Some friends of the Bell True Fit blog recently told us of how much fun they had on a Friday night bike party. Yes, a bike party. Now, are you wondering “what is a bike party, exactly”? So were some of us when we first heard of it. Basically, it’s a group of bicycle riding enthusiasts who get together once a month for a themed bicycle ride. Simple as that. What makes a “bike party” different from a bike ride? For starters, anyone and everyone is welcome. There are no age limits, no timed qualifications, and no expectations. Well, the only expectations are that all participants obey traffic laws and look out for one another. Interestingly enough, based on some quick and dirty research, it seems that these “bike parties” mostly take place in the San Francisco Bay Area. While there are some smaller, more intimate events in cities and towns across the U.S., based on our research it’s San Jose, CA, that takes the cake.

• One-half political party, one-half street party, San Jose Bike Party is all about building community through bicycling. Made up of all types of bicyclists and human-powered transportation advocates, San Jose Bike Party rides include 2,000 – 4,000 riders on a given night! They ride anywhere from 15-30 miles throughout the South Bay from 8pm – midnight on the third Friday of every month. Follow them on twitter @SJBikeParty and find out how to get involved at SJBikeParty.org.
• Just a few miles north-east of San Jose, the East Bay Bike Party is a mobile party for riders of all ages, experience levels, and bike types, to meet, ride, and play together in the streets on the second Friday of the month. “Inspired by the massive number of people who go to the San Jose Bike Party every month, we decided that it was high time the East Bay (the best part of the San Francisco Bay, in our humble opinion) had its own bike part,” their website says.  In July the theme was Space Party, where they encouraged people to come dressed as an alien or an astronaut, sci fi character or planetary body, constellation or Tribble infestation…”  For August the theme is Superhero Ride, and they are expecting to see, “a lot of capes, masks and tights.” We, of course, like their enthusiasm for helmets: “And don’t forget, a truly super hero always wears a helmet and rides with bike lights.” Follow them on twitter @ebbikeparty and stay in the loop at EastBayBikeParty.wordpress.com

• The Midnight Ridazz is a group of bicycle enthusiasts who have been riding together on the second Friday of every month since February of 2004. The rides quickly grew from 8 people to current ride counts of 1300+ “Ridazz,” and they’ve gone nationwide! Their website, MidnightRidazz.com was created to help empower YOU to create your own rides, routes and “good timezz.” Start yourself on a recurring ride or throw a one timer in the daylight … it’s your ride. They offer a five step outline of how to create a ride, as well as some basic “rulezz” that will help anyone organize their own bike party. To find out more about routes, rules, and already scheduled upcoming rides, check out MidnightRidazz.com.
• Want to spice up your kid’s upcoming birthday party? Consider throwing your own bike party! Over at Disney’s Family Fun website, they offer some great suggestions for throwing a fun birthday bike party. “Invite a bunch of pals to bring their cycles, then turn your driveway (or perhaps a nearby school blacktop) into party central. Set up a station where kids can soup up their rides with homemade number plates, noisemakers, and handle-bar decorations. Next, turn them loose on an obstacle course that tests their skills — and lets them be silly too. Add a spoke-tacular cake, prize ribbons, and take-home goody bags that make everyone feel like a champ, and you’ve got the coolest party on two wheels.” (FamilyFun.Go.com)
• The Bicycle Music Festival is an all day, mobile, community music festival – completely bike-powered! A 501(c)3 project of the San Francisco Parks Trust www.sfpt.org, part of the mission of the Bicycle Music Festival is to, “promote sustainable culture in general by physically engaging and immersing our community in the magic of bike culture, and cultivating and nurturing a network of local sustainable musicians, through our free, community participatory, bicycle-based music events.” The Bicycle Music Festival features a 2000 watt pedal-powered PA system, as many as 15 bands, multiple festival stops, outrageous Critical Mass-style bicycle party caravans between festival stops, and zero use of cars or trucks. This year’s event takes place from Noon – 10pm PT on July 31 in San Francisco.  Follow them on twitter @bikemusicfest and visit BicycleMusicFestival.com for more information or to get involved.

As far as we could tell, there aren’t any “bike party” events outside of California … but we could be totally wrong! Do you know of a bike party that we left off today’s Fast Facts Friday list? Are you planning a bike party in your community? If so, leave a comment below or let us know on twitter @BellTrueFit.

Skateboarders and gamers rejoice! Bell True Fit and Activision are announcing the third and final video game/helmet contest giveaway! Today through Monday, February 22, 2010 we’re offering you the chance for you to win a Bell Hawk helmet and Tony Hawk RIDE for X-Box 360.

On February 1^st we announced the first of three contest giveaways, each for the chance to win a Bell Hawk skateboard/BMX helmet and, the latest and greatest skateboarding video game, Tony Hawk: RIDE. At the end of the first week we gave away a helmet and RIDE for X-Box 360. Last week we offered the chance to win a helmet and RIDE for Nintendo Wii.

Everyone’s participation in the first two contests has sent thousands of people to our blog, and helped us grow our twitter following exponentially. Thank you all very much for your participation.

