I just returned from SF Bike Expo and met many diverse bicycle enthusiasts from the Bay area. A new acquaintance told me about SJBikeParty.org which is a monthly celebration and community building ride that happens on the third Friday of each month in San Jose. I searched "Bike Party" online (google, youtube, flikr) and found that it has been a recent revolution that began a few years ago in San Jose. This event brings 2000-4000 bicyclists on a given night.

I have never experienced one of these rides but I plan to attend one soon. It's organized with volunteers, planning committees, and route map. I posted the links and dates below for more info. If you happen to be in the SF bay area, please check out the ride and let us know what you think of it.

Bike Party San Jose website and Facebook page (3rd Friday of month)
Bike Party San Francisco (1st Friday of month)
Bike Party East Bay(2nd Friday of month)
Bike Party Santa Cruz(3rd Friday of each month)
San Luis Obispo(SLO) Bike Happenings (1st Thursday of the month)

Some interesting historical facts:

History of Bike Party
From San Jose Bike Party Wiki

Bike Party was first attempted in San Jose by a small crew of wild and zany cyclists trying to organize a costumed Halloween ride in October 2005. This first attempt didn't go far, but it was enough to spark another attempt the following year, which went for a few months before fizzling out. Each of these early attempts, inspired largely by the international Critical Mass model, gathered somewhere in the range of 10-30 riders, met downtown, looped something less than 5 miles, and took place on a Friday evening around 6-8pm.

In 2007, everything changed.

During the summer of 2007, "Bike Mom" Amber moved from San Diego to live with Nick and the Yr Pants crew, bringing with her the experience of assisting SD's wild bike gang, the now dead Electric Warriors. Fellow bikers-in-arms connected quickly and set to work organizing San Jose's impending bicycle revolution.

A few major changes brought about the Bike Party we know and love:

* moving the start time to a later "party hour" of 8:30pm.
* starting in Campbell, to offer a convenient transit-serviced location to inspire folks who didn't live near downtown to join the ride.
* a renewed focus on the fun and vibrant energy of communal bike culture, a.k.a. the PARTY. Emphasizing themes, fun after events, and unique exciting routes.
* keeping the ride inclusive by consistently outreaching to young adults via myspace, facebook, fliers in hip community areas, and other technology mediums

The earliest Bike Party volunteers connected through friendships, SVBC membership, and random chance encounters. Fliers were posted at downtown San Jose's First Friday art gallery openings, as well as Good Karma, coffee shops, and dozens of local college bike racks.

The first ride took place on October 19th, 2007, and gathered approximately 25 riders. By summer 2008, Bike Parties regularly saw over 100 riders, blooming to over 200 by the start of the fall. In winter 2009, Bike Party peaked 400 riders and continues to grow. (See Ridership history for more numbers)

With the extremely large number of participants (2000-4000). I like the way they Feeder rides that enable group of cyclists ride to a predetermined start or re-group location.

BIRDs

BIRDs are our wonderful volunteers that attempt to keep everyone on our rides safe. Please be respectful of their directions and thank them for all of the effort they put into the ride. If you want to help out and make your mark on Bike Party, please join the BIRDs at the volunteer cicle prior to the start of the ride.
Volunteer Circle

Volunteer Regroups are now marked on the map if you want to get plugged in come by and introduce yourself
Ravens

Ravens are the elite group of BIRDs that make sure we leave no trace behind by cleaning up after the party at regroups. They are essential to keeping the party going. If you see any of them with a trashbag collecting your trash, please thank them and if you are so inclined please join them! They are a really cool bunch. Please bring trash bags and help us leave no trace.
How We Ride

If you follow these eight rules, Bike Party will be safe and a positive place for riders, drivers, pedestrians, and the community.
1. Stay in the Right Lane – NEVER ride the sidewalk. NEVER ride against oncoming traffic
2. Leave Nothing Behind - Don’t trash San Jose
3. Stop at Red Lights
4. Ride Straight, Ride Predictability - Slower Riders should stay to the right
5. Roll Past Conflict
6. Leave No One Behind
7. Ride Sober! It’s illegal and dangerous to ride a bicycle inebriated
8. Communicate to Fellow Riders! (We need your help in encouraging everyone to follow the rules!)
Route information
It’s not posted yet but will be here when it is (Thursday before the ride) if you still see this it hasn’t been posted yet.
Feeder rides

