or “‘Deep & Dan’s NYE Bike+Music Ride 2009″ (our 2nd Annual roving NYE party!) ….

You know that feeling you get on New Year’s Eve? Since there are soooo many fabulous parties and options and groups of friends doing various things, it’s hard to figure out what to do! And then you second guess yourself all night: “Am I at the right party – is this going to be the most fun I could be having right now?”

Maybe you’re lucky and don’t suffer from that – but I totally do. Or did.

These last two years, I haven’t had that feeling at all! I’ve finally figured it out! I was right where I wanted to be & had a fantastic NYE. Since I’m a little slow, I actually had to be convinced both times – but both times it turned out to be perfect. And this New Year’s was even more fun than last!

Last year, my friend Dan & I put together our first “New Year’s Eve Bike + Music Ride” with our music bikes & a good number of our friends. Frankly it was a ridiculously good time. So you’d think we would just do it again this year and repeat our supa-fun time.

But somehow, we just couldn’t commit to it. Neither of us were super excited. Neither of us were quite motivated. We had this vague sense that it should/could/probably would happen – but that is not quite enough activation energy to get our selves into gear…

Luckily, our friends insisted. By the night before New Year’s we had agreed. By a few hours before our ride, we were getting seriously excited. About 30 seconds into our ride I realized “Whoah – there is NOTHING I’d rather be doing right now” and it only got better as the night went on.

This year our ride was bigger, but also it was a warmer night and tons of people were out on the street and cheering when we came by (sorry I don’t have more video of that). The cops were tolerant, the streets were full of happy people, we picked up new folks along the way, and entertained MUNI drivers, revelers, skateboarders, and the general public – it was BIG fun. We started at around 8 and biked til 2am!

I can tell you right now what I’ll be doing next New Year’s Eve as long as I’m physically able! You guys should come too! SUPA-FUN! I guarantee it.

(And if you want more video – I posted Dan’s excellent video after the jump – note that some of the footage is the same, but some is different)

.ps
And yes, just like last year I got up super early the next day and made it out to Breakfast of Champions with the Space Cowboys & danced out the morning til I collapsed. I LIKE MY NEW YEAR’S TRADITION!
Click HERE for more…

If you know much about SF, you know that the SF Bay Guardian matters. It is the local-scene and left-wing-politics weekly and I love it. Every year they do a “Best of The Bay” issue wherein they give the low down on what’s what in my beloved Yay Area…

So, how happy was I this morning when my friend Meli pinged me to show me this:

BEST BLOCK-ROCKIN’ BIKE

Amandeep Jawa’s bright blue, sound-rigged party-cycle — Trikeasaurus — is our bestest Critical Mass compadre and bike lane buddy, and an essential component of his impromptu FlashDance parties. This three-wheelin’, free-wheelin’, pedal-and-battery-powered funk machine has been bringing the party to the people — and leading spontaneous Michael Jackson tributes — from the Embarcadero to the Broadway tunnel for the past two years. Even if you’re just out for a stroll or a bit of that ephemeral San Francisco “sun”-bathing, when Trikeasaurus comes rolling along you just have to boogie on down the road, bust a move, get your groove thing on, let your freak flag fly, and insert ecstatic cliché here. We can pretend all we want in the privacy of our own hip sancta sanctorum that Destiny’s Child or OutKast will never move us, but somehow when Trikeasaurus comes bumping by, we just can’t help but bump right back. Don’t fight the feeling! Join the 500-watt, 150-decibel velolution today.

www.deeptrouble.com

Imagine how excited I was. And I loved what they had to say! They captured a lot of the ways Trikeasaurus brings the happy and they also put it so well “…insert ecstatic cliché here” indeed!

I’m a happy camper. This is one of those things that means something to me – THANK YOU SF BAY GUARDIAN!

Here’s the link to the actual online issue…. this is just one of numerous categories…

.ps

Oh and for those of you new to their BotB issues – yes, they make up categories as they see fit That being said there are a few music bikes of note in SF, so perhaps it can be said there were other options

.pps
This means that I’ve been a Best of The Bay in both of the local weeklies – woooooot! Once for Trike, and once for FlashDance!

or “Gay Pride + Michael Jackson Memorial Weekend & a few Thoughts on Joy”

(NOTE for non-SFers: It was Gay Pride Weekend here, a.k.a “Pride”, centered around the big Gay Pride parade on Sunday, as well as a huge party in the nearby Castro and numerous related events. It’s a big city festival for everyone – especially by & for the gays, but welcoming for straights as well.)

Yesterday on Facebook, I announced that the past 4 days have been the best four days of my life. Since I’m not given to hyperbole, it must be true .

Seriously though, that is a strong claim, and I should probably just say that I can’t think of a better four days in a row*. So let’s just say the past four days have been amazing and stack up against any in my life (wow!). I’m actually a little exhausted from how good it has been. Lots of dancing, lots of laughing, lots of sharing great moments with great people and even a few tears and reflection thrown in. And the weather has been perfect.

Here’s the video (Instead of watching here, I highly recommend going to YouTube, Vimeo, or Facebook & watching it in HD or higher quality):

Click below for the full story behind the video…

Click HERE for more…

UPDATED 1/16/10: I just came across the best video of the night yet (better than mine below) and a great video from the ride itself… see updates at the bottom.

Four or five news vans, 200 (300?) people, a musical bike ride through the city, sing-a-longs, moments of silence and tears. That’s the short version of Thursday’s special Michael Jackson memorial Trike ride and FlashDance. It was the best FlashDance ever.

