The Abridged version:
- Bike Party Sacramento has drawn riders from across the region to group social rides since 2013.
- Friday night rides can include hundreds of cyclists, creating an acute need for safety volunteers to assist.
- Riders are encouraged to wear colorful outfits and often decorate their bikes with bright lights and loudspeakers.
This story was reported by a member of the Abridged by PBS KVIE Community Reporters program. The Community Reporters program empowers local residents to report stories with guidance and support from the Abridged editorial staff.
The only clue was a social media post on a Tuesday around noon, more like a whisper than a shout.
“Ride of the Roses,” the invitation said. “Kentucky Derby. Sutter Skate Park. Meet at 7, roll at 8.”
To Bike Party Sacramento partygoers, that was the key to start the fun. By Friday night, a caravan of a few hundred costumed cyclists arrived with sound systems, dazzling lights and floats on trailers to ride through the night in a spectacle of noise and motion.
What started as a casual ride in 2013 has evolved into a monthly logistical feat that draws hundreds from across the region to celebrate community and energize the streets.
Onto the scene rolled Julie Silva, wearing a huge fascinator-style hat, on her bike decorated with a hobby horse and lights. Her friend Sonya Hendren was there too with a huge hat, white gloves and a spring dress.
“It’s a rave on wheels,” Silva explained. Riders from as far as San Jose and San Francisco bring decked-out trailers and lit-up bikes to enjoy Sacramento’s nighttime beauty. Some of the best Bike Party nights end up at the waterfront for the fireworks after a River Cats game.
“We’re just a bunch of friends riding bikes,” Silva said.
While Silva volunteers for Bike Party, the group has no official leaders, she said. A rotating, diffused group of volunteers handles route planning, music and the party’s theme.
At her day job, Silva works for Alchemist Community Development Corporation, a nonprofit organization that provides communities with access to food and land in Sacramento. On the first Friday of every month, at Bike Party, Julie feeds peoples’ souls. She distributes theme-based swag (she pays for it herself) to partyers, like disco ball keychains and pink cupcakes on Bike Party’s 13th birthday ride in February.
Bike Party needs volunteers more than participants
Initially, Silva was hesitant to participate in this story. Bike Party has outgrown its own safety limits, and people are getting concerned, she said. A news article could actually put the ride in jeopardy, she said, but she hoped that it would draw more volunteers.
It’s difficult to take accountability for the safety of a rolling group of hundreds of cyclists, so the group is ride-at-your-own-risk and relies on volunteers to help manage the action.
“The sweet spot for social rides is at about one volunteer per 20 riders,” said volunteer Kaspian Khalafi. But on a summer Friday night, more than 300 riders might show up, needing 15 volunteers. It’s not always feasible, he said.
Khalafi was sitting on his custom bike that resembled an early-model motorcycle. His thundering, competition-series speakers sound crystal clear as he plays everything from Bruno Mars to deep-cut house. Khalafi has accrued more than $4,000 in noise violation fines over the years, he said. He just pays the tickets.
Bella Kosta, donning a hard-to-miss pink sun hat, came with her husband and friends to volunteer for the first time on May 1. “They just seemed like they were our people,” she said about Bike Party participants. “We get a lot of nice recognition for what we do.”
Social responsibility leads to ‘no trace left behind’ policy
Like the Burning Man festival, Bike Party has a dedicated volunteer trash/recycling trailer and has a “leave no trace” policy. It’s no coincidence. It was borrowed from other festivals.
“Yeah, there’s a little overlap with Burning Man,” Silva said. A roller skater in head-to-toe LED lights whizzed by with a wild psychedelic windmill on his back propelling him forward. He had a frozen grin as he rode by. His eyes appeared red and glazed.
“Well, a lot of overlap,” Silva continued, noting the sharing, bonding, and self-expression that’s common to both events.
There were a lot of Burning Man-inspired rigs there that night: mobile disco balls, laser shows, smoke-blowers, a bike-pedaled boat. “Those are the hardcore burners who join our ride,” Silva said. A recent Bike Party even featured a stripper pole on wheels.
The ride’s motto is “Stop at lights, stay to the right, ride straight, don’t hate, pack your trash and don’t get smashed.” Bike Party has a volunteer-operated trash and recycling trailer.
“We’re never in any one spot for very long,” Silva said to those who find the party’s noise or traffic stops to be a nuisance. “If you hear us rolling up and rolling by, we’re gonna be gone in like five minutes anyway.”
Still, the rave has had an on-and-off relationship with the police, with some riders bringing beer, cannabis and over-the-top sound systems.
“They want us to go legit,” Silva said, which is “impossible for a group with no liability insurance.”
As leaderless, lawless and chaotic as the group may sound, its reason-for-being is grounded in social awareness and doing good, Silva said. Bike Party partners with Sacramento Area Bicycle Advocates (SABA), a volunteer-run cycling advocacy group. SABA’s executive director, Debra Banks, was on hand that night helping with bike pumps, giving out swag and promoting events like Bike Month and Bike-ramento, a collaboration with Bike Party and Sacramento Bicycle Kitchen. SABA also sponsors Bike Party’s annual Christmas Ride, donating toys to Shriners Children’s Hospital.
Banks said she was there to get people on bikes “in any way that manifests.”
“Bike Party rounds out cycle culture particular to Sacramento and brings together its various tribes,” Banks explained. “E-cyclists, lowriders, scooters, social riders, sport cyclists. You see every different type of person here.”
Bike Party welcomes all rigs, from cobbled-together tandems to riders with elaborate lights and costumes.
“The beauty of it is that it allows for so much individual interpretation and enjoyment of the experience,” Silva said. A man whizzed by on his motorized scooter, while a roller skater in fairy wings made a pink blur in the moonlit night. A man in a Panama hat rolled by with his chihuahua in a rolling pet carrier, drinking a 16-ounce Budweiser Chelada. A dad and preschool daughter danced to Taylor Swift in a rainbow spray of laser beams.
While the father-daughter sight was heartwarming, it was also concerning. “Bringing kids is a bad, bad idea,” Silva said. “People do bring kids, and I cringe. I just pray that everybody gets home.”
Bike Partygoer Cindy Lester, who goes by “Cindy Lou Who,” was ready for the party. She rolled up on her pink bike in her pink huge-brimmed hat, coat, flowered dress and shoes. She and her partner Brian Gardener, a tall man in a cowboy hat, were celebrating the fourth anniversary of their meeting at Bike Party.
Thudding, huge loudspeakers shook the ground nearby. They belonged to Eli Austin, a self-described “sound captain” setting up his trailer while a friend transmitted the signal to the boom box on wheels. By day, Austin is an administrator in education. But on first Friday nights, he’s a DJ.
“Bike Party is really about a positive community and culture,” Austin said. “It’s a bunch of people that are friendly. If anybody gets a flat, you’ll see four or five people slow down to help.”
Beyond Bike Party: Sacramento’s social ride scene
If you’re looking to roll with a different tribe, Sacramento’s bike culture offers a variety of “party pace” options throughout the week:
- North Natomas Jibe: Focuses on community commuting and neighborhood rides.
- Contagious Wheels: A community-focused group known for its welcoming atmosphere.
- Uncle Reuben’s Taco Tuesday: A weekly staple combining a social ride with a local food destination.
- Bike Betty 916: Hosted by Betty Guerrero, these rides typically depart from Southside Park or Sutter Landing.
James Smith is a member of the Abridged Community Reporters program. A retired nurse investigator for the state of California, James studies French and bikes along the American River Parkway in his free time. He lives in Midtown with his husband of 26 years.