Feeder rides are a great way to get to Bike Party They allow you to make great friends and get to know people who live near you. They also make it super easy to get back home as a group as most folks ride home with the group they arrived with. You save the planet and save on parking while getting a little bit more exercise. It’s all good.

* NSJ/Santa Clara — Led by Ian from Rivermark – Meet in front of Peets – Leaving at 6:45pm (please RSVP in the comments)
* SCU/Santa Clara — ??
* East SJ — ??
* SJ Downtown — ??
* Campbell — ??
* Willow Glen — ??
* Los Gatos — ??
* Your neighborhood? (let us know in comments below if you want to lead a ride)

San Luis Obispo(SLO) Bike Happenings has a similar bike party feel.

Rules of the Ride

We like things simple around here.

#1 Ride your bike and have fun:

Bring Friends,
Make a new Friend,
Dress-up, Dress-down,
Make a little noise.
Make a positive contribution.
Make the event your own.

#2 Treat our community with respect:

Treat the SLOPD with respect.
Treat others on the road with respect, both cars and pedestrians.
Treat other on the ride with respect.
The Bike Happening is a Courteous Mass ride, NOT a Critical Mass ride.

(Do not engage angry drivers. Don’t make drivers angry.
Note license plates/take pictures if anyone is doing anything unlawful)

#3 Assume personal responsibility:

YOU are responsible for all of your actions.
Mob mentality is unacceptable.
Have proper equipment on your bike.
Leave our destinations cleaner then we found them. Leave No Trace!
Obey all traffic laws.

2011 Themes

Same here Ray. Good guys at Central Coast. They are super into tall bikes and it's unreal how many people come out to their rides considering how small SLO is.

It uses the principles followed in Courteous mass. We just need other people to step up and build bicycling community in their respective cities. This ride gets people really celebrating on the third Friday of the Month. Courteous mass + DIY sound system trailers + big parking lots or parks. Regrouping becomes the social + party scene. Then rolling conversations and socializing as the ride goes to the next re-group party place. Cool , eh?

SLO is one of the bikiest places I've ever been. Love the bike-centric street markings and flashing crosswalks.

And here we go — everyone is invited to the first-ish SAN DIEGO BIKE PARTY! This ride will make you smile with a mellow pace, regrouping places, portable music and good conversation along the way.

This month’s theme is NEON! Wear your day-glo duds, strap glow sticks to your bike, whatever brightens your world. Of course, you don’t have to dress up; it’s more important for you to be there, whatever you wear.

Friday JULY 25: Meet and mingle from 7ish to 8 p.m. at the big fountain in Balboa Park. After Critical Mass rolls out, we’ll roll our own ride. General 12-mile route is north on Park Avenue to Trolley Barn Park, east on Adams Avenue to Ward Canyon Park, then winding south to Morley Field. Stops at the parks to regroup/hang out last approximately 20-30 minutes. Eventually we’ll roll back the short distance to the fountain.

This is intended to be a no-drop ride, and we stop at stop signs and stop lights. We’re more interested in showing our city that bike riding is fun but that we also deserve respect on the road.

Be sure to remember the codes of BIKE PARTY.
1. Stay in the Right lane. NEVER ride the sidewalk. NEVER ride against oncoming traffic.
2. Leave nothing behind.
3. Stop at red lights.
4. Ride straight, ride predictability.
5. Roll past conflict.
6. Leave no one behind.
7. Ride sober! It’s illegal and dangerous to ride a bicycle inebriated.
8. Communicate to fellow riders. (We need your help to remind those who aren’t following the rules!) And when in doubt, Bike Party!

Video from TurboBob from the ride last night