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....