• Safe Bicycling Tips
• Bike Commuting Checklist
• Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute
• Bicycling Street Smarts
  

Here’s more ride info:

First Friday ArtRide Pajama Party 2/6: Wear Red!

First Fridays ArtRide: it’s a PAJAMA PARTY!

WEATHER? Yes, it looks like we’ll have some. That’s right, after weeks of unseasonably warm weather, it’s finally going to cool off and actually rain this weekend. Too bad we don’t have a bunch of these Burning Man Camel Back Bikes to protect us from the elements! From weather.com comes this prediction:

Friday: Rain. High around 60F. Winds SSW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 80%.

We will meet ANYWAY! And we might even RIDE! Lynne Okun from the ArtBarn is Gallery sitting the Artists Union and promises to share her LED lit bike with us to inspire us for next month’s ride–The Electric Light Parade! or is it March? (It is March–March 6!)

If we’re on bikes, from the Artists Union, we’ll ride the promenade to Main and up the Avenue to Bell Arts and see MB,  then down the Avenue and up Main to Chestnut. We can lock our bikes up behind Wild Planet or in the parking garage if the weather dictates.  We may stop to roam Main a bit and stop to eat or get a beer; if so it will probably be Anacapa Brew Pub. Otherwise, we’ll ride to Laurel Street to Seabreeze where a fire is promised along with red wine and velvet cake!

If we’re not on bikes, we’ll likely follow the same route possibly by trolley or carpool.

And when the First Friday ArtRide is over, consider heading to the LA Natural History Museum for their event with live and dj music and more! Info here and FEB 06, 2009