Some musings on the history and sociology of East Bay Bike Party, and the joy of DJ'ing it. #bikeparty 1/ bike-lab.org/2024/12/22/k... - ThreadSky

About ThreadSky

bike-lab.org • 63 days ago

Some musings on the history and sociology of East Bay Bike Party, and the joy of DJ'ing it. #bikeparty

1/

https://bike-lab.org/2024/12/22/keepn-it-real/

Comments

bike-lab.org•63 days ago

Social factors related to cycling are important, and poorly understood. I’ve tried to get connected with as many cycling sub-cultures as I can, to get a sense of how different people relate to bikes.

2/

bike-lab.org•63 days ago

One sub-culture I’ve participated in for years is East Bay Bike Party. I’ve been DJ’ing at EBBP since I built a bike sound system as a COVID project, and I had an interaction this year that let me to consider the meaning of the EBBP community.

3/

bike-lab.org•63 days ago

My take is that Bike Party initially spun off from Critical Mass, which is different things to different people, but the founding philosophy, per the Critical Massifesto, is about the creation of community in a context of prompting collective action and social change.

4/

bike-lab.org•63 days ago

The philosophy was rooted in anarchist concepts, and some of the participants it attracted were physically aggressive. Conflicts were a regular feature of local news coverage. Aggressive policing was also common.

5/

bike-lab.org•63 days ago

Some folks who participated in Critical Mass enjoyed the community but didn’t want to participate in the conflicts. Bike Party creates community in ways similar to Critical Mass, but with a different vibe, more focused on the fun aspects of the ride.

6/

bike-lab.org•63 days ago

East Bay Bike Party is now the largest monthly ride in the Bay Area, attracting over 1000 riders on pleasant nights in Oakland or Berkeley. I love seeing the diversity of groups it attracts, and DJ’ing has brought me back into music discovery, which has been a real gift.

7/

shacker.org•6 days ago

Great piece, thanks for putting this together.

Posting Rules

Be respectful to others
No spam or self-promotion
Stay on topic
Follow Bluesky's terms of service

Comments

Posting Rules

Reply