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Caped bicyclist. Valet parking. Bike-In movies.
While some fitness centers are losing customers to the recession, themed bicycle rides are attracting newcomers and riding veterans alike, creating a new, late night craze in fitness.
"It's like a rave on bikes," says "Roadblock", the 30-something Web site designer who helps run the Midnight Ridazz (www.midnightridazz.com), a group of bicycle enthusiasts that has drawn as many as 1,600 riders to evening rides through the streets of Los Angeles. "It's gotten the regular person 18 to 35 - the Facebook and Myspace crowd - to do a bike ride. They do this instead of going to a bar or club to meet girls or guys."
Midnight Ridazz's themed rides, which originally featured tours of downtown landmarks when it started in 2004, has morphed into costumed rides (think Pink Floyd, the Warriors and even strippers) complete with glowsticks and music. Themes abound, from the Ramen Ride, where bicyclists stop for ramen along the route, to Slurp rides, which begin and end at a 7-Eleven. There may be as many as four different rides in a single night in the Los Angeles area, often attended by small groups of 100 riders who work hard to obey rules of the road. Police have even occasionally stepped in to escort riders through traffic lights, keeping the groups together.
Creative bicycling groups have grown in popularity throughout California and other parts of the country.
"There's really been an explosion of creative events in bicycling communities across the U.S.," says Deb Greco, the San Francisco Bay Area editor of Momentum magazine, who calls San Francisco-based Critical Mass her favorite (un) organized ride.
One example of this explosion is the San Jose Bike Party in San Jose, Calif., which started with about 50 riders two years ago. The next ride, scheduled for September, could draw as many as 5,000. Riders have dressed themselves - and their bicycles - up like seahorses, psychedelic robots and superheroes to fit the monthly theme of the ride, which can run through downtown, parks and even other cities.
Bicycles range from tandems to mountain bikes, road bikes to unicycles. There's even a guy who pulls a couch behind him with a stereo so people can listen to music during the ride, then party on the couch at the end of the ride, which ranges from 15 to 25 miles.
"I think the most important thing about Bike Party is that we are building community through bike riding," says Sarah Stillman, 27,a head volunteer with San Jose Bike Party. "Everyone is welcome, no matter their skill level. I've seen all ages. Grammar school, high school, tons of college, even people into their 60s and 70s. The pace that we set pretty much accommodates every style of rider."
Such groups do more than just pedal. They promote their passion. Instead of driving your car to a movie in San Francisco, ride on over to a Bike-In movie sponsored by the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition (www.sfbike.org), which will valet park your bicycle for free while you watch such films as The Triplets of Belleville (about the Tour de France, naturally). The group also sponsors "Tour de Fat", which Greco calls "an annual ballyhoo of bikes and beer that begins with a bike parade."
Events such as these, coupled with the rides, encourage people to make bicycling part of their commute to work, as well.
"Once you realize that your ride to work is only three miles and you are able to bike 20 miles, you think, 'OK, I'll just ride my bike to work,'" Stillman says. "It becomes much more accessible and realistic."
And of course, fitness, is a prime attraction.
"I've lost 30 pounds," Roadblock says of his bike riding.
He's also gained a greater appreciation for his city. When he first started riding in 2004, Roadblock initiated a 40 to 60 mile ride called the Wolf Pack Hustle every Monday night.
"We've ridden everywhere in Los Angeles," he says. "It's to the point where I'm getting frustrated because I don't know new places to ride."
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