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”

(Courtesy of Mike Holland)

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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!

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!

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So last week, I did the inevitable: I broke Trikeasaurus.

That’s the bad news. The good news was that while attempting to fix Trikeasaurus, the whole episode turned into a simple yet immensely satisfying return to my North Carolina* roots.

You see, as I don’t like cars much, I miss out on one of the great joys of my cultural heritage. Luckily the following image (after the jump) is as close as I’ll ever get to a certain primal yearning that was programmed into me from my youthful surroundings:
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Sometimes, you just need catharsis. My recommendation? Bike around the City on Trikeasaurus on a Friday evening and have BIG fun (say “Hi” to the iPhone 3G line, dance with awesome teenage black girls, rock out with kids having a bike stunt party, make new friends and bike around with them (What up Keith! Nice to meet you Jacob!), then roll into Dolores Park after it gets dark & play yourself some “O-o-h Child” & “No Woman No Cry” works like a charm. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house.

or
The Man™’s Been Keeping Me Down Watching My Back?

[Ed.Note: For those who don't know, Trikeasaurus is my 500W tricycle-with-speakers (click here for more)]

So about a month ago, on one of my Trikeasaurus rides, a bad thing happened: I got a ticket. For being too loud & thus creating a public disturbance. The cop in question was kinda lame about it. Many cops have been cool or at worst have just said “turn it down”. Most ignore it. A few have been mean. This one was just lame in lecture and attitude.

Anyway I got this:

Doh! I can’t say I was surprised. I have been warned a few times, and the cop in question gave me a stern talking-to back in November (when I liked the idea of beat cops in my neighborhood & thought they would deter crime, not fun. Sigh. I guess I still like the idea of beat cops.) But all those reasons aside, I guess I knew that a maverick outlaw type like myself (stop laughing!) is always just one “good idea” away from the hoosegow. Given my DWITS (Driving While In Tiger Suit) incident of 2001, & the “Gloating over Political Victories Can Get You In Jail” episode of 2003, you could say I was way overdue.

Before I go on though, let’s make one thing clear: The fact is, I *am* violating the law when I’m rolling with Trikeasaurus: anything over 50 decibels is illegal.

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(If you have good pictures from Sunday - PLEASE email them to me - THANKS) [Updated: 4/1 added new picture of "First Dolores Stop" from Chase]

Did you hear Trikeasaurus roll by Sunday? It probably sounded like some Jackson 5 booming from a pair of massive speakers attached to a shiny blue tricycle? Maybe you saw a few people dancing along behind while riding their bikes? Or maybe you caught one of the dance parties that sprung up at some of its stops?

I LUV Trikeasaurus.

I should ’splain:

Trikeasaurus is my musical tricycle:

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