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As dozens of bikes waited to turn onto S. Salina Street from Clinton Square, someone on an electric skateboard circled the crowd dressed like Bowser. With Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” blasting in the background, a biker screamed “BIKE PARTY LET’S GO” to spiral the October 2023 edition of Syracuse Bike Party.

“A lot of times we get people who come in who are like, ‘Oh, I didn’t realize it would be like this, I have to prep for next time,’”co-organizer Katy Lawson said. “Having the lights on your bike, having the music that you enjoy listening to, really helps set the scene.”

Syracuse Bike Party started in March 2021 and has continued on the last Saturday of every month since. The party meets in Clinton Square before embarking on a usually seven to 10-mile ride. This past Saturday marked the third annual Halloween-themed Syracuse Bike Party.

Katy is a PhD student at SUNY-ESF. When she moved to the Syracuse area, she missed the bike parties she used to attend with her husband, Alex Lawson, in Baltimore. The two joked about creating one in Syracuse, and it didn’t become serious until their friend Josh Wilcox became really excited about it. Katy described him as the “impetus” behind Syracuse Bike Party’s creation.

The three co-organizers took inspiration from the Baltimore Bike Party ride to create a fun, energetic ride filled with lights and music. They sign off all their advertisements for Bike Party with some variation of “Bring lights, music and energy.”

“People come to Bike Party to have a good time, come to enjoy themselves and try to spread (the energy) because it’s sort of like almost an impromptu parade,” Alex said.

People do wheelies or decorate their bikes, Alex said. Meghan Hickox, who grew up in Syracuse, attends every Bike Party and even has a “Party Bike” with lights, stickers and a speaker. She was playing a Halloween playlist on Saturday filled with spooky classics like the “Monster Mash” by Bobby “Boris” Pickett & The Crypt Kickers. Hickox dressed as what she described as the “glam reaper,” complete with a sparkly scythe.

“It’s not every day I get to dress up in costume and to be riding my bike,” Hickox said. “That alone makes it a lot of fun.”

Halloween is a special ride because it’s the first time it gets dark, so riders and observers can see the bike lights for the first time. Zachary Pudney went to Michaels and added fake spiders and cobwebs to his already-lit bike.

Halloween is just one of many themes the organizers choose. There have been fall harvest and back-to-school themes in other months, and Katy hopes to do a prom-themed ride soon. Syracuse Bike Party has also ridden in the Pride Parade and the New York State Fair parade.

Beyond the lights, music and energy, one of Bike Party’s emphasis is sticking together, meaning that if someone needs to walk up a hill, they will all wait, Katy said. Katy serves as the caboose of the party, riding at the back the entire time in case someone needs help. She communicates with the front via walkie-talkie.

Lars Jendruschewitz | Assistant Photo Editor

Lars Jendruschewitz | Assistant Photo Editor

Participants in the monthly Syracuse Bike Party deck out their bikes with lights and other flashy gear. Meghan Hickox dressed up as a “glam reaper” for the Halloween ride and played spooky music on her speaker. Lars Jendruschewitz | Assistant Photo Editor

Jason Kramer posts YouTube videos of Bike Party to his channel. He has tried to get his mom to attend, but she was worried that it would be too difficult for her. He convinced her after showing her his videos, Kramer said, and she rode on Saturday.

The diversity of riders is important to Bike Party, Katy said. Bikers range from people in their 80s to kids being dragged behind their parents in a bike trailer, Kramer said.

“It’s so funny because I am not a biker in terms of distance,” Katy said. “People will often invite us to go on rides, like ‘Oh, we can ride. Oh, you want to do like a century (100-mile bike ride) with us?’ Yeah, actually, no, no.”

The organizers also choose the routes, with a midway stop for each ride. On Saturday, they stopped at Rose Hill Cemetery. The chosen route and big groups can help people feel safer biking in the city, Alex said.

“You don’t feel alone like you’re the only person out there on a bike because you’re with dozens and dozens of other people,” Alex said.

Part of Bike Party is encouraging other people to know the best bike practices, like routes, in Syracuse, Katy said. Sometimes there is broken glass or streets with lots of cars that might make people feel uncomfortable biking on their own, Alex said. Syracuse Bike Party can ease people into biking by themselves.

Katy also likes to show people that they can bike year-round, like she does. They continue Bike Party in the winter, with shorter rides. Once they rode with more people than the number of degrees it was outside; nine people and 7 degrees Fahrenheit, Katy said.

“It is a surprising amount of Syracuse city residents that travel around the city using either walking, biking or public transportation,” Katy said. “So by being a part of that community and understanding what it’s like to be a biker in the city, we expose more people to living like that.”

Many people like to say there’s not anything to do in Syracuse, Hickox said. She thinks that if someone knows where to look, they can find fun, community events like Bike Party.

The bikers’ energy sometimes even gets people to come out of their homes and cheer the group on in the neighborhoods they ride through. Observers ask what is going on, and the bikers will yell out “BIKE PARTY” while their music blasts, Katy said.

“The main reason that keeps bringing me back is you don’t really get a good group of people with good energy and good vibes anywhere else,” Kramer said. “It’s hard to get that type of atmosphere where everybody’s encouraging each other and it’s all about just positivity.”

Published on October 30, 2023 at 11:48 pm

Contact Rosina: rlboehm@syr.edu