Midnight Ridazz
Encyclopedia
Midnight Ridazz is a late-night group bicycle ride that celebrates bicycle culture
in Los Angeles, California
. The ride takes place on city streets, has no sponsors, is not sanctioned by any government
agency, and does not require registration or membership in a club. The ride follows different routes each month, generally between 15 and 40 miles long. Traditionally, the ride has taken place on the second Friday of every month at about 10:00 PM from a starting point in Echo Park
; however, the surge of popularity it has enjoyed in recent years has made it possible for rides to occur much more frequently and in diverse parts of the city. If the ride passes through downtown Los Angeles it is traditional for the route to include the 2nd Street Tunnel.
in Echo Park took an impromptu tour of the fountain
s in downtown Los Angeles. The idea of taking a monthly late night group bicycle ride to see interesting and unusual aspects of Los Angeles not ordinarily accessible or meaningfully experienced from an automobile spread quickly by word of mouth, and within several months the group grew to over five times its original size. Before the ride celebrated its first anniversary in February 2005, the monthly turnout had swollen to well over a hundred riders. As the ride grew, the social and organization
al dynamic changed. What had started out as a small gathering of friends had become first a neighborhood and then a citywide phenomenon. Several of the original riders voluntarily took on the responsibility of planning routes, printing route slips for distribution to participants, inventing themes for the rides and publicizing them, and helping riders with mechanical difficulties along the way.
By the summer of 2006, Midnight Ridazz had grown to such an extent that often more than a thousand riders could be expected to show up at the traditional meeting point in the parking lot of the Pioneer Chicken
fast-food restaurant on Echo Park Avenue off of Sunset Boulevard
. The rapid growth of the ride was beginning to overwhelm the neighborhood where riders met, and perhaps more importantly, it was beginning to overwhelm the organizers. The ride had grown unwieldy; riders were getting lost, altercations and accidents involving riders and frustrated motorists were becoming common, and it was no longer practical to stop the ride to wait for participants with mechanical problems. The organizers' response to this was to step down and allow responsibility for the rides to devolve to the participants, and to encourage splitting Midnight Ridazz from one large monthly ride into several more frequent regional rides. The transition worked remarkably well, due at least in part to the advent of a Midnight Ridazz website with a discussion forum and a ride calendar open to anybody who wished to organize and announce a group ride.
and one in which weekend entertainment
is widely assumed to involve some kind of commercial transaction
. Midnight Ridazz and its most prominent promoters do not overtly claim to be engaging in activism
, apart from taking the position that "riding a bicycle in this country in and of itself IS the political act." Ridazz bears some resemblance to the pro-bicycle Critical Mass
phenomenon in that both involve large groups of cyclists temporarily taking over city streets in public view. However, it is distinct from Critical Mass in that the routes are planned by self-appointed caretakers, and the atmosphere revolves around party culture and fun rather than political demonstration.
Inclusiveness has long been a dominant cultural component in Midnight Ridazz. Rides are usually planned and paced so as to allow any reasonably healthy adult with a roadworthy bicycle and the ability to ride it to participate. Accordingly, the rides have attracted a wide cross-section of the cycling community in Los Angeles--bicycle messenger
s, bicycle commuters
, utility cyclists
, fixed gear enthusiasts, recreational riders, racers, and so on—although the convergence of different groups of cyclists has not been without occasional friction.
From the Midnight Ridazz website section About the Ridazz What Midnight Ridazz is: Fun, Friendships, Non Confrontational, Family, Compassionate, Open - Minded, Multi-cultural ... What Midnight Ridazz is NOT: Mean Spirited, Political, Commercialized, Non-incusive, Abrasive, Protest
DV, 6:38 min.
Directed by Andrew Vontz
on Youtube
Midnight Ridazz (Part 1), 2006
DV, 2:52 min.
Directed by Joel Kuwahara
on OurMedia
Midnight Ridazz (Part 2), 2006
DV, 3:05 min.
Directed by Joel Kuwahara
on OurMedia
Ride On, 2006
DV, 12 min.
Directed by Kim Jensen
Midnight Ridazz the Movie 2007, 2007
DV, 8:32 min
Directed by Shawn Bannon
on Youtube
, and Davis, California
hosting occasional group rides using the name. A Midnight Ridazz chapter also exists in Ferrara
, Italy
.
Josh Anderson, founder of "Bike Gang" in Grand Junction, Colorado, cites an Alternative Press article about Midnight Ridazz as his inspiration for organizing the group/ride.
Participants are asked to bring a toy up to $25 in value to be donated to a local charity. Past charities to receive toys from the event include The Los Angeles Department of Child Services, The Los Angeles Fire Department's: Spark of Love, The Alliance for Children's Rights, Los Angeles Legal Aid and the East LA Women's Center.
