Record Crowds Continue To Snarl Cruiser Ride
Words & Photos: Steve Z
The official ride count totaled 780 people, 100 more than last week. Boulder Parks and Rec are upset because the ride is taking over the bike paths and groups over 500 need a permit to congregate in City Parks. There are hundreds of drunken college and high school kids on mountain bikes causing crashes, getting’ roudy, and breakin’ the law. The excessive size of the group is limiting route options: we can no longer take the paths, we have to stay away from busy streets, but we have to stay on large streets. The police have been tolerant thus far, but it appears the tension is building, and if the numbers continue to escalate at the current rate, a crackdown is only a matter of time. Is the cruiser ride going to go the way of the now-defunct Mall Crawl?
Once upon a time, the cruiser ride was about riding cruiser bikes. It was a chance for a small group to cruise around Boulder under the radar and blow off steam near the end of the work week. The main draw was aimlessly riding bikes throughout town, with no set route and no set leader. The celebratory atmosphere was similar, some adult beverages were consumed. The majority of riders decorated their bikes and wore colorful costumes. Fast forward to today. Sheer numbers have completely changed the tone of the ride, and now it has become a traffic jamming parade and a huge dance party. The liberating freedom of cruising on your bike with lots of options to explore has become tainted with government politics. It is now necessary to have rule enforcers, the Ride Rangers, to try and keep the group safe and in line. But there are not enough volunteers, and who can blame them? Who wants to sacrifice their own personal fun for the thankless job of babysitting drunken kids? Not me that’s for sure.
So something is going to have to change. The Cruiser Ride can not be allowed to continue on its current path, spiraling out of control towards its own demise. Stay tuned.
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17 Responses to “Record Crowds Continue To Snarl Cruiser Ride”
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totally agree Steve….right on target and your description of the ride was my experience as well. It’s gotten too big and something has to change. When cruisers on cruiser bikes wearing costumes are the MINORITY there is a big problem. Walking my heavy tandem up bike paths because there is too much traffic to maintain decent forward speed is not much fun either.
Hey! Okay i’ll fess up—i don’t live in Boulder YET (we’re moving as soon as we find jobs!). But we were visiting last week and were on the Revenge of the Nerds ride….we had an awesome time!! You guys are a fun group! Coming from Chattanooga TN (no we’re not natives—we are actually florida natives who love outdoor adventure sports), we were very impressed with the cruiser ride and we’d hate to see it disassemble!!! I’m trying to think of a good way to keep it intact but smaller and “maturer” …all i can think of is if you make the ride a “club”—post the ride only to a yahoo group (as you do already but to people who “join the club”) instead of posting it on the website. Just a thought…We hope to be cruising with ya soon–you have a great event! Thanks, Jen
hitting the nail on the head. it was fun, but i walked away somewhat bummed out that the ride i love has changed. hopefully not for good.
to jen, welcome to boulder. maybe the ride will still be going on when you get here.
I’m probably one of the lame people you’re mad at. I don’t have a cruiser, I haven’t dressed up yet though plan to, and I just started. I don’t drink or anything else so I’m not rowdy or irresponsible in the least. The first time I went and more so times after, I’ve been really taken in by the whole event. I think it’s wonderful. I personally like the number of people there; it feels like a parade, but in a cool way. Though I definitely understand the sentiments of people who’ve been there from the beginning and don’t like so many dumb kids cramping the preferred mood that once existed. Whatever happens I hope I can still spend my Thursday nights riding about boulder on the cruiser ride.
I do agree with your statement Steve. I am , however, one of the “mountain bikers.” I do not own a cruiser bike as of yet, but rest assured, I will very soon. For me, this ride has a bit of a different feel. I have never owned a cruiser and I never wanted one. I am relatively new to town and this was my first ride. While camped out at the park patiently awaiting the start of the festivities, I felt an alien feeling pulsing in my gut…”cruiser envy.” What a feeling! Never have I experienced such an new and emotional feeling with such a smile on my face. So, while there are certainly more than a few drunken college/high school-ers, BMX riders hovering and carving in and out like pilot fish, and of course, the mountain bikers, the cruisers run the show. I was elated to be there, I respected the rules of the ride, and developed a newfound love for cruiser bikes. My “Ho’s” and I will certainly be back for more…
You guys both have it right. The Cruiser Ride has always welcomed people on any kind of bike, as long as they have had the spirit. There are a few cruisers who have been around a long time, and they still ride mountain bikes. It was easy to use the type of bike to exemplify the ‘wrong’ kind of attitude, but it was not fair or justified.
I’m going to promote ‘participation’ from now on. Participation can mean a costume, or a decorated bike, or both. Be creative, get a beater bike and cover it with Elmer’s glue and glitter from the dollar store, for example.
If you made the pictures, you’re doin’ OK you dirty HOs!
I’ve always enjoyed watching the cruisers to by as I loiter around on the mall. The fact that it actually has a website and organizers and whatnot to me says that it’s really grown up — and I’m speaking only as a spectator.
