San Jose Bike Party Review: An Unparalleled Cycling Experience (with donuts!)


What happens when you combine 4,000 cyclists, over 30 miles of road, and free donuts?

Bike Party.

If you haven’t heard of it yet, Bike Party is a BLAST. Every month, the San Jose Bike Party volunteers plan a route leading out of San Jose, through the surrounding area, and back again. Their mission? To build community through cycling.

Despite it’s modest beginnings, Bike Party now attracts thousands of cyclists each month, many of whom decorate their bikes in outrageous ways. And while it’s difficult to completely describe the excitement and sheer adrenaline of biking with such a large group of people, my story (which happens to be a tale of tragedy and triumph) should give you a taste of what it’s like.

The Triumph

Oddly enough, the triumph came first. It all began when the friend who told me about Bike Party also happened to have a spare bike that I could use. (He’s one of those delightful characters who happens to love tinkering with fixed-gear bikes, yet somehow isn’t a hipster.) Unfortunately though, on our way to the Bike Party he realized that a part was missing from the front of his bike. And he wasn’t even sure if he had the part back at home.

Yet, as we walked down a San Jose street, I got the strangest feeling that the solution to our problem was nearby. I noticed that there was a bike shop farther up which happened to be open, but my friend was skeptical about whether or not they’d have the right sized part for his decidedly-unique fixie bike. I told him to ask anyway. “What’s the downside?”

Sure enough, after looking around for a few minutes, they were able to find the right part. (Some kind of nut, I think, which was ironic because I was about to see a LOT of nuts that night.) 😉

When we finally arrived at one of the starting points, I was surprised to see how elaborately some of the bikes had been decorated. Many of them had colorful LED lights, and a few were even towing small carts with speakers on them!

Energy Drinks & Free Donuts

Soon we were among waves of hundreds of bikes following a preset path through San Jose’s streets, stopping at break points along the way, eventually reaching Cupertino, and heading back to San Jose again. Even big sponsors like Red Bull showed up in a branded car. And although I don’t normally have energy drinks, I chose that night to have my first Red Bull. It helped, given the circumstances. 🙂

Later on, during another break point along the way, I ended up talking to a software engineer who I was surprised to learn worked for Apple! Apparently, he was part of the team that worked on OS X’s Disk Utility, a program that I use just about weekly. Very cool.

In fact, everything went extremely smoothly. (At least, until the end.) And along the way, spontaneous chanting would break out. Usually, one person would yell “BIKE PARTY!” followed by ten people echoing it back to them. There was a real sense of camaraderie. I even came across a large cart, moving with the flow of the group, that was handing out free donuts! And soon it seemed like everyone had a donut amidst the spinning neon lights of the night.

The Tragedy

Perhaps fueled by this extra sugar, I began passing a few people. Actually, a lot of people. After a while, I was certain that I was near the front of the entire party. Yes, I knew it wasn’t a race, but I wanted to reach the endpoint at San Jose City Hall early so I could watch everyone come in and perhaps take a few photos of it, as well.

Then, I ran over a small piece of unidentifiable junk in the road. At first, I thought the bike was alright, and then everything felt wrong. My front tire was totally flat. After a few minutes, a concerned biker stopped and even pumped up my front tire with a small bike pump, but to no avail. There was a definitely a hole, and neither of us had a patching kit. I thanked him profusely, and he offered to lead me down a shortcut to the endpoint so I could wait for my friend. Soon, I was following him down side streets, cringing every time I hit a bump.

The Bigger Triumph

When I arrived at San Jose City Hall, over a hundred people were already there. And as I watched some of the wilder ones jump and balance on the City Hall plaque, I realized that even though the last 10% of my experience had been a bit of a bummer, that didn’t diminish how great the first 90% of Bike Party had been. Despite the setback, it was certainly some of the most fun I had during my entire time in California. So amidst the still-glowing cyclists around me, I decided to focus on that 90%, to focus on gratitude.

I’d already learned that by consistently focusing on what I’m grateful for, it opens the door for more positive experiences, and I wanted to keep that door open.

After all, I hadn’t even known Bike Party existed a mere week before, and what was to come was just as equally unpredictable and amazing.

Photos

Hundreds of bikes at Bikeparty

Biker jumping San Jose City Hall sign

Bike Party lights smearing

— Bonus —

Marco the Spacefarer appears in all 5 photos in the accompanying photo gallery. If you’re new to the “Where’s Marco” game, it’s similar to “Where’s Waldo” or “I Spy”, and it’s totally fun!

Learn how to play →
Then find him in the photos! →

Coming up Next:

I finally began heading east again, and I soon found myself back in Las Vegas, the only city that seems to think life itself might just be one vast game. There I saw Venetian Gondolas, breathtaking fountain shows, an ancient Chinese elephant tusk, and so much more:

See what happened next →


All accompanying photos are in the Bike Party photo gallery. With so much free, high-quality content, why not tell a friend and share this article?



