11.15.23 Thank you for subscribing to the Foco Bike Mob Newsletter and for being a part of this community. We will periodically send out updates to keep you informed on upcoming events and recaps of old events. Mission Statement: Foco Bike Mob is here to help make Fort Collins a more vibrant and inclusive place to live using the power of bicycles in community. |
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Third Annual Spooky Bike Night Recap |
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Our original plans of hosting the Third Annual Spooky Bike night on the 28th of October got thwarted with the oncoming of the first snow storm of the season, but it did not stop the ghouls from spookin! It was a tough call, but snow-checking the ride that day and keeping the dance party for that evening proved to be the right call. Our dear friends at The Atrium hosted us with yet another amazing late night dance party that was additionally good-cursed by the full moon and fresh beats that could raise the dead by DJ Specific Heat and DJ Snake Tits. (Check out DJ Specific Heat's Soundcloud here and Snake Tits' Soundcloud if you haven't already)! We decided to make a spontaneous decision to re-schedule the bike ride part of the event to Halloween evening, and we're so glad we did! That day was sunny, warm, and perfect for a pedalpocalypse cruise around Old Town. With the support of Mobb Mountain Distillers, Keepsake Images and Tandem Real Estate we can safely say that mischief has been managed! We met earlier than typical in order to take advantage of the sunshine and to have fun with a Red Carpet Halloween Costume Photoshoot (photography by Erica with Keepsake Images). The gusto of everyone's outfits was enough to stop your heart and a huge thank you to everyone for showing up, per usual, with an incredible spirit! |
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A special shoutout goes costume contest winner and first time ever Mobber, Jenna, rocking the "Just Murdered!" Jenna has only been in Fort Collins a few weeks, but saw a Bike Mob poster at The Alley Cat and decided that these might be the kinds of friends she might like to make - we hope she was right :) If you see her around, giver her a big hug and a warm welcome! After enjoying a bit a narcissism and delicious libations, the time to bless the rest of Fort Collins with our presence had come and the roll-out commenced! For years, the idea of having a live DJ, on a bike, on a Bike Mob ride has been alive, but the logistics of such a feat have been beyond our current grasp until now!... |
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Introducing for the first time ever, a sexy new DJ all the way from Cali, a sound wizard, a man who makes waves and drops people dead with his fire tracks, DLTN. With his powers and the help of his loving wife Leila, Bike Mob director Scott Bolte and FOCUS leader Sarah Lamb, the Spooky Wagon was constructed and the world was never the same. With three high powered speakers, one 80 lb deep cycle battery, four LED flood lights, a laser machine, a commercial grade bubble maker, pro DJ decks and two miscreants spawn from hell itself, the Spooky Wagon led the charge through town and what happened next we couldn't have planned for. |
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Maybe it's a known fact that all of Mountain Avenue is lined with thousands of trick-or-treaters and some of the spookiest haunted houses, but we had no idea. Abandoning our original route, the new plan was to procession ourselves solely on Mountain Ave to join in on the fun that was already going on and bring a bit of our own flare to the party as well! Even though our original numbers may have been less than usual years due to the last minute re-schedule, this may have been one of the most highlighted Bike Mob nights to date. As we cruised down Mountain, kids and parents alike joined in on our howls and shook what Satan gave them as the deep tracks of DLTN rocked the very souls out of their bones. We handed out candy to kids brave enough to approach and got to share in on a special moment with anyone within earshot of the S. Wagon. We found our half way mark at the entrance to the Gateway Cemetery where we braked for pop-up dance party in an attempt to reanimate any deceased who may still have a booty to shake. With the help of chain saw welding psychos, poi spinning Fauns, corpse brides and bubbles, it's a sure thing that we succeeded. Photo: Otis as "Unicycle Killer" |
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We rounded the turn, repeating the squawking and celebrating past the munchkin goons and returned back to Mobb Mountain to end the night. It came unexpectedly, but this Spooky Night may have changed the face of the Fort Collins Halloween forever... |