Could you have one ride Tuesday, another Thursday? Slim the numbers down a bit?
The HO’s were a great outfit. Simple yet fun. You didn’t have cruiser bikes, but you participated, which is the key. Some people view participation as riding a cool bike (cruiser, chopper, art bike, etc.) others view it as costuming. Some do both. It’s cool to see groups get together and do their own theme. Steve’s Ride Referees was funny. What will be next?
I’ve been on the cruiser ride for 5 years and I believe we need to change the ride by paring it down, but I don’t think we should make it so you have to have decorations or wear costumes to ride. If you have a positive attitutde, obey traffic laws, have front and rear lights and respect others then that should be enough. Themes, cruiser bikes and decorations should not be made mandatory to enjoy the ride. Time and money can be big issues that determine whether or not I want to dress up to a particular theme. Some people have the time, money or desire to gather enough costumes to cover any theme, which is fine. Many of us don’t.
Do you think that the big increase in traffic and decrease in civility might have something to do with all the out of town college students returning? The summer rides, while large, were mellow. Local residents, like any animal, don’t want to mess their own bed but the students have little affection for Boulder as a community and since couch burning has been curbed may have found a new outlet.
Perhaps when school really kicks in and those kids have to cram for finals they’ll buzz off? Summertime is for being belligerent and out of control. I completely understand Steve’s sentiments, I agree, but nature will ween the weak from the strong- and for good reasons. On the Christmas ride I had to pick up a kid who was so trashed he couldn’t walk, nevermind ride. I said hey, did you just fall down? And he said yeah. I said, are you trashed and he said yeah! I picked him up and asked him if he had any friends to take care of him. He said he was there with 11 friends. So I relaxed my ‘mothering” and held him up long enough for some friends to show (he really couldn’t stand up). My feeling from being on the rides, experiencing drunken merriment (sometimes over-indulgence) and yet old enough to know when to stop is that we could deal with this in a friendly rather than fascist way. I say this, not implying that any fascism has entered your mindstreams or actions, but just acknowledging the frustration we all feel when rules are implemented and liberties threatened.
A lot of this discussion is now centered on my newer post, the announcement of the end of the ride for the summer. Slimming down the numbers is mandatory. There are just too many people. Without cruisers or costumes, this ride is not the cruiser ride, it is Critical Mass at best and a drunken mob on bikes at worst.
As far as the college kids, it is true that they are the most undesirable demographic along with the underage drinking high school kids. It is surprising that it has taken this long for them to find us, but they have.
I believe one of the reasons that they have not found the ride earlier is because of our cruisers and costumes. They didn’t understand these things, so they mostly mocked us and called us wierdos and stayed away. Now that the majority of the group is wearing street clothes and riding normal bicycles, the group is more inviting to everyone. Well hey, guess what, this is the CRUISER RIDE. It is supposed to be about riding cruisers. Putting time and money into decorating your bikes is what this ride is all about. If you just want to ride with a mob there are plenty of events such as the Moonlight Classic or Critical Mass that you can join. Do you drive with the Corvette club on the weekend in your Taurus while complaining to them that they are exclusive?
I am a college student, and last week was my first ride. I went with two friends, in full costumes, on cruisers, and had the best time!
I merely want to advise people that not ALL college students are belligerent and out of hand. From what I saw last Thursday, there are just as many of us who don’t drink on the ride and who fit in well with the “spirit” of it. If you want to segregate college/”adult” riders, that seems unfair to many involved. I wish there were an easy way to solve the over-population of riders, and maybe the ride will just have to be on hiatus for a few years before it calms down again. Or maybe only have one really big ride once a month.
Best of luck in finding a solution!
I agee with Cassiope, not all of the younger riders just want to drink and ride around without costumes and/or respect. It means a lot to riders of all ages
Of course, the aim is not to discriminate against college kids any more than mountain bikes. It has provided a convienient example of the direction the ride has turned, but is not truly fair. The ride has really been foiled by people who are blatantly breaking rules and laws, as well as by those who are non-appreciative of the ride, how hard it has been to keep it alive over the years despite police pressure, and ignorant of its tenuous existence.
I think a good part of what makes the ride cool is the diversity of bikes as much as the costumes and themes. I love to ride bikes, be it a cruiser, a road, mountain, downhill, etc. I also love to see people riding cruisers, choppers, fixies, vintage roadbikes, mountain bikes, etc. I think it would be lame if everyone rode decorated cruiser style bikes. I am worried about the ride getting shut down. But guess what, the ride has grown beyond any one person or groups control. Regardless of what is posted on the website, or what anyone announces with a bullhorn on this Thurs. I’m going to ride until they lock me up. Cruise free or die.
it’s a CRUISER ride not a MTB ride. like steve said, take away the cruisers and costumes and it’s just critical mass. what is totally lame is all the people not participating and just spectating.