The event consists of several rides, each originating for different parts of Los Angeles County. Past areas have include East Hollywood/ Bicycle District
Highland Park
, Long Beach
, North Hollywood, Pasadena
, San Gabriel Valley
, South Central LA, Glendale, Mid City, South East LA and West Los Angeles. The rides have traditionally converged on the Gazebo of the Olvera Street Plaza in down town Los Angeles. After the rides converge, they ride a short distance (1–6 miles) to the After Party where the toys are collected by the charity organization.
An after party traditionally follows with talmales, beer, dj's and live music. In 2010 Midnight Ridazz hosted the 5th annual All City Toy Ride. This year's ride saw a record 15 official rides from throughout LA county.
Bicycle culture
Bicycle culture can refer to a mainstream culture that supports the use of bicycles or to a subculture. Although "bike culture" is often used to refer to various forms of associated fashion, it is erroneous to call fashion in and of itself a culture....
in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
. The ride takes place on city streets, has no sponsors, is not sanctioned by any government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
agency, and does not require registration or membership in a club. The ride follows different routes each month, generally between 15 and 40 miles long. Traditionally, the ride has taken place on the second Friday of every month at about 10:00 PM from a starting point in Echo Park
Echo Park, Los Angeles, California
Echo Park is a hilly neighborhood in Los Angeles, California, northwest of Downtown Los Angeles and southeast of Hollywood.-History:At the end of the 19th century, when the hills were still covered with native vegetation, a horse-drawn streetcar line served the dirt road that is now Echo Park Avenue...
; however, the surge of popularity it has enjoyed in recent years has made it possible for rides to occur much more frequently and in diverse parts of the city. If the ride passes through downtown Los Angeles it is traditional for the route to include the 2nd Street Tunnel.
History
Midnight Ridazz began in February, 2004 when six cyclists and two skateboardersSkateboarding
Skateboarding is an action sport which involves riding and performing tricks using a skateboard.Skateboarding can be a recreational activity, an art form, a job, or a method of transportation. Skateboarding has been shaped and influenced by many skateboarders throughout the years. A 2002 report...
in Echo Park took an impromptu tour of the fountain
Fountain
A fountain is a piece of architecture which pours water into a basin or jets it into the air either to supply drinking water or for decorative or dramatic effect....
s in downtown Los Angeles. The idea of taking a monthly late night group bicycle ride to see interesting and unusual aspects of Los Angeles not ordinarily accessible or meaningfully experienced from an automobile spread quickly by word of mouth, and within several months the group grew to over five times its original size. Before the ride celebrated its first anniversary in February 2005, the monthly turnout had swollen to well over a hundred riders. As the ride grew, the social and organization
Organization
An organization is a social group which distributes tasks for a collective goal. The word itself is derived from the Greek word organon, itself derived from the better-known word ergon - as we know `organ` - and it means a compartment for a particular job.There are a variety of legal types of...
al dynamic changed. What had started out as a small gathering of friends had become first a neighborhood and then a citywide phenomenon. Several of the original riders voluntarily took on the responsibility of planning routes, printing route slips for distribution to participants, inventing themes for the rides and publicizing them, and helping riders with mechanical difficulties along the way.
By the summer of 2006, Midnight Ridazz had grown to such an extent that often more than a thousand riders could be expected to show up at the traditional meeting point in the parking lot of the Pioneer Chicken
Pioneer Chicken
Pioneer Chicken, or Pioneer Take Out as it is officially named, is an American fried chicken restaurant which was founded in the Echo Park area of Los Angeles in 1961 by H.R. Kaufman. There are three locations remaining in Los Angeles. It still exists in China as well.During the 1980s, Los Angeles...
fast-food restaurant on Echo Park Avenue off of Sunset Boulevard
Sunset Boulevard
Sunset Boulevard is a street in the western part of Los Angeles County, California, that stretches from Figueroa Street in downtown Los Angeles to the Pacific Coast Highway at the Pacific Ocean in the Pacific Palisades...
. The rapid growth of the ride was beginning to overwhelm the neighborhood where riders met, and perhaps more importantly, it was beginning to overwhelm the organizers. The ride had grown unwieldy; riders were getting lost, altercations and accidents involving riders and frustrated motorists were becoming common, and it was no longer practical to stop the ride to wait for participants with mechanical problems. The organizers' response to this was to step down and allow responsibility for the rides to devolve to the participants, and to encourage splitting Midnight Ridazz from one large monthly ride into several more frequent regional rides. The transition worked remarkably well, due at least in part to the advent of a Midnight Ridazz website with a discussion forum and a ride calendar open to anybody who wished to organize and announce a group ride.
