At first the idea was to have a bike gang called “Gummibearkin Fire and Ice.“ The gang promptly changed its philosophy of exclusivity to encourage more people to come out and ride. People of all ages started riding (they’ve had 12 year old girls ride with them). The bike ride is a non-competitive leisurely ride, and everyone of all ages and abilities is welcome to participate.
“When people are injured or unable to ride a bicycle, we hire a Rickshaw for them to ride in so they can still ‘ride’ with us…and the rickshaws have great sound systems for pumping the jams while riding,“ says Bike First Friday organizer Victor Lytvinenko. “On occasion we have an impromptu dance party on the street before heading to the next gallery.“
After a winter hiatus, the Raleigh First Friday bicycle crew is reinstituting the monthly downtown gallery rides this Friday, March 7th.
Bike First Friday meets at the N.C. State bell tower at 7 p.m. on the first Friday of every month and they ride together from gallery to gallery. The route changes every month according to where the best shows are, but usually includes galleries on Glenwood South, the warehouse district (design box), downtown (morning times, fish market), and Blount street (artspace and lump)…sometimes over to seaboard as well. Since many of the galleries are spread out around downtown, biking as a group is a quick and fun way to explore the downtown scene.
“We do it because it makes sense, we like to ride, it is fun, it is free, we can have a few beers, and to raise awareness in Raleigh to the biking community,“ says Lytvinenko.
If you happen to see an arrangement of various-colored bikes slung up on trees and poles it’s probably Bike First Friday. The shortage of bike racks downtown provides for an inevitable undertaking of bike-locking ingenuity.
If you’re interested in biking around downtown during Raleigh’s First Friday gallery openings, feel free to join in. Riders meet at the N.C. State bell tower at 7 p.m. on the first Friday of the month.
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