Somehow, I got my name on the BusCycle
mailing list. I'm not sure how, but once I was on it I started getting
emails the gist of which was some variation on "we are going to ride
the buscycle in this parade and we need riders." I ignored them until
finally one hit an evening when I wasn't doing anything. We rode it up
to California Street to see Luce. It was great fun. I figured I'd try
it again, this time a trip to Mitchell Park to see Lydia Pense and Cold
Blood do "hot vocals with horns".
I didn't take any pictures at the
begining. We got to the park and parked the buscycle before I had a
chance to do anything but pedal and yell. Martin, the creative force
behind most of what happens on the buscycle, likes the fact I have a
loud voice, so he gave me that megaphone to pump out the noize on. It
turns out that riding down the street, every pedestrian gets a buscycle
welcome. Every house with known buscycle riders in it gets the
occupants urged to "come ride with us." At seemingly random
intervals we get urged to MAKE NOIZE, at which times I enjoyed yelling
out "THE REVOLUTION WILL NOT BE MOTORIZED!", or "I WANT TO RIDE THE
BUSCYCLE!", or just "BUSSSCYYYCLE!" Everybody on the thing had some
sort of noize making capability, so my output was just part of a grand
cacaphony that usually had quite a bit of laughter in it.
When we got there the band was just
starting, and the space hadn't really filled in yet.
I'd call them a bluesy rock band. They
sounded good, and they got people dancing. Everybody was having a
good time, one way or another.
Running with crepe paper streamers
seemed to be the in thing for the rug rat set there.
Then we had a delicious pot luck fiesta.
Strawberry Fields is a long bike ride
out of Santa Cruz that is part of a cultural exchange thing to connect
bicyclists from all around the world together. I mentioned to the guy
that the name reminded me of an old Beatles tune, and he said "the
strawberry fields do go on for mile after mile after mile."
I see this guy making balloon art at
events all over the place. He must have figured out a way to make it
pay, because he's been doing it for years now. I'm glad our economy can
support such a creative person.
About when the sun went down the band
stopped playing. We headed back to the buscycle garage, which took a
lot of peddeling. It was easier this time because every seat was
filled. We sang some of the songs Spirt Writer had made up for the
occasion. Things like "Ride, ride, ride the buscycle gently down the
street" to the tune of that old sing along song "Row, Row, Row, your
boat".
When we finally
pulled into the buscycle garage, everybody was in a good mood.
Pedalling together does that to people.
Martin wanted
everybody to stay seated for a couple of minutes so he could interview
them for his next podcast.
Then he introduced us
to this guy, who had something to do with making the Buscycle more than
just another Palo Alto idea.
Later I found out that Martin had made a video and podcast about the
event.
Hear
that by clicking here.
If you are in the Palo Alto area, and like cooperative exercise, I
recomend riding the buscycle! All you have to do is get on Martin's
mailing list....