Just Cruisin'

Davis has a lot to offer to the bicycle enthusiast, but something was missing. That's why Rainbow Vogt started up the Davis Cruisers, a loose group of bike and art enthusiasts who ride through Davis together, listening to music that plays from their bikes.

"Ideally, the way it works is the sound systems are coordinated so we're all hearing the same thing," Vogt said. "I realized my dream was to ride bikes. and listen to music at the same time. That's how the rides were inspired."

The first ride took place on,Aug. 1. Called the New Moon ride, it had eight people with two sound systems and wound up At the N street Co-ops to take in an evening of music with Nancy Cassidy, a gold record performer.

"Our goal was to incorporate arts and culture into the ride," Vogt said. "People came and it happened; that alone made it great in my book."

Vogt hopes to end most of the rides at either a live music show or some sort of art exhibit, she said.

She came up with the idea for Davis Cruisers after living in San Francisco, where she met Paul Freedman [a.k.a. Fossil Fool, founder of Rock the Bike], who designs customized music systems for bikes and leads the San Francisco Cruisers. Vogt, who went to graduate school at UC Davis returned and missed the rides with Freedman.

"I think the existing bike culture here -- there very much is already one -- they're more used to the Critical Mass format," Vogt said. "This is something kind of different. It's slower, there's more unity, so I think it might take a little while to get people into that rhythm."

Although the Davis Cruisers don't have Freedman-designed sound systems for their bikes, they made do. "One had this really neat speaker case, it almost looks like a suitcase; that (a rider) hooked up to his iPod," Vogt said. "Mine was a little more old-school. I was riding a big trike with a basket on the back and an old-school boombox was mounted on the back: It worked well on the bumpy roads."

Everyone is invited on the rides, and not everyone needs sound systems. The goal is to coordinate music so everyone is listening to the same things on their casual ride around Davis' bike roads and paths, but of course people are welcome to bring their own music, too. People are also encouraged to bring their unusual bikes and wear whatever they please.
 
"The idea is to be inventive and creative, to progress bicycle culture as much as possible so people see you don't have to be decked out in your spandex and your bright colors; you can come and go at any speed -- preferably slowly."

But the Cruisers aren't only about the pleasures of music and a leisurely bike ride. Vogt is also trying to get people together to help tranport equipment by bike for TREE Davis.

"We can transport the shovels from planting to planting and help them reduce the use of fossil fuels," she said. "Like I said, it's happening, and that's all I was hoping for."