Subscriber Comments for
Hundreds of cyclists expected to take to the streets in chao...

Comments in order of when they were received | (reverse order)

COMMENT 304929	2012-08-05 09:22 AM
Completely laughable---'nothing we can do' say the police, it's illegal, but that seems to be the inoperative word these days...................what's that song? "The world upside down"?
COMMENT 304934	2012-08-05 09:55 AM
The swarm is a very effective defense strategy. What can the cops do? Arrest a few they can get their hands on while the swarm cycles merrily along? And charge them with what? Illegal bicycling? Flash mobbing without a permit? Seriously... it's like reserving spaces on a parade route or a spot in the Sunken Gardens, just grin and bear it. It's just a little fun civil disobedience with nobody getting hurt and not property damaged.
CEES	2012-08-05 10:24 AM
For once the bicycles get priority. I'm not really for the lawlessness, and not sure I want to take my daughter on a ride with a bunch of drunks, but I love the idea that bikes get to own the road, at least for a few hours. If we had separate bike paths, as this ride passes on in Goleta, it wouldn't be an issue. I hope the motorists can find a different route, or have some patience today.
MESARATS	2012-08-05 11:08 AM
It is a fun ride and I will there in my Fiesta finery. Stared by local guys who shall remain nameless it is one of the few events that hasn't been homogenized to death. This is not the angry spandex monkey group. There are freak bikes, BMXs, unicycles and some dress up. People do bring their kids and not everyone drinks or even completes the entire ride. It is safer and faster to run the lights on State and keep together as a group until it starts spreading out. Try it, you'll like it.
COMMENT 304977P	2012-08-05 12:22 PM
Fun ride? Drunken bicyclists weaving through oncoming traffic lanes causing near miss accidents not exactly ambassadors for bike riding. I hope they ticket as many as they can this year. Selfish fun at the expense of others enjoyment and business is something reserved for children- not grown men and women.
COMMENT 304984	2012-08-05 12:58 PM
In addition to ignoring all traffic laws and creating gridlock on streets etc. this group used to end up at what used to be Francisco Torres. They would jump in the pool there and harass any girls lying by the pool. This stopped when the Sheriff's Dept. started waiting there for the group with a video camera - funny, members of this group don't like to see the authorities video recording their antics. But it's just a fun group of happy-go-lucky, skylarking drunks, right? Good to see the CHP and SBSO doing something about the problem in the past, even as SBPD has clearly thrown their hands up and said there's nothing they can do about it. Bull. I hope the cops who actually do their jobs stop and ticket as many as they can stop and ticket.
COMMENT 304986	2012-08-05 01:18 PM
@997 captain buzzkill
COMMENT 305003	2012-08-05 03:34 PM
Another awesome ride!! Don't let the uptight ninnys ruin THIRTY years of tradition!!!
COMMENT 305005	2012-08-05 03:49 PM
Ha Ha. Imagine if bikes outnumbered cars every day. Oh my gosh, we would have a different culture....be far healthier as a population, and be far less dependent on fossil fuels. At least we can implement this change for a few hours one Sunday afternoon in August.
COMMENT 305014	2012-08-05 04:27 PM
Just got home from the ride. BBQ at goleta beach and a few drinks.. what great day. Wish every Sunday was like this!!!
COMMENT 305019P	2012-08-05 05:09 PM
Saw them riding on State Street and Mission Canyon Road - everyone looked like they were having fun, didn't see law breaking, nice to see people on not expensive bikes, casually clad or costumed, a bit of serendipity. Let them have their day in Paradise as long as there's no one hurt.
COMMENT 305022	2012-08-05 05:27 PM
986 and 003!!!! kudos to you!!!! I swear people have to always bitch about one thing or another.... keep on riding!!!! don't break the tradition!!!!!
COMMENT 305030P	2012-08-05 06:25 PM
Pics? Anyone?
CHILI_CON_ARTCARNE	2012-08-05 06:50 PM
A great Santa Barbara tradition!
COMMENT 305039	2012-08-05 07:28 PM
Search on `Fiesta Cruiser' on youtube and sort by date. About 4 videos so far.
COMMENT 305043P	2012-08-05 08:09 PM
I was all up for this, until I was actually involved in it as a driver. There has to be some rules of the road, and this group disregarded all traffic rules. Saw many riders drinking beers. Share the road and have respect!