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Yes, we're already planning Spooky Night 2024 and here's the skinny so far One of the most fun parts of the Bike Nights are being able to interact with the bystanders along the way, and Spooky Night 23, by far, had the most number of spirited people to play with. With that in mind and looking forward into 2024, we're rebranding, and going bigger and better with an attempt to establish The Fort Collins Annual Spooky Bike Parade! Our goal is to cement an annual Halloween Bike Parade into the culture of Fort Collins. We will be working with the City of Fort Collins and other local businesses to make sure that this vision comes to life with all the vigor, fun, consideration and safety that an event like this needs. Imagine 500-1000 parade participants all dressed up, riding up and down Mountain Avenue brining music, lights, treats, and that classic lively-deadness that a Halloween parade should have! We are looking into renting the back parking lot at Mobb Mountain and bringing in a stage with live music for the pre-and post ride time. We know there's a mighty dress-up bike parade spirit alive in Fort Collins, as demonstrated yearly with Tour de Fat; why not keep that same fun alive with a Halloween ride? We can't think of a reason why not either. If you like this idea and have capacity to help, please reach out to Scott Bolte to join the planning committee - this will take many severed hands to pull off. |
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Lets get the sad news over with first... The Spooky Bike Night typically marks the end our our rides for the year and until the weather turns warm again it can be difficult to plan events. BUT, with the right combination of community interest, bandwidth of our leadership and good weather, there is the chance at rallying hard for a winter ride (or multiple). In the past we have done a Resolution Ride, Krampus ride, Friendsgiving ride, Winter Disco Rave ride and more. |
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Even the idea of doing "Flash Mob, Mob Rides" has been kicked around. These would be lower-production rides, announced 24 hours in advanced through the newsletter and IG only. Want to lead a "Flash Mob, Mob Ride?" Email Scott Bolte to tell him so. This is also a nice time to work on our production since so much energy won't be spent on organizing and facilitating events. Looking forward into our future, it would be awesome to start to organize more events with activist agendas that work with existing local organizations to push the "inclusion agenda" in Fort Collins. We would also love to get more swag out there, specifically t-shirts. We need help designing graphics and a source for local shirts. Do you know of any or have skills that you would be happy to share? We could use a fresh logo. The canva, glow font is cool, but lets be honest, we all recognize it in a million other images and we're worthy of more. Our general brand aesthetic is something like family-friendly-punk-rock. Getting inspired? Send us a message if you can collaborate! |
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Our next "official event" is likely to be in April or May when it warms back up and likely to kick of with our annual "Tour de Pancakes" ride; a family friendly Sunday afternoon ride with waffles and bike powered hay rides. That said, we constantly choose chaos, so hold onto your butts and find out! The fun part is, you and anyone in this community has a say in what we do next and if you're feeling inspired to run an event or drop a great idea, you're always welcome to do so! |
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Also, keep an eye out for Fellowship of the Mob Meetings. These are times to get together and talk about the future of the Mob, discuss upcoming events and just hang out with each other. Sometimes we have specific goals in mind, other times we just miss each other. We'll blast out these events through all the usual channels and are open to anyone who wants to connect! |
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Thank You to the Mobbers that Keep Us Rolling |
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Scott Bolte, Tandem Real Estate Scott Bolte is an original founding member of the Mob and our current creative director. His work as a real estate agent with Tandem RE in Fort Collins directly supports the continuation of everything Bike Mob. | | |
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Mobb Mountain Distillers Courtney & Danny from Mobb have been with us since the very beginning offering up their space for our pre-ride-rallies. They hold a special place in Fort Collins amongst the locals and are a truly locally owned business that has an amazing product AND holds a safe space for kind people to be themselves. | | |
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Ellie aka Specific Heat You know what's even cooler than a DJ who can reach directly into your ear holes and take control of your entire body with the best takes of the fattest tracks? A DJ who is also kind, and smart and going places! That's Ellie. While finishing up her PhD in soil science, Ellie has also been our premier DJ and Mob support since 2019. If you know Ellie, you know that your life is better because of it. Thank you Ellie, you are loved in this community beyond what you may even know. | | |
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Erica & Keepsake Images PhotoshootErica is a northern Colorado photographer passionate about music, nature, and community. Erica specializes in event photography, aiming to capture authenticity and joy through beautiful and dramatic images. She hosted the Spooky Bike Night Red Carpet Photoshoot and captured some aMaZiNG shots. Check em out! IG: