Overview:
For 34 years, the Boulder Cruiser Ride has brought neighbors together every week to ride around the city on bikes dressed in costumes.
Every Thursday night from April to October, Boulder’s Green Leaf Park serves as the starting point for one of the city’s longest-running moving block parties, the Boulder Cruiser Ride.
The weekly event, also known as the Happy Thursday Cruiser Ride, has brought together costumed cyclists since 1992. There is no registration, fee or official membership. Riders show up, follow the weekly theme and roll out at 7:30 p.m.
Harsha, who moved to Boulder from India in 2021, said he attends the ride at least once a month for the “community, fun, dancing, [the fact] it’s free and the smiling faces.”
“I think these are the cool kids,” he said.
On Aug. 20, the theme was science fiction and featured people wearing tin foil hats, alien-themed pajamas, face glitter and metallic makeup. The theme for this week, Aug. 27, is Neon Rave. The full list of upcoming themes, including Spies, The Matrix vs. Wizards and 70s Disco, can be found on the group’s social media.
At first glance, the ride can look chaotic: hundreds of cyclists, music, costumes and spectators waving from porches as the group winds through Boulder. But for many riders, that shared absurdity is the point.
Gabika Watson, a 24-year-old CU Boulder graduate student, had attended her first Cruiser Ride two weeks earlier and returned for the same reason many people do. She wanted to make friends outside of campus.
“It was super fun,” Gabika said. “Everyone was really nice, in a good mood, and I’m back to try and make more friends, meet new people and have a better sense of the community in Boulder.”
Longtime riders say the ride’s mix of costumes, bikes and friendliness has stayed remarkably consistent.
Goldilocks, whose real name is Michelle Renee and who got her nickname at Burning Man, joined the ride in 2013 after moving from Wisconsin. The idea of dressing up for a weekly bike ride seemed strange at first, but she decided to go along with it.
“Coming from Wisconsin, I’m like, ‘Dressing up?’ It’s weird, right?” Goldilocks said. “But I was like, I’m gonna say yes to that — and boy am I glad I did.”
The Cruiser Ride has also become part of the weekly rhythm for neighbors who do not ride. Kevin, who has lived in Boulder for seven years, lives near Green Leaf Park and makes a point of stepping onto his porch when riders pass.
“Every time I’m here, and every time they go by, I come out and wave,” Kevin said. “I love it when they come by.”
For him, the ride reflects the version of Boulder he wants to see continue.
“I still love the town because of stuff like this,” Kevin said. “Keep Boulder weird.”
The event began in 1992 through the owner of Sports Garage, a Boulder bike shop that has since closed.
More than 30 years later, the ride is still run by the community, for the community. That is part of what stood out to Trent Siggard, a 32-year-old from Utah who joined the ride while in the middle of a cross-country move to Virginia.
“Boulder bike night has a special feel,” Siggard said. “I’ve done group cruiser rides in Zurich, Switzerland; Santa Barbara; and Salt Lake City, and this has a special vibe to it. Kind of [Burning Man]-esque.”
The Boulder Cruiser Ride attracts between 50 and 200 cyclists each week. A ride of that size raises safety concerns, particularly in light of the tragic death of a 24-year-old Boulderite in a different group bicycle ride earlier this summer, but riders say safety is ingrained in their culture.
Volunteers help direct cyclists through intersections, and participants said the group tries to keep people moving together and aware of traffic. Siggard said that compared with other rides he has joined, Boulder’s felt organized.
“People are following red lights and people are directing you,” Siggard said. “There’s a guy with a huge light-up saber telling people to ‘Go, go, go.’ So there’s people kind of volunteering themselves to make it safer.”
Gouda, another longtime rider, put it more simply.
“Safety rules,” Gouda said. “Safety first, every week.”
Gabika said anyone curious about the ride should try it at least once.
“Absolutely try it — do it,” she said. “You don’t know what’s going to happen, but it could be a fun time. There are always a bunch of new people there. It’s always someone else’s first time there, and people are stoked to welcome you.”
Harsha agreed.
“Give it a shot,” he said. “It might not be your thing, but give it a shot.”
