999
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the 999? It’s an inclusive, all-welcoming social ride that happens every Thursday: all year long, weather be damned. Where does it meet up? It meets up at 900 E & 900 S at 9pm, generally the ride starts between 9:30-10pm. Who is the ride for? Everyone, period. Regardless of skill level, style of bike. This is a slow cas
ual social ride. This is a “no-drop” ride, which means we won't leave anyone that doesn't want to get left behind. Who is in charge? Who is responsible for the ride? This is a leaderless ride (no one person is in-charge overall for the ride or plans the route). There are generally regulars on the ride that set the pace and help plan out the upcoming stop or next several stops on a given evening. Everyone is responsible for themselves, responsible for their own personal safety and for abiding by the law. Act accordingly and at your own risk. What are the rules of the ride? There are no formal rules, only a couple guidelines. We’re not much for rules or authority. Don’t be a dick
Leave no trace
Be responsible for yourself
Helmets, lights, and situational awareness are important
Where are we going? Are we going back downtown? The whole city is our playground. We typically venture outward from downtown/9th&9th to the West Side (Glendale, Rose Park), North (Marmalade, Capitol), South (Sugarhouse, South SLC), and less often East (U of U, Foothill/East Bench). Sit back and enjoy the ride! Don’t worry so much about where we are going. We will certainly stop at some convenience stores and make social stops, sooner or later. The regulars often have an intended route and last stop (although things often change on the fly). Inevitably, we will finish downtown, as the majority of us live there. Why do we have to keep moving from stop to stop, can’t we stay here longer? Why can’t we go to (insert stop) more often? We move often as not to overstay our welcome and bring trouble to the ride (5-0, security, residents). And this is, after all, a ride and not a "sit around." 😉
Can I help the ride or have more influence on the ride? Yes, become a regular. Come often and get to know people. Learn how to cork traffic and volunteer to do so. Over time, people will trust your opinion and take cues/suggestions as to where to go. This doesn’t happen in just one night. How do I find the ride after its left? The best way is to show up on time. Calling/texting someone on the ride does not work well as biking and phone use is dangerous, additionally it’s easy to get caught up in the ride and forget about ones phone. We’ve had some luck with using the Glympse app. You can find the ride by either sharing a tag (999SLC) of your location or going to http://glympse.com/!999SLC if others are sharing the tag. Note: For this to work we need people to share their location. Instructions (for android but I assume similar to iOS): Open Glympse app, click on menu in upper left corner, click “Share Location”, click “Glympse Tag”, type 999SLC (note: tags include the !), click done, set share timer, click send in the upper right corner, you’re done. All those sharing the tag can view others sharing on the map. Why do we keep stopping for traffic, for traffic lights? Group safety and it’s the law. We don’t want anyone to get hurt, let alone be responsible for leading people through an intersection only to get into an accident. We can safely move through intersections if we have enough volunteer corkers, we’ve done so often in the past but the practice has fallen out recently. Resources
Safely Crossing Railroad Tracks (https://bikevote.org/2015/07/03/railroad-tracks-need-to-be-crossed-at-right-angles/)
SLC Bicycle Collective - Buy bikes, fix bikes, volunteer to help your community (https://www.bicyclecollective.org/)
SLCo Bicycle Ambassador Program (http://slco.org/active-transportation/bicycle-ambassador-program/)
Bike SLC (http://www.bikeslc.com/)
Sheldon Brown's Bike Resources (http://www.sheldonbrown.com/beginners.html)