Culture and ethic
Midnight Ridazz is rooted in a punk ethos. It was partly the aim of the original riders and organizers to challenge both the dominant means of transportation and the prevailing mode of entertainment in Los Angeles, a city largely designed around the private automobileAutomobile
An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
and one in which weekend entertainment
Entertainment
Entertainment consists of any activity which provides a diversion or permits people to amuse themselves in their leisure time. Entertainment is generally passive, such as watching opera or a movie. Active forms of amusement, such as sports, are more often considered to be recreation...
is widely assumed to involve some kind of commercial transaction
Commerce
While business refers to the value-creating activities of an organization for profit, commerce means the whole system of an economy that constitutes an environment for business. The system includes legal, economic, political, social, cultural, and technological systems that are in operation in any...
. Midnight Ridazz and its most prominent promoters do not overtly claim to be engaging in activism
Activism
Activism consists of intentional efforts to bring about social, political, economic, or environmental change. Activism can take a wide range of forms from writing letters to newspapers or politicians, political campaigning, economic activism such as boycotts or preferentially patronizing...
, apart from taking the position that "riding a bicycle in this country in and of itself IS the political act." Ridazz bears some resemblance to the pro-bicycle Critical Mass
Critical Mass
Critical Mass is a cycling event typically held on the last Friday of every month in over 300 cities around the world. The ride was originally founded in 1992 in San Francisco. The purpose of Critical Mass is not usually formalized beyond the direct action of meeting at a set location and time and...
phenomenon in that both involve large groups of cyclists temporarily taking over city streets in public view. However, it is distinct from Critical Mass in that the routes are planned by self-appointed caretakers, and the atmosphere revolves around party culture and fun rather than political demonstration.
Inclusiveness has long been a dominant cultural component in Midnight Ridazz. Rides are usually planned and paced so as to allow any reasonably healthy adult with a roadworthy bicycle and the ability to ride it to participate. Accordingly, the rides have attracted a wide cross-section of the cycling community in Los Angeles--bicycle messenger
Bicycle messenger
Bicycle messengers are people who work for courier companies carrying and delivering items by bicycle. Bicycle messengers are most often found in the central business districts of metropolitan areas...
s, bicycle commuters
Bicycle commuting
Bicycle commuting is the use of a bicycle to travel from home to a place of work or study — in contrast to the use of a bicycle for sport, recreation or touring....
, utility cyclists
Utility cycling
Utility cycling encompasses any cycling not done primarily for fitness, recreation such as cycle touring, or sport such as cycle racing, but simply as a means of transport...
, fixed gear enthusiasts, recreational riders, racers, and so on—although the convergence of different groups of cyclists has not been without occasional friction.
From the Midnight Ridazz website section About the Ridazz What Midnight Ridazz is: Fun, Friendships, Non Confrontational, Family, Compassionate, Open - Minded, Multi-cultural ... What Midnight Ridazz is NOT: Mean Spirited, Political, Commercialized, Non-incusive, Abrasive, Protest
Midnight Ridazz Chapters
- ATX Ridazz, Austin, Texas
- Cruzz With Us, North Hollywood, CA
- Hollywood Ridazz, Hollywood, CA
- IE Ridazz, Riverside, CA
- SB Ridazz, Santa Barbara, CA
- SF Ridazz, San Francisco, CA
Influence on Los Angeles bike culture
Midnight Ridazz has inspired many new regular rides and bicycle groups in the Los Angeles area and has been credited with helping to popularize bicycle ride culture in Los Angeles. An incomplete list of Los Angeles bike rides, clubs, and institutions arising from or in concert with Midnight Ridazz includes:- (5fix2) Crew: Your Local (562) Ride link
- Badger Song
- Bicycle Bell Ensemble link
- Bicykillers link
- Chill Chinatown Mosey
- C.R.A.N.K. MOB link
- CRIMANIMALZ http://vimeo.com/crimanimalz
- CRUSS MOB
- Cubcamp
- Cyclones
- Friends of the Friendless
- Fun Patrol LA
- GOGA link
- International Association of Armed Librarians / Mobile Assault Force (IAAL/MAF) link
- The Juggernauts
- Los Angelopes
- Mountaineerzz
- MOM Ridaz http://www.momridaz.com
- Monday Night Rehab
- Pier Pressure
- Ride-Arc link
- Sins and Sprockets link
- Stoner Avenue
- Taco Tuesday
- The Ride With No Name
- Tuesday Night Special
- Throw-down Thursdays
- Wolfpack Hustle link
- Wednesday night drink some ride some
Documentaries
Midnight Ridazz One Year, 2005DV, 6:38 min.
Directed by Andrew Vontz
on Youtube
Midnight Ridazz (Part 1), 2006
DV, 2:52 min.
Directed by Joel Kuwahara
on OurMedia
Midnight Ridazz (Part 2), 2006
DV, 3:05 min.
