Ventura ArtRiders Bicycle & Social Club Wows the First Friday & Fair Crowd

Last Friday, the Ventura ArtRiders Bicycle and Social Club went wild for the Animal Fair Ride. Some 30 people dressed in animal attire and met us along the route. We went as a family of snakes complete with masks.

Along the route. I passed out kazoos and we did the Animal Fair song as well as Old McDonald had a Farm and various other impromptu tunes. We started along the Promenade, rode around the perimeter of the Ventura County Fair and Surfers Point, up the River Trail, the Main to Ventura Avenue to Bell Arts which is always a flurry of First Friday activity.

MB Hanrahan’s show at Vita featured some of her panels which will next show at Burning Man, plus a closing for Richard Newsham’s fine show. Many studios were open and we stopped for awhile to visit with Bobbi Jo Free who made ears and a tail for a missing ArtRider. She also offered the best wine, Melville, since her daughter works there.

Next, on the recommendation of Russell Erickson from Art City, we ventured up Main and over to Buenaventura Art Association–with a quick, impromptu stop at the corner of California and Main to check out the CSUCI gallery. We had a blast in the large former bank space–we could still feel all the money in the vault!

Next up the BAA, and our first time there since we weren’t sure where we’d park our bikes. Many of us (like me!) really appreciated Ines Marguelies show. I also really liked Robert Wassell’s two small oils which flanked a sweet sunflower print; all three were available for sale for under $200–a steal of a deal–and if you can’t afford that. you can rent much of the art shown at the BAA. Growing up, we always had fresh, original art in our house because my mom rented it from the BAA.

After the BAA, we headed toward Seabreeze on Laurel and at Kalorama and Front, some of us crossed the bridge and went to the Fair while others visited Seabreeze and then went to Sylvia White to see 5×5–five minutes of performance art by five individuals. Last month this was a highlight of First Friday for several ArtRiders; November will feature comedy writer, performance artist and Uncabaret workshop leader Beth Lapides.

Personally, we went to the Fair and gorged on Fair food and Sierra Nevada beer then danced to Huey Lewis and the News. They had  a number of familiar hits which were fun to dance to under the twilight ski even though they sounded very 80s.

The small boy hit a few rides then we made it out the gate to park our bikes directly under the fireworks which went off over our heads and rained debris down.

Too soon the alarm went off and I wrote at 315am and then again and it was time for me to get all snaked out. This time I put on my silver python boots, dress, gloves and hot pink wig and beat it over to check in for the Ventura County Parade. Off I rode through town garnering a number of stares.

According to organizers, our spot was in the middle of the street, but the person in charge our section suggested we wait out the parade start by the fence in the share lest I start an accident in my short skirt…

It was a long wait–I was there from 830am until 11am before we started moving west on Main following close behind an inspiring Dixie land band. It took us almost an hour to travel just over a mile from Ventura High School to Palm Street downtown: we did a lot of sharp ‘s’ turns and circled and circled–we must have ridden 10 mile in circles!

It was worth it, for sure: we spread the message of bike love far and wide on the ride.

Want to see the parade yourself? it’s on cable! Replays of the parade will be shown on Channel 6 on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday for two weeks, beginning Tuesday. Time Warner cable customers throughout Ventura County can view the parade on Channel 36 at 5:30 p.m. daily from Sunday through Aug. 13. Most of the parade is on YouTube but not our part or else I’d post it…

Join us! We meet on the First Friday of every month at 5:30pm on the Promenade at the end of California Street; we ride at 6pm. Upcoming themes: September–Full Moon Critical Manners Bike Ride, October–Mustache Ride, November Superheroes Ride, December Santacon Ride.

BTW, in case you didn’t guess already, most of us in the wildest costumes are Burners…

PS This is my summer subscription drive–please subscribe to my blog by clicking on the link in the upper right hand corner! I’ll take your pledge of support also: wine? money? books? undying love and adoration?