MESARATS	2012-08-05 08:09 PM
I only could do part of ride time but it is always a hoot. A few observations: I didn't see anyone drinking on the ride. It is a very diverse mix of people and age groups. Plenty of people with grey hair, parents with kids, some pretty young. Our friends had 3 generations riding. I took some photos of the variety, but decided not to post. There are plenty of photos and videos. Just go to utube. A lot of people were very supportive and the call of the day was thanking people for their patience. Yes the ride blocks traffic and runs the lights through Mission. I decided to time the major disruption. The horn to start the race is at 12:00 The 1st riders that didn't have to run the Mission light was at 12:15 and the traffic was pretty light. On the way back down state the only trash i saw that could be related to the ride was a disposable air horn. One more thing, it is really fun.
COMMENT 305047	2012-08-05 08:35 PM
So, let me see if I have this right... .... outside organizations can come in, pay money to whoever and shut down our roads for special events (Amgen Tour, etc). Locals can only be spectators. LOCALS want to have a special event and the cops refuse to participate unless we pay more money, fill out permits and all other many of hokey. Hundreds and hundreds of people, participating year after year and the cops say "there's nothing we can do". Uh huh. What the cops could do, in this instance is COOPERATE. They work for *US*.
COMMENT 305050	2012-08-05 08:38 PM
Its a shame about the obsession with alcohol... Fiesta would be a really wonderful event if it wasn't for all the drunks, which spoil it for the majority, and necessitate a huge police presence, along with an enormous expense to the city. Alcohol in excess, regardless of circumstance (not blaming Fiesta here), has the almost unique property - of turning even the finest example of humanity, into a shambling, drooling, abusive, incapable, microcephalic idiot.
COMMENT 305056	2012-08-05 08:56 PM
If more people were like me, these "events" wouldn't get so out of hand. I was at an intersection trying to cross state street. Finally, I just honked and hit the gas. The mob of drunken morons parted like the Red Sea as my 3 tons of American steel made the best argument for obeying traffic rules.
COMMENT 305039	2012-08-05 08:58 PM
I did it from the dolphin fountain all the way to the end. I would have been annoyed if I was in a car, for sure. Most car driver were vary helpful and many gave thumbs up, nonetheless. A few were truly angry and yelled/honked. Locals have to get permits for Solstice and the July 4 parade. Probably for lots of other festivals too. I wish there were a way to make this thing regular. It is an accident waiting to happen. But it is also amazingly fun. 1 hour from the dolphin fountain to Talevi's would do it. But so many intersections would have to be controlled that the cost would be astronomical.
COMMENT 305019P	2012-08-05 10:02 PM
Sadly, I saw a cyclist down near the Natural History Museum tonight - hope the person is ok now. Am glad the driver stopped.
COMMENT 305069	2012-08-06 06:11 AM
It is a fact that the majority of the riders drink heavily before the ride. It's a fun tradition. Just a matter of time time someone dies.
COMMENT 305079	2012-08-06 07:19 AM
How about if all the drunk drivers of cars decided that the group "drive-home" event all started at the same time. They ran lights, drank along the way, had close call accidents with bikes. Would this be un-enforce-able, too? Another event where a lot of people feel like they are involved in something. But they're really not. Drivers aim the iphone at the line so when the bikers crash into you as you cross an intersection on a green light the evidence is there.
COMMENT 305080	2012-08-06 07:22 AM
Hey unless you've done the "Fiesta Cruiser ride" do not say anything bad about it I have done it for over 10 years and I so look forward to going it is alot of fun! Plus where can you go and have heathly fun for FREE.There is every age there young and old and not everyone is drinking I didn't see anyone drinking on State street people actually come out of the stores to see this bike ride and take pictures!! And the bikes are awesome to look at it's a bike show at Goleta beach after.And I agree there is no litter after this ride not like the Fiesta parade with trash left by all the parade people. So until next year I am already counting the days until next years Fiesta ride! Keep riding all you cruiser people!!
COMMENT 305079	2012-08-06 08:29 AM
Me thinks 080 might still be a bit sauced. The punctuation is severely lacking intelligent life (I don't mind the occasional grammatical miss but this is a train wreck). A bit bossy, too. If these are your people...then have at those attempts to "count the days". What are you up to now? 7?
COMMENT 305080	2012-08-06 08:38 AM
Okay 079 not that it matters but I do not drink alcohol I was having fun not "sauced" you don't have to be "sauced" to have fun maybe next year give it a try!
