I am a major fan of Social Cycling Austin’s Thursday Night Social Ride, and while I don’t make the ride as often as a should, it really is a cornerstone of bike culture as we know it in Austin today. That’s why I was disheartened to see this e-mail from a ride participant last night:
As encouraging as it was to see so many people riding their bike to the Springs and enjoying it (Thursday night), it was disheartening to see so many people bringing beer into the pool. I can assure you that from having attended Aquatics Board meetings and writing letters that the free swim is very much in danger, and that people acting improperly and illegally will be the nail in the coffin. You can drink your beer and do other things elsewhere but you can only enjoy Barton Springs at Barton Springs. Those beers are going to prove very expensive if boneheads aren’t more considerate.
The Aquatics Board has been considering getting rid of free swim at Barton Springs for a while, no doubt as a budgetary decision. The Thursday Night Social Ride is not the reason they are considering this, but actions like this could be definitely used as an excuse to end this service to the community. I hope Social Cycling Austin will police its member to knock this crap off. I’d hate to see something so great be scapegoated for yet another City of Austin efficiency measure.
on Jun 18th, 2010 at 9:06 am
I assure you, the beer drinking is only one of the more minor bits of awesome the TNSR brings to the Barton Springs free swim. To remove the alcohol and other goodness is to remove the ride, which sounds like the case come September. I guess Keith and Brooks could ask people to let their beers get warm for an hour while we swim and then drink them on the ride to the final bar, but a removal of booze from the ride is not happening. TNSR may be the cornerstone of the casual/social bike scene as we know it, but alcohol is the keystone.
on Jun 18th, 2010 at 9:19 am
Yeah, I’m not suggesting removing alcohol from the ride. I’m saying respect the stops, Barton Springs included, and don’t ruin it for the rest of us. And don’t give TNSR a bad name.
on Jun 18th, 2010 at 10:07 am
But the stops are when people drink, and honestly are the safest time to do so. I’d rather someone kill their 4Loko in a dark corner at Barton Springs than do it 1-handed while careening down the street, surrounded by a few hundred other cyclists oft-times doing the exact same thing. Crashes happen that way.
LOTS of stuff happens at the stops. If it’s a park stop people will smoke, drink and have sex. If it’s a convenience store stop people (not just minors) will steal alcohol and food. If it’s Barton Springs, beers will get cracked and pipes will come out. It’s the nature of this type of social ride, and you’ll see similar behavior on many of the other rides around town, both organized and disorganized.
The TNSR already has a reputation. I won’t categorize it as “good” or “bad”, but it is what it is. There’s a reason people DON’T come on the ride, just as there’s a reason people DO. Sometimes they’re the same reason seen from different perspectives.
How would you suggest policing 2-300 individuals to keep them from drinking at a stop without alienating a decent portion of the ridership? Maybe charging a cover for the ride would keep a good chunk of the riff-raff out, but then it’s a different ride entirely.
on Jun 18th, 2010 at 10:42 am
I don’t presume that either you or I speak for Social Cycling Austin, but if the group wants to be know around town as the drunk, rowdy group that killed free swim at Barton Springs, that would be a shame. That’s not how I’ve experienced the rides, and I don’t think that’s what the founders of the ride intended. The rides have been about not being confrontational, not breaking the law, not giving cyclists a bad name to the community at large. I’ve always liked the relaxed, good vibe of the rides. If that’s changed, then I think we’ve really lost something.
on Jun 18th, 2010 at 1:07 pm
The rides have always been legal-ish. To say it doesn’t break the law is absurd, and to say that there’s not confrontation on the ride is turning a blind eye to a good deal of poor behavior not so much between riders and automobiles, but between riders themselves. Even the organizers have been known to crack a beer on a bridge or in a park where it’s illegal to do so, and I don’t think anyone save a few completely sober riders would deny a time or two (or more in many cases) where they got waaaaaay too drunk on the ride and rode home inebriated, which is also a crime.
TNSR is mostly relaxed and usually a real good time, but it’s not without its’ warts. When bringing this ride to a venue, park or pool, both we and they should know what to expect. I don’t know if the ride was intended to be a 3-400 strong courteously drunk mob that stops for all lights, most cars and some stop signs, but otherwise plays by the rules of every other mass ride in town; but that’s what it IS. I like it for what it is, but it’s hard to pin the blame on the group as the group is a collection of individuals, but many of individuals like to drink, smoke, have a not-entirely-legal good time, and maybe even get into a fight or cause some shit. It all depends on who shows up.
Yes something has been lost from the time of the 50-100 people rides that took to sidewalks and weren’t really planned or orchestrated, but something has also been gained.
on Jun 18th, 2010 at 2:57 pm
Why exactly is it the Pool’s responsibility to “know what to expect”? THEY are offering YOU are free public service with clearly defined rules; it’s entirely on YOU to not abuse it, especially since you’re all supposedly adults. Go be assholes somewhere else if you can’t deal with not drinking in one spot for an hour.
on Jun 18th, 2010 at 3:35 pm
They might not know how much it was happening if people would PACK THEIR SHIT OUT with them instead of leaving their trash behind. THAT type of policing would be helpful. I like to have a beer at the springs (as well as a puff or seven), but I also take all of my trash out with me. I’ve also seen those one-handed riders toss their shit on the street, right in front of neighborhood residents, which is even worse, I tell ya! Fuckin’ litterbugs.