Every now and then San Jose Bike Party likes to have a multi-start ride. This being the 8th Anniversary ride, it was decided we would do it that way. When I got there it was early, but slowly people filtered in. Many did something worth noticing.

One of the first people I talked to was Sid. He hasn't been to bike party for years. He said that he's a farmer nowadays in the central valley. Sounds like honorable work to me!

        

One of the great things about earlier sunsets is that lots of bike party has great lights on their bikes. That adds to the festivity and makes us a lot more visible.

     

Ed was there for his 61st consecutive ride...

        

Enrique has a major sound system on that bike. Not just for tunes, it's also got a microphone and a very loud "A-HOOO-GA!" horn. The lights are good to.

     

How about that monster beer drinking Darwin fish? I love it when people add creativity to make a costume better!

        

Any "on theme" image worked for me. Even a tiny alien hitch hiking on the handlebars.

  

     

The zombie/mummy thing on that trailer was clearly on theme. The monstrous nature of San Jose's proposed sidewalk cycling ban takes more imagination to get. Boone's working to get people involved with fighting it.

     

Maybe there were a couple of hundred of us rolling for the first regroup together. It was enough people that we filled the road nicely. Way too many to keep together at lights. Probably we stretched out over at least half a dozen blocks by the time we reached the first regroup.

When I took that Nun's picture I thought she had green skin. I kept the picture in because the woman really worked with me to get an image, which I'm grateful for.

     

        

        

Gotta honor the Ravens! Without their work the city would shut us down for leaving too much trash behind!

I know that technically the men in black in MIB were humans not aliens, but since there were lots of illegal aliens in that movie he's close enough. See that green sticker that says "AGENT (can't read that part)"? That makes it a costume not just a black suit.

        

By this time the dance floor was a happening place. Thank you Mark Hirsch and the songbirds! Old timers remember when SJBP didn't get it on the whole dancing thing. There has been a lot of evolution in that!

          

     

I'd recoil in horror if a monster like that one was feeding off the contents of my bike basket!

Yup. Cone heads are an alien species.

    

For sure we were dancing on a floor that holds the world record for the biggest permanently installed monopoly board. There were a lot of people dancing, but nobody counted the monsters and aliens to say for sure we took the record for "most monsters and aliens dancing on monopoly". Seems likely we did though.

        

This bike blinked from red to blue as shown. The rider said he has a friend that takes it to burning man every year.

     

        

That guy (disguised as?) a Mexican has that expression on his face because some photo bomber was making an obscene gesture that I cut out. I put in the picture because the expression on his face captures the usual Latin feeling about the whole "alien" issue. I found out later that somewhere else in the crowd, Ivan was cleverly disguised as a resident alien from eastern Europe. That costume was so subtle I missed it. Sorry about that.

Once again, Ronnie was our fearless leader. Thank you sir!

        

The guy with the lights was dancing them over the dancers, creating a somewhat strobe-ish effect. Definitely making it more of a happening scene.

     

        

The woman in the NASA overalls looked a lot like Sigorney Weaver. She was a bit concerned that people weren't getting that the monster on her handlebars was "the face grabber from Aliens".

        

Cookie Monster is definitely a monster. I can tell by the name.

        

     

That flying angel was at least ten feet off the ground. I'd call that the most dangerous pose I saw all night.

I love this aliens taste in pins! :-)

        

     

        

        

     

A lot of people that used to do a lot with bike party showed up again for this ride. John was one of those monsters.

Dead Kennedys are definitely monsters of punk! By this time just about everybody was in a great mood.

        

     

     

     

Boone wants people to vote for Cortese "because his opponent voted to shut down most of the pot clubs in the city and is also behind the sidewalk cycling ban."

     

After that regroup it was more or less over except for the getting home part. The route taken by the south side riders and the Santa Clara riders forked where this couple was standing calling out "Southbound riders turn here." The lit arrow was pointed in the correct direction. Many people were listening, so that must have been a popular start.

Not long after that I passed a kid that was falling down drunk trying to ride his bike. If I was in his shoes I would have walked the bike for half an hour or something like that to gather my wits. Friends were spotting for him so I just rolled on by. Not sure I could have been much help anyhow.