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Suggest a route for the May Flock Party!

There is frequently constructive feedback here on the routes for the Flock rides. In order to better incorporate these ideas into the rides, Flock is seeking route suggestions for the May Ride.


Map out a route or two using Ride with GPS, Bikely, Google Maps or your favorite tool, and send a link to me by Thursday afternoon. We will look through them and select one for Friday’s Flock Party. Check here for details and route requirements.


dwillen
2011-05-17 05:11:01

jeez, I'm camping somewhere near cooks forest this weekend. sigh. ANOTHER miss.


FLOCK ROCKS.


ejwme
2011-05-17 12:15:54

Cave In is playing that night. I may make it to a bit of the ride but I am not gonna suggest a route. But i will suggest that flock goes all of the way through morningside at some point. Once we went a few blocks in but that is all.


stefb
2011-05-17 22:45:01

We've been in Morningside two or three times. We went all the way down Chislet once.


ndromb
2011-05-17 23:37:11

Must have missed it. Sorry


stefb
2011-05-18 00:24:05

No route suggestions yet!


dwillen
2011-05-18 13:48:50

Good ideas Marko. We'll be traveling from Dippy to OTB, and trying our best to avoid hills or bike-unfriendly roads. We will likely have a lot of beginners this time around, and I'm not sure how many would be comfortable on roads like Bates.


See http://flockofcycles.org/?p=172 for route requirements.


dwillen
2011-05-18 14:34:16

You could loop past the big top of the Cirque du Soleil, for kicks, and maybe catch the new section of river trail.


If Google is reading this, please get a streetview shot with the Cirque big top in place and make that the view.


Also, if you head to the North Side per Marko's suggestion, you should really roll down Beech Street (Avenue?), it should be spectacular in greenery right about now.


edmonds59
2011-05-18 14:49:59

Between Flock, earlier Critical Mass rides, Icycle Bicycle a couple of times, and smaller rides like the one ejwme arranged on Jan 2, I have a jillion *possible* routes, but what stands out in my memory was realizing just how easy it is to get around by bike, once I started doing it.


Hearing phrases like "Oh, so *that's* where that goes" and "I wondered how you got through that area" indicate that you've broken a barrier to cycling. For me, in learning how to get around, some were:

--Connecting Hot Metal Bridge with Oakland via Panther Hollow Trail

--How to get up onto the Smithfield St Br from the SSide Trail

--How to get onto and off of the Ft Duq Br, both ends

--How to get from FtDuqBr to the Aviary

--Learning the Liberty-Gross-Friendship-Penn connection

--How to get from Smallman to 40StBr


stuinmccandless
2011-05-18 17:50:50

Do we have a final map for tonight's party ride? If I can get out of work, I'm going to join in and pull my kids along.... but I'd like to check out the map so I can plan my escape if they start to get fussy.


smarti6
2011-05-20 17:20:36

I'd be interested in what the final milage (Dippy to OTB) was this evening, if anyone was keeping track.


jeg
2011-05-21 01:54:31

My best guess is it was right around 10mi.


ndromb
2011-05-24 04:49:40

That was a loudass sound system. I request more trashy eurodisco.


edmonds59
2011-05-24 10:40:35

It's not even done yet. There are two more speakers and a microphone pre-amp still to go in.


ndromb
2011-05-25 05:47:34

all this fancy new stuff is awesome.

I promise I'll stay for a whole ride one day so I can fully appreciate it, haha.


rubberfactory
2011-05-25 08:23:40

It needs a spinning disco light ball. For safety.


edmonds59
2011-05-25 10:50:51

if a disco ball makes an appearance, Dancing Queen must be played. It's a Law of the Universe.


ejwme
2011-05-25 14:36:11

Oooh...we need Flock-logo'd laser pointers for all, so everyone can illuminate said disco ball when stopped at reds...


reddan
2011-05-25 14:52:37

If you're going to play Dancing Queen, you have to play the Moxy Fruvous version.


lyle
2011-05-25 16:05:18

"Money (That's What I Want)", The Flying Lizards.


Maybe also "Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick", Ian Dury & The Blockheads.


Have both on vinyl, if we need a rip.


Nick, it looked like your cable back to the trailer was getting a little worn from tire rub. Add a rack? Run it along the trailer arm?


stuinmccandless
2011-05-25 18:15:35

I was walking out of my work early to make in to the flock ride on Friday, but I got a call and ended up working late.


Regardless, I was thinking of driving to the starting point and pulling my kids along in the trailer, but I realized that may be harder since the route wasn't ending where it started. Selfishly, I was hoping it would. So, my selfish thought got me thinking about others. Would a loop route (finishing where we began) be more in line with flock's mission? Just a thought, but perhaps there are people in the city that aren't comfortable biking on the roads by themselves yet. I could see these people driving to the starting point then driving home after the ride ends. Does a non-loop route discourage new or hesitant participants?


I think Flock is amazing. Before I started riding them, I rarely road on anything but trails. Now I'm primarily on the roads. So, I'm not being critical... I'm just providing food for thought.