Today we are happy to announce the winner of last week’s contest: Congratulations @davesniadak of Eagan, Minnesota! You are the lucky recipient of a shiny new Bell Hawk skateboard helmet and Tony Hawk: RIDE for Wii.

With February more than half way over and with two contests in the books, we still have one more helmet/game combo to giveaway …

For the next seven days we’re giving you the chance to win Activision’s Tony Hawk: Ride for X-Box 360 and a Bell Hawk Helmet! A value of more than $160! This is your last chance to win an X-Box version of Tony Hawk: Ride and a Bell helmet. 

Skaters will enjoy using the game’s unique skateboard peripheral (shown above) which is covered with motion sensors to simulate riding an actual skateboard.Similar to using the balance board in Wii Fit or Shaun White Snowboarding, the peripheral means you’ll have to ollie through challenges, pump for speed in the half pipe, and balance to accomplish tricks. There’s no sitting your way through levels in RIDE.

Entering the contest is easy: All you have to do is follow (@BellTrueFit) on twitter and retweet (RT) this link: http://bit.ly/cC37op

We’ll announce a winner on Tuesday, February 23, 2010.

Thanks to everyone who participated in the first and second rounds, and good luck in the third and final round! Tweet ya later!

In partnership with Activision, on February 1st Bell Sports kicked off the first of three contest giveaways: for a week we asked you to engage us on twitter (@BellTrueFit) for your chance to win a Bell Hawk helmet and the video game Tony Hawk: Ride for X-Box 360.

After sifting through the twitter messages, we’ve randomly selected a winner: Congratulations to @MomMostTravelled! You are the winner of a Bell Hawk skateboarding/BMX helmet and an X-Box 360 version of Tony Hawk: Ride!

The Bell True Fit sweepstakes continue this week and for the next seven days we’re giving you the chance to win Activision’s Tony Hawk: Ride for Nintendo Wii and a Bell Hawk Helmet! A value of more than $160!

Like X-Box 360, the Wii version of Tony Hawk: RIDE uses a skateboard peripheral (shown below) covered with motion sensors to simulate riding an actual skateboard in the game. Similar to using the balance board in Wii Fit or Shaun White Snowboarding you’ll be on your feet grinding and shredding your way through the game. No sore thumbs!

Entering the contest is easy: All you have to do is follow (@BellTrueFit) on twitter and retweet (RT) this link: http://bit.ly/abqqFR

We’re excited to be offering you a chance to win a Wii version of Tony Hawk: Ride, and remember that we’ll be giving you another chance to win an X-Box 360 version next week!

Thanks to everyone who participated in the first round, and good luck in the second round!

Skateboarding and video games go back to the late 1980’s when relatively primitive, yet vastly popular, games for the Atari and Nintendo game consoles were introduced. California Games, Skate or Die!, and Skate Boardin’ all debuted in 1987 to great acclaim and positive reviews. While these were quite popular, none of these were the first skateboarding video game. This title belongs to 720°: The Ultimate Aerial Experience, which debuted in 1986.

720° is an arcade game by Atari Games, notable in that it is the first extreme sports video game, and it has a unique timed structure that requires the player to score points in order to keep the game going. 720° has one button and the joystick only spins in a circle. A fun and challenging game (even today) no doubt, but primitive when compared to all the video games Tony Hawk has put his name on in the two decades since 1990.

As we briefly discussed in a recent Fact Facts Friday post, the latest and most interactive skateboarding video game ever is Activision’s Tony Hawk: RIDE, which came out in November 2009.

In the game, the player uses a skateboard peripheral to simulate the riding of an actual skateboard in the game. So… STEP ON THE BOARD AND RIDE! 

Tony Hawk: RIDE lets anyone experience the thrill of skateboarding thanks to its new revolutionary motion sensing skateboard controller (above).  Give your thumbs a rest and discover why RIDING is the new way to play!  Be sure to check out BELL PRO Tony Hawk and the sweet Bell Helmets and Gear in the skate shop. 

Tony Hawk: RIDE is available on Nintendo Wii, PS3, and X-Box 360.

And in case you didn’t know, Bell offers helmets specifically designed for skateboarding: such as the Bell  Hawk.  

In celebration of Bell’s presence in this revolutionary game, we are giving away three copies of it along with three Bell Hawk helmets!

We have two X-Box 360 versions of the game and one Wii version, and we’re going to give away one package (which includes a game and helmet) per week for the next three weeks, starting with an X-Box 360 version.

Today through Sunday, Fedbruary 7, 2010 all you have to do is log into your twitter account and retweet (RT) the following message to be entered into a drawing for a chance to win:

“Win Activision’s Tony Hawk: Ride for Xbox AND a Bell Hawk Skateboard Helmet! Visit http://bit.ly/9FqEaT & RT to enter”

The winner will be announced on twitter and the BellTrueFit community site on Monday, February 8, 2010.

We’ll be running a contest to win the Wii version of the game (and a helmet) next week, and in two weeks well be running a contest to win another X-Box 360 version (and a helmet).

Again, for this week’s contest all you have to do is retweet this message:

“Win Activision’s Tony Hawk: Ride for Xbox AND a Bell Hawk Skateboard Helmet! Visit http://bit.ly/9FqEaT & RT to enter”

Good luck! See you on the Backside!