Golden Gate Bridge Review: How missing your bus can have a Silver Lining


I’d never planned on walking across the Golden Gate Bridge twice. After walking 3 miles just to get to the bridge, the last thing I wanted was to walk across the bridge both ways. After all, isn’t that was buses were invented for?

It’s true. I’d wanted to walk across it for years, but just once was all I had in mind. I mean, it’s almost 2 miles long, and there’s a bus stop at the other end. No problem, right? Well, apparently the Universe had something more in mind for me that day.

The day’s adventure had begun at the intersection of Haight and Asbury, a neighborhood that had become famous during the 1960s as a haven for psychedelic rock and counterculture. Famous musical acts like Jefferson Airplane, Janis Joplin, and the Grateful Dead all lived short distances from the intersection at the time.

Huge Haight-Ashbury shirt wall

Since then, the spark of the neighborhood had seemed to fade. In fact, after wandering into one of the t-shirt shops and taking the photo above, I was told that I was only allowed to take one photo of the shirts inside.

That’s it. One photo. Try taking another, and you’re out of there. And this is coming from a shop that exists right on the proverbial Holy Land of Counterculture.

One can’t help but ask, “What happened?”

The Golden Journey & The Surprise on the Other Side

I kept moving. I had a long hike ahead of me. My path took me across the city, up to the Presidio of San Francisco, and north to the entrance of the Golden Gate Bridge.

When I finally arrived over an hour later, San Francisco actually seemed small in the distance, it’s skyscrapers appearing like tiny pencils reaching toward the sky. And just beyond the entrance of the bridge, I noticed that the Fort Point lighthouse that had seemed so large about a week before now seemed incredibly tiny when seen from this new vantage point.

Now, let’s be honest.

Until you’ve seen it in person, you really can’t appreciate how huge the Golden Gate Bridge is. It’s over 2.7 km (1.7 mi.) long and services around 300,000 vehicles every single day. And as I made my way across, looking up at it’s two massive towers, it was obvious why this was the most photographed bridge in the world. The bridge itself is nothing less than a work of art, and I felt honored to be able to walk across it. And for free, no less!

When I reached the other side, I found myself at Vista Point Overlook. I’d been here about a week before when I was heading up to the Muir Woods. But this time I was surprised to see a large biker group, all covered in black leather, taking a group picture with the bridge behind them.

Of course, I couldn’t help but sneak a picture of the moment.

Missing the Last Bus

After taking some time to enjoy the view and overall energy of the overlook, I knew I had to hurry if I was going to catch the bus back. I followed a narrow road that cut through rocky hills and expected the bus stop to be easy to find. It wasn’t. I found what I thought was the stop, but as the minutes passed, the reality of the situation settled upon me: I had missed the last bus to San Francisco.

There was only one option now. I had to walk back over the bridge in time to catch the train back to San Jose where my host lived.

Thankfully, the walk back turned out to be a positive experience. Despite my tired legs and feet, I was given a spectacular view of the sunset and the flickering city in the distance. A gibbous moon hung overhead, and I even met a Canadian woman who was also crossing back over the bridge. She was from Vancouver and found the idea of Couchsurfing intriguing. Thankfully, the conversation made the time fly, and soon we were back in San Francisco where we parted ways.

I only barely caught the bus to the train station, but I had done it. I had finally walked across the Golden Gate Bridge, and my San Francisco explorations finally felt complete, at least for this particular West Coast journey.

But that wasn’t the last amazing experience I had in the Bay Area.
Not by a long shot.

Photos

Golden Gate Bridge spanning bay with Fort Point Light below

Looking up to PG&E tower and blue sky

Golden Gate Bridge from Vista Point Overlook

Biker Gang at Vista Point Overlook

San Francisco city from afar

Sun setting behind bridge cables with traffic blurring by

— Bonus —

Marco the Spacefarer appears in all 21 photos in the accompanying photo gallery. If you’re new to the “Where’s Marco” game, it’s similar to “Where’s Waldo” or “I Spy”, and it’s totally fun!

But this time something was different. He left is cloak on the entire time, which means he appears completely black in all of the photos. (I suggest looking for him in the shadows.)

Learn how to play →
Then find him in the photos! →

Coming up Next:

With my San Francisco explorations complete, I returned to San Jose to arrange a carpool to Las Vegas. But before I left California, an incredible opportunity to bicycle across South Bay manifested itself, and it turned out to be a blast:

See what happened next →


All accompanying photos are in the Golden Gate Bridge photo gallery. With so much free, high-quality content, why not tell a friend and share this article?