Thanks.


smarti6
2011-05-25 18:47:05

Since Flock doesn't start until 6, it would not be entirely unrealistic to park near (say) OTB, then ride to the start of Flock.


Any day that I actually manage to show up for Flock (so, every six months or so), I'd be happy to provide guide services from the South Side.


reddan
2011-05-25 19:08:13

I think a loop would encourage newbies. My first flock was a midnight party ride. I had a blast but then realized i didn't know my way around Schenley Park in the dark well enough to get home confidently. Fortunately, a fellow flocker escorted me most of the way home since we lived n the same neighborhood.


pseudacris
2011-05-25 19:13:24

Thats a good point Shawn.


Part of the five Flock Parties is that there is a party afterwards. To keep rides consistent, we wanted to start them the same place every month, at Dippy. These are two things that can't really change, at least this year.


We did provide directions/maps to anyone at OTB to return to Dippy afterwards.


I suppose there could be a route that loops, then goes to the party location? That might discourage a lot of people from participating in the social gathering at the end though. We could also do a group ride after the Party, back to dippy, but if everyone wants to leave at a different time, then that wouldn't work very well either.


The party for June will be a reasonable walking distance from Dippy, so the route could be more or less a loop. Due to the limited party venues in Oakland, that isn't really an option on a regular basis.


Any other suggestions?


dwillen
2011-05-25 19:15:32

Like I said, it was just a thought. I normally do the 10pm ride, and I have no problem at all biking to the start of the ride... I was just thinking about where I was two years ago when I started riding on the roads. I would have been more likely to do a ride that began and ended in the same place. But that's just me.


smarti6
2011-05-25 19:16:00

why not just have the party on flagstaff hill? its just a stone's throw from dippy.


cburch
2011-05-25 19:31:12

That was the idea Colin. We planned on having everything at the park. You need a permit to gather in a city park. We (a group of 5 of us) waited in line on permit day. Jane and I spent about 5 hours at the City County building on a weekend morning. We ended up with only one permit.


dwillen
2011-05-25 19:58:05

I think, thought it could take some planning, that it would be just a little bit of bike-buddy organizing to make sure that people who need to get to the start can do so. I never had any trouble, but then again I never was afraid to bike on streets by myself (once I started). It might just take some wording to the announcements, or some words before the ride (I envision a "raise your hand if you need help getting back to the start" and "raise your hand if you can help get people back to the start").


The end isn't THAT far away.


ejwme
2011-05-25 20:20:32

you know you can go get permits throughout the year and not just on permit day right? they issue them at the public works office on 2nd ave. weird building btw.


or were all the days you needed taken by the time you got to the desk on permit day?


cburch
2011-05-25 21:00:56

Correct, for all the sites that would be suitable for a flock party, all the other days were taken before we got our number called on permit day. Some shelters were available, but had a limit of 10 people or some odd thing. For June's Flock Party, there is the classic car race in the park that weekend, so they wouldn't issue any permits at all that day for anywhere in the park. Also, despite the park being open until 11pm, the permits are only valid until 9pm, after that a cop can roll past and tell you to leave.


dwillen
2011-05-25 21:22:28

If you guys are going to be all legit, I believe you need to pay royalty fees to play music in public


sgtjonson
2011-05-25 21:24:35

Nick and I (among several others) live in Oakland, so at some point, we will be heading back towards where we started.


kgavala
2011-05-25 22:57:51

Stu, the cable wasn't worn, it was just covered in mud from The Point. That whole situation will be fixed. I literally got that stereo together at 5:30 that day.


Colin, that permit situation is not nearly as simple as one would think it would be. This is local government after all.


As for the return route, we posted a route online, and I personally talk with everyone who stayed at OTB to make sure they we good to get where they had to go. The situation wasn't ideal, but we will try to work on something better for next time.


ndromb
2011-05-25 23:04:31

@Dwillian


I was thinking about the speakers mentioned earlier, and that it's apparently louder. I think you're right though. Something about there being no commercial gain, ugh copyrights


sgtjonson
2011-05-25 23:31:48

I will say this, I've never had anything less than a great time at the Flock rides. I felt bad because I was trying to ride in front of Nick so I could actually hear myself think and wound up riding faster than the group a couple times. My g/f also had a great time as this was her first Flock ride.


boostuv
2011-05-26 00:07:18

There will be a blog post. I just haven't congealed my notes into prose yet.


stuinmccandless
2011-05-26 00:48:10

yeah, i figured i might have lucked out when i went down to get a permit for our rehearsal dinner. got exactly the time and shelter we wanted without any issues.


how loud is the new speaker trailer? it looks insane. i'm not too likely to find out as i don't like doing big group events very much or often. i have issues with crowds.


cburch
2011-05-26 13:00:58

Well, I think at one point I just assumed Nick was 3 or 4 bikes ahead, and it was plenty loud, and I looked up to realize he was about a city block away, about 100 yards.


edmonds59
2011-05-26 13:10:55

I can't wait for June. Gonna mark it on the calander now.


ejwme
2011-05-27 13:40:29