Pride Weekend Rides (Trans March, Dykes March, Pride (w/ Dykes on Bikes))

[Holden Karau]

Hi Wonderful Sparkling Pink Pandas,

We are in that time of pride month and all that entails. For the Sparkling Pink Pandas we're going to try and do a few rides around pride weekend its self. Also I know this is a lot of text but I'm super excited (and a little anxious tbh) so it's hard to be concise.

This year we (some how) are probably "organizing" or "failing to organize" the transmarch motorcycle/scooter contingent, which is only slightly scary.

Scooters/Motorcycles:

Have a scooter/motorcycle? Yay! Please remember to get your bike in good-ish shape for the ride if you can (fuel helps). Someone reminded me that scooters have oil in them somewhere, yours probably does too (hopefully). Also if your documents are in good order registering in advance helps us out.

Don't have a scooter but have a car license? Scoot! If you haven't signed up yet we have a coupon (I think it might still be valid) - PINKPANDA But do please remember to signup and make sure your phone is working with Scoot before hand. Some drivers licenses have challenges sometimes -- the support email is h...@scoot.co (the more lead time the easier to fix :)).

Pro-tip: pride weekend can be a busy time with Scoot, you may wish to hold onto your scooter for parts of the weekend in "hold" mode to ensure it's available (and I think there is a limited overnight hold mode which can be free but I'm fuzzy on the details).

Don't have a scooter but have a motorcycle license? You can rent traditional scooters/motorcycles as well (eagle rider, etc) -- you likely want to do this in advance in case they run out.

License

Want to get your license waiver? Check out https://motorcycleschool.com/sanfrancisco.html there is one scooter classes in June just before pride (you may want to schedule a DMV appointment to match if things work out :)).

Workday & decorating:

June 2nd @ the moose hoose @ 11:45am. We have some supplies.

SPP FB Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/630360530652524/

After we finish up the work we'll do a quick practice ride for good measure too.

Practice:

Please practice riding slow a bit before hand. For large parts of the "ride" we often end up having to effectively walk/ride and it's very different balance wise (and I know not how I normally ride). We've got a practice ride on the 8nth at 6pm from the 7-11 at 3400 mission st, and we can add some more practice rides if there is interest.

SPP FB Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/256144884930927/

Decorating:

Yay! Please do, and please do also check to make sure your decorations won't fail too badly while riding.

Patches:

While we don't really need patches per-se to ride this year, they help us find our crew together and look stylish. If you don't have a patch yet come talk to me and we will get you sorted. Pro-tip: is the idea of sewing leather no fun? Jean jackets/vests can be much easier to sew and you can throw it on over your other gear.

Friends riding on the back:

Yay! Super happy to have more people. Please only one rider on the back so as to keep the Dykes on Bikes crew happy. The red scoots probably shouldn't have extra riders on them from a safety / holden getting yelled at by Scoot point of view (and they gave us a coupon which was really nice so special desire to keep them happy).

Helmets:

The police look the other way at pride, but riding too/from please wear a helmet. You can decorate your helmet though if that's a concern :) For trans-march (if we rides with the march) we shouldn't assume the same flexibility for the other marches will necessarily be shown.

Ok and onto the rides! :)

Trans March: (22nd)

For trans-march we'll ride over to trans march together. I'm working on the details for this but it seems like we'll be organizing the motorcycle ride so for this I need as many folks as possible to provide license & insurance info.

Also as always trans march is looking for volunteers (you don't need to ride) - I'm out of town most of the week before so I can't do the safety training (and after doing that for a few years I want a break anyways) -- but if your looking to help out trans march get in touch with them about volunteering.

SPP FB Event Link: https://www.facebook.com/events/965547316952660/

Trans March Website: http://www.transmarch.org/

Dyke March: (23rd)

For the Dyke March, there is the Dykes on Bikes pre-march party @ El Rio (1pm) that we will head on over to. For those of us who only have our scooters for the weekend this is an opportunity to pre-register for the hectic Sunday morning and also help support Dykes on Bikes. Some of us normally get BBQ near by around noon. Once we've had a chance to hangout at El Rio for long enough we will all ride over to Mission Dolores where the march leaves from.

This is a great last minute chance to register in advance of pride if you are planning on riding on Sunday & also for us to have an early reminder discussion with the Dykes on Bikes about how legit the Sparkling Pink Pandas are.

SPP FB Event Link: https://www.facebook.com/events/212402882882729/

Pride Day: (24th)

For the pride parade its self things look the same as last year, but we've registered as a group and I'll go to at least one or two of the Dykes on Bikes meetings before pride (they are on Wednesdays at El Rio).

I'll be the RC for our group to help keep everyone riding together -- and also remind the pandas not to pull wheelies or drive into the crowd but I think we've got that covered :). Hopefully we can avoid being the "trouble makers" again (I think that might have been a joke?) :p

If you have your own scooter and know your license plate information in advance please register with the Dykes on Bikes in advance using the https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/d7496f_a6a512ce3f6a4fad9a77b41b622586dd.pdf registration form and remember to put down Sparkling Pink Pandas as your group/club name. If you haven't registered in advance bring $20 with you on the day of.

In past years we've shown up close to the last minute one at-a-time, but this year we've been asked to show up earlier as a group so we can be sure that we all get sent to the right group/place (in past years some of our members have been sent to other scooter groups or been sent to the independents due to communication issues).

If you can show up at 8:15am we'll have a place picked out near the parade to all meetup and drink coffee, fix last minute decorations, and then head over around 8:45am. I know this is super early - I'm sorry (I have to be there for 7am). Even if you don't show up at the same time as us all you should still be able to ride with us as a group, and we'll try and have some pandas volunteering in lineup to help resolve any communication issues.

(Related: if anyone knows a good place close to market/spear to do this please share :)).

Also, if your a makeup kind of person, you can totally do your makeup after your in the lineup -- which for me makes all the difference with when I show up :)

For our group area I'll try and have it marked with the banner that Coda put together for us (even though they didn't have the fonts she wanted). This year I'm hoping I don't forget it :p

On that note if the whole "8am" thing didn't sound that scary, maybe volunteering with Dykes on Bikes at 7am is up to your interest? You don't even need to be riding this pride (but you can be!).

SPP Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1287954228004022/

Dykes on Bikes Pride Registration / Rules / FAQ: https://www.dykesonbikes.org/sf-pride-parade (please read them).

Cheers,

Holden :)

P.S.

Please remember sunscreen, don't be like Holden and get your annual pride sun burn. The day star burns! :p

P.P.S.

Happy Pride & safe riding :)

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Twitter: https://twitter.com/holdenkarau