The story of PMTNR
One night after Critical Mass, the group who ride suggested we should ride more than once a month. I think it was Erik, Beth, Amy, Adam, Randy. We agreed to meet on Tuesday night at 8 pm. And so it began.
Like most people, I loved to ride with others so that I could discover new routes, go different places, be more visible. But most importantly, I just wanted to ride. And like most people, between working, family commitments, etc. night time is the best time to consistently make time to ride. Especially after daylight savings time when it's generally dark after work. And I didn't want to ride alone as a female.
Around this same time I was reading "On Bicycles." The book mentioned Bike Parties such as San Jose Bike Party (SJBP) and it included references and links. SJBP was described as a ride for everyone with a fun, positive vibe. This was the inspiration for PMTNR. I wanted the ride to be called the Tuesday Night Ride so everyone would remember what day it was. We always met at the Common Market and since there are 2 Common Markets we added the PM for Plaza Midwood. Thus, Plaza Midwood Tuesday Night Ride. We chose 8 pm so we'd all have time to get home, have dinner then meet for the ride. We all met and decided where to ride and we each took turns where we were going. It was just a handful of people. But I kept showing up and kept asking everyone to ride with me. EVERY week.
Ryan suggested we make a facebook page so we could get the word out about the ride. He set it up. And we took pictures and then people saw how much we were having and started to come.
We've tried to refine things along the way to try to improve the ride and so people will know what to expect. We always ride 10 miles to a stop then another 5 miles to the beginning. It's always right around 15 miles. And we have a planned route with a leader and a sweep (the person in the back). The sweep makes sure we don't lose anyone. And to help with mechanical issues such as a chain that has fallen off, a flat tire, etc.
And now we consistently have more than 100 riders every week when it's warm and sunny. When it's threatening to rain, we have about 65 people and if it's snowing, we have about 12 people. Amazingly, we all show up at 7:45 every week and we roll out at 8 pm.
If you haven't ridden with us yet, please do come ride. Just once. You'll see how much fun it is.