COMMENT 305102	2012-08-06 08:48 AM
God forbid you get held up for all of 20 minutes on a Sunday afternoon. Cars do have events like this everyday, just get on any freeway in LA any day of the week. Ask them how good of a time they are having compared to the guys in the cruiser ride. I personally have a huge problem with cars creating traffic jams, it really hinders my ability to get anywhere. Please people, follow the rules and do the speed limit!
COMMENT 305104P	2012-08-06 08:51 AM
079: You may want to look up that "methinks" thing. Yes, it's one word. Here's an even better tip: Don't use it at all, even if correctly written. Sounds kind of lame, not ironic, and rather know-it-all scolding. The bikers I saw seemed fine, but, have to admit that I wasn't thrilled the year before last to be tied up in traffic on upper State due to this event. Better notification this time may have helped.
COMMENT 305079	2012-08-06 09:10 AM
Ah ha ha...it was a "know-it-all" remark! I'm off to the beach.
COMMENT 305112	2012-08-06 09:34 AM
Well I was lazy and didn't do the ride. I just had a few beers in my truck and took a nice slow drive to check out all the action. Good time.
COMMENT 305142	2012-08-06 10:32 AM
I guarantee anyone who participates in the cruiser ride next year will have the time of their life. I don't think there has been one person who didn't have a GREAT time on this ride. Even the most uptight person will smile ear to ear once they actually participate. Oh, and as for traffic on a Sunday...who has anywhere to be on Sunday? the only stores open are retail shops. And if you have anywhere to be you obviously shouldn't be near state st, it is always full of traffic, and tourists slowly crossing at the crosswalks.
COMMENT 305153	2012-08-06 11:00 AM
“Someone is going to get hurt,” she said. “It’s just a matter of time.” This is a complete lack of perspective. If 800 riders rode in the bike lane, I guarantee you that someone would be injured by a passenger door opening into the bike lane or a car turning right. People get hurt on the roads every day, and 99% of the time the fault is with a driver of an automobile.
COMMENT 305165	2012-08-06 11:32 AM
I used to think the bike ride was a fun event - many of my friends participate in the ride. However, Sunday afternoon as I attempted to cross State Street along with about a dozen other people including an elderly woman walking towards us, a group of bicyclists nearly ran us all down going through the red light towards the wharf. A few had open cans of beer and looked as if they could care less who they hit, or what laws they were breaking. This was not part of a large group that we would have noticed - it was a pack of less than 10 - so yes, everyone expected them to follow the laws - including the elderly woman they almost ran over. NOT COOL. I agree - accident waiting to happen. Seriously, the organizers have to realize that there is a point when something like this needs to be managed - but then that would require being responsible, which these people are proving not to be.
COMMENT 305176	2012-08-06 11:53 AM
I hate to burst anyone's bubble, but bicyclists have and will be arrested for DUI. That would be a real bummer for some of those cyclists. Oh, and if they hit a person, I hope they are carrying some good insurance as almost any accident injury can run into 1000's of $ these days.
COMMENT 305193	2012-08-06 12:39 PM
I saw the riders coming up Hollister and State... was glad to be driving towards SB. My experience watching was total disregard for any and all rules of the road. Cyclists weaving in and out of traffic and yelling... lots of whistles blowing (don't get it....) The other thing that baffles me is that I have lived here all of my life... since the 60's. Never heard about this "tradition" ever... hmm... Anyhoo... glad nobody got hurt... it's easy to see the potential for accidents...
COMMENT 305069	2012-08-06 03:06 PM
Why is it that this event can't follow the bike path?
COMMENT 305102	2012-08-06 03:19 PM
069, it does, once it hits Modoc.
COMMENT 305296	2012-08-06 07:57 PM
This is the best event that I have found in my 12 years in town. People of all ages and walks of life enjoying our town. What a day!!!
COMMENT 305019P	2012-08-06 09:53 PM
The riders were refreshingly lycra-free, too.
COMMENT 305039	2012-08-07 10:33 AM
The thing is: the cost of making this event official is so high that it will never happen. So it will linger in a sort of `flashmob' zone... if a serious injury happens the authorities will use that injury to shut it down. I didn't see anyone so drunk as to be a danger. But lots of careless biking behavior... mostly related to maintaining forward progress when jams (both cars & bikes) got going.
COMMENT 305581	2012-08-07 06:49 PM
Just another reason for me to leave town during Fiesta. Had two fun years during my early twenties,getting drunk downtown and being irresponsible. And then guess what? I grew up and decided to become a member of society!we have rules here, people. Get a permit and hire the cops for your bike melee. Thanks.

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