I joined the San Jose Bike Party for the first time last night, and have to say: It was a party! Overwhelmingly a 20-somethings' party; thousands of them completely filling a huge parking lot with their bikes, band playing, t-shirts for sale, free donuts, more women than I've EVER seen at any bike related event. No children. People over 40 essentially not there. Fenders on half the bikes. Bike specific clothing essentially not there. Helmets on maybe 10%.

When the band stopped playing, the mass started rolling. The danger when riding with this crowd is from the drunk and show-off guys, unexpectedly blasting up through gently cruising cyclists or suddenly cutting diagonally across the flow. It's also from the fixie kids who really can't stop in time, and the girls who seldom ride otherwise and zig-zag wildly as they start up or go up hill. Sorry, all I saw doing that were girls. There weren't the dangers from cable car slots ot train tracks as with CM in San Francisco, but the huge increase in the population of the drunk and show-off guys made this, in my opinion, much more dangerous.

The crowd stoped at red lights (except for the show-off guys), and generally hung to the right on multilane streets to let cars go by. They also regrouped maybe six times in huge parking lots, resuming the party for ten minutes or so. The whole event was much more party than bike. I didn't see any police presence the whole time, from about nine when it started to roll to midnightish when it ended at SJSU.

One fight erupted at the first regrouging, but it ended fast with the crowd booing and chanting "Go Home!". Otherwise, a peacefull party that moved by bike. And the weather was beautiful! T-shirt and shorts 'till midnight. Night riding is such a fun thing to do, especially in a generally flat urban area like San Jose. It happens every third Friday of the month, and rolls out sometime after 8:30. Check it out!