Here’s the video (Instead of watching here, I highly recommend going to YouTube, Vimeo or Facebook & watching it in HD or higher quality)

Click the link below to get the full scoop, write up, playlist & more video:

Click HERE for more…

After FlashDance 20 (& dancing at Bootie afterwards) Saturday night, I was too much of a sluggolith to make it to the early parts of the always awesome Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence Easter Bonnet Contest & Hunky Jesus Contest. Though I did fly by for a brief dose of Easter Drag Queen Goodness:

 

But the main event of the day was at 4pm on Vermont Street: The 9th Annual Bring Your Own Big Wheel Race… basically a bunch of people bring Big Wheels (and similar kids bikes) and race down the REAL windiest street in SF. This year’s edition was very nearly COPSMACKED – but eventually decency prevailed (BIG THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO WORKS SO HARD BEHIND THE SCENES TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN).

I decided to bring Trikeasaurus….

But I didn’t ride down much…. Click HERE for more…

SF Valentine’s Day Pillow Fight 2009

For the past 3 years on Valentine’s Day here in SF, there has been a MASSIVE flash-mob pillow fight. They have all been moste excellente, but this one was even more vast than the last two…

This video, taken from high above, does it justice:

And though I had thought about skipping it this year*, the fear of Missing The Fun won out… so I assembled Trikeasaurus & headed out (I actually forgot my pillow!):

NOTE: This video is really long – so watch if you like, but for purposes of this blog post, definitely check out the start & if you want 1:45, 4:30, 5:00, & 6:40 as well (I’ll see if I can get a shorter edit)

In the end, I got my glasses broken, lost my favorite jacket*, inhaled a troubling amount of goose down, got my nose scraped, & Trikeasaurus was injured. And was it worth it? I think this next shot sums up my feelings….

Click HERE for more…

Every year around New Year’s, I have a hard time deciding what to do from all the various options. Last New Year was a debacle (long story, not interesting)… so in addition to being terribly torn, I also wanted to have more fun than last year. But what to do? Various friends were at separate events, and all my favorite DJs in San Francisco were playing at different places (MotionPotion, Shooey, Jimmy Love, the Bootie folks)….

Luckily Dan Nguyen-Tan convinced me to do a NYE Bike+Music ride with him. You have to see the video:

It was trans-stupendous!

I had planned to only go til 9:30 and then hit some parties, but we were having so much fun, we kept riding til midnight & then caught up with David Miles – of “Roller Disco in Golden Gate Park” & “Black Rock Roller Disco @ Burning Man” fame and watched fireworks at the Embarcadero….. So. Much. Fun.

Finally, I dragged myself home and went to bed at around 2:30 so that I could get up at 8am & make it to Breakfast of Champions with the Space Cowboy DJs!

Bob Seymour and I got there at 9 & danced til noon. Breakfast of Champions is insane in the best possible way.

And the Space Cowboys are one of my favorite San Francisco institutions: you always know what you’re going to get, and it’s always good. Electronica isn’t even my scene but they always bring the BIG fun. I luvs me some Space Cowboys!

So from now on, I know what I’m doing for New Years. I hope you do too (hint hint )

* Thanks to Mark Christiansen for much footage & Natalie Schrik for camerawork!

 
Step 1: Download a bunch of Motown (& other great) Christmas songs from the iTunes Store.*

Step 2: Apply sparkly-yet-Indian Santa Costume

Step 3: Apply Trikeasaurus

Step 4: Find SF Santarchy & roam the streets with a few hundred Santas!

Step 5: Enjoy:

And a week later:

Step 6: Apply Disco Ball & Sparkly pants (of course.)

Step 7: Roam the streets & hit a karaoke bar

Step 8: Return to Step 5.

(click the photo to go to my Facebook Pix from Saturday)

 
I think I may need to revisit Christmas….

Click HERE for more…

Note: This is a horribly delayed post, but I was waiting for photos that did it justice (I need a camera crew for FlashDance and Trikeasaurus dammit!). Luckily, Brian, Mike, Whole Wheat & Bill came through. Anyway this is the one of 2 posts about LAST Saturday (11/15), not the most recent Saturday. The other post is from the FlashDance that night.

Also note that there are more pics and videos after the jump!

(Courtesy of Whole Wheat on Flickr)

Celeste and I were on our way to the Prop 8 protest last Saturday (11/15) & halfway there I started wondering whether we should go home and get Trikeasaurus. It was a bit of a debate because obviously you don’t want to detract from the cause or trivialize it.

It’s a tough call because the gestalt here in our fair city is strange: ecstatic, hopeful, and in giddy disbelief about Obama, but devastated, angry, and really heart-broken about Prop 8’s victory. (It doesn’t matter whether you are straight or gay – everyone I know is heartbroken about Prop 8.)

So what to do?

In the end, the gorgeousness and warmth of the day carried it. We figured “The Gays” + “sunny, gorgeous day” meant that in addition to being a protest, it was going to be a party.

So we turned around, went home, put together Trikeasaurus & headed out again.

It turns out we were right! PEOPLE LOVED IT and my wee trike became a bit of a rallying point.

Did I mention how much I love “The Gays”

Click HERE for more…

Note: This is a horribly delayed post, but I was waiting for photos that did it justice (I need a camera crew for FlashDance and Trikeasaurus dammit!). Luckily, May-Li & Liza came through. Anyway this is the one of 2 posts about LAST Saturday (11/15), not the most recent Saturday. The other post is about Trikeasaurus rocking the Anti-Prop-8 Protest that day.

Also note that there is a video & the playlist after the jump!

(courtesy of May-Li Khoe)

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! Flashdance 18 was just amazing. Maybe 100-150 people dancing at any given time and maybe 200 people over the course of the night. But as usual, the real story was just the vibe. A warm night and fun music were part of it, but really, as usual the key to such a great FlashDance is all the awesome people who came out to 24th & Mission and made it so fabulous! I love my peeps! Thanks for making 3 years of FlashDances so amazing!

Click HERE for more…