Directed by Joel Kuwahara
on OurMedia
Ride On, 2006
DV, 12 min.
Directed by Kim Jensen
Midnight Ridazz the Movie 2007, 2007
DV, 8:32 min
Directed by Shawn Bannon
on Youtube
Influence on bike culture outside Los Angeles
Midnight Ridazz has spread to several other cities with San Diego, Santa BarbaraSanta Barbara, California
Santa Barbara is the county seat of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States, the city lies between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean...
, and Davis, California
Davis, California
Davis is a city in Yolo County, California, United States. It is part of the Sacramento–Arden-Arcade–Roseville Metropolitan Statistical Area...
hosting occasional group rides using the name. A Midnight Ridazz chapter also exists in Ferrara
Ferrara
Ferrara is a city and comune in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital city of the Province of Ferrara. It is situated 50 km north-northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream of the Po River, located 5 km north...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
.
Josh Anderson, founder of "Bike Gang" in Grand Junction, Colorado, cites an Alternative Press article about Midnight Ridazz as his inspiration for organizing the group/ride.
Theme rides
Most rides have specific themes, which are often reflected in the route, and also in the graphic design of the commemorative spoke cards which are usually distributed to riders at the meeting points. It is common, but not mandatory, for participants to wear costumes matching the theme. Past themes include:- The Downtown Fountain Tour (February 2004)
- Strip Ride (August 2005)
- Heavy Metal Ride (September 2005)
- Twins Ride (May 2006)
- Midnight Ridazz Sells Out (June 2006)
- Pizza Delivery to the Mafia (July 2006)
- Take No Prisoners (August 2006)
- Swarm the Pier (September 2006)
- Visions of Superstitions (October 2006)
- La Noche de los Biciclistas Muertos (November 2006)
- The All-City Toy Ride (December 2006)
- The UFO Ride (January 2007)
- Swarm The Pier II (September 2007)
- The Heavy Metal Ride II (October 2007)
- Valentines Ride / Sadie Hawkins Dance (February 2008)
- The Play in the Valley (bike polo/ditch the cops) Ride (August 2008)
The Annual All City Toy Ride
Since December 2006 the Midnight Ridazz have hosted The All City Toy Ride. The charity bicycle ride traditionally takes place on the second Friday in December.Participants are asked to bring a toy up to $25 in value to be donated to a local charity. Past charities to receive toys from the event include The Los Angeles Department of Child Services, The Los Angeles Fire Department's: Spark of Love, The Alliance for Children's Rights, Los Angeles Legal Aid and the East LA Women's Center.
The event consists of several rides, each originating for different parts of Los Angeles County. Past areas have include East Hollywood/ Bicycle District
Highland Park
Highland Park, Los Angeles, California
Highland Park is a neighborhood in Northeast Los Angeles.-Geography:Highland Park is located along the Arroyo Seco. It is situated within what was once Rancho San Rafael of the Spanish / Mexican era...
, Long Beach
Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...
, North Hollywood, Pasadena
Pasadena, California
Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...
, San Gabriel Valley
San Gabriel Valley
The San Gabriel Valley is one of the principal valleys of Southern California, United States. It lies to the east of Los Angeles, to the north of the Puente Hills, to the south of the San Gabriel Mountains, and west of the Inland Empire. It derives its name from the San Gabriel River that flows...
, South Central LA, Glendale, Mid City, South East LA and West Los Angeles. The rides have traditionally converged on the Gazebo of the Olvera Street Plaza in down town Los Angeles. After the rides converge, they ride a short distance (1–6 miles) to the After Party where the toys are collected by the charity organization.
An after party traditionally follows with talmales, beer, dj's and live music. In 2010 Midnight Ridazz hosted the 5th annual All City Toy Ride. This year's ride saw a record 15 official rides from throughout LA county.
Press coverage
- KCET/PBS Covers the history of Midnight Ridazz
- City Beat Rides with the Ridazz
- Laist photo essay of the clown ride
- Metroblogging LA: 1700+ Ridazz
- Metroblogging LA: Midnight Ridazz
- Metroblogging LA: Midnight Ridazz, you're getting swarmer
- Los Angeles Alternative Press: Vicious Cycling
- San Diego City Beat: Party On Wheels
- New York Times: After Dark Bicycle Rallies
- Los Angeles Times: Midnight Ridazz are bound to keep on riding
- Night Riders Pedal L.A. With Mettle, Los Angeles Times, June 12, 2005 "About 500 bicyclists make an environmental statement with tongue in cheek"
- Video interview of Los Angeles freeway cyclists by Zadi Diaz of EPIC FU, weekly web show that covers online pop culture (August 7, 2008)
- Los Angeles Met Blogs on The All City Toy Ride*