Cyclists of the night unite at Lansing Bike Party’s full moon ride

Full Moon Ride

Friday, 8:30 p.m.

Meet up at Lansing Bike Co-op

1715 E. Kalamazoo St., Lansing

Click here for event page

Want to see the capital after dark from a two wheeled point of view? Moonlight above and multicolored LED bike lights below, howl with the pack as they parade through Lansing’s streets Friday night.

With an initial meeting at the Lansing Bike Co-op, Lansing Bike Party founder Tim Potter said participation is simple. “Bring a bike and don’t forget to check your air pressure,” said Potter. “We encourage people to wear helmets but they aren’t required.”

Going at a slow and social pace, Potter said the ride will focus on enjoying the sights of Lansing by night. “It is meant to explore the area, and the full moon is the attention point. We go to a place typically where we could get a good view; a place where we see the city lights and the full moon,” said Potter.

There will be music playing on some bikes and a whole lot of lights, said Potter. “We definitely light up — a lot more people are using lights on their bikes. They see what other people are doing and come back with even more lights.”

At its inception, what’s now known as the Lansing Bike Party had a different purpose.

Potter said the group started in 2009 in response to a local writer that said bikes had no place in the street. “We started in the spring of 2009, and we thought we needed to make a statement, because we believe bikes should be in the road. It grew into a weekly ride, and became more like a party than a protest.”

Lansing is very supportive of this event, said Potter.

“We have a good co-op and support in the community. We've got a lot of people clapping and cheering. We try to bring the good cheer of this to pockets that are kind of depressed and not the nicest parts of town. That's one of our unwritten kind of missions.”

For people just getting into bikes, Potter said that riding in the street can be viewed as risky, but shouldn’t be seen this way.

“For people that are not into bikes yet, they are surprised that we ride in the street and everyone gets along just fine,” said Potter. “Everyone thinks that it is safer on the sidewalk, but that’s not the case. People get involved in more crashes on the sidewalk.”

Events like this help riders see the city they live in from a different perspective, said Potter.

“We open up the city from exploring the streets and learn more about the region.”