Photos and story
Yvette Hammond
September 19th, marked the final Crank mob ride of the year, as what used to be a monthly celebration of tire infused mayhem, will now be held on a yearly basis. Why would such an awesome gathering of bicycle and party enthusiasts suddenly limit it's takeover of the LA city streets to an annual shindig? Let's just say the cops helped that decision making process along. The beer swilling, techno dancing, wheely popping, all around raucous causing gang of bike riders will now have to channel all that energy elsewhere.
The evening started out in Pan Pacific park with about a thousand people ( many in costume) having a gay ol time showing of their new wheels, doing bike tricks, and dancing.
We then stopped Downtown, had some tacos, did some bike tricks, and did a little dancing. There was the equivalent of a small county fair complete with a bike pulled vegetarian taco mini-stand, and a guy dressed as Pikachu making cheese burgers. The motto of the group? Leave no trace! Aside from chalk scribbles on the concrete, one would never guess that there had been a thousand plus people having an outdoor rager only moments before. Just when we thought we cleared away the last vestiges of the party, 2 Asian ladies with large bags and smiles from ear to ear appeared out of nowhere and collected the last of the bottles and cans.
The evening ended at a warehouse party somewhere in the depths of warehouse city with people showing off their new bruises, doing bike tricks, and dancing. An all around success, which makes me sad to say good-bye ( for now) to a crew of amazing people who just like to ride bikes, pick up after themselves, and have a good time.
If you are interested in some of the smaller rides that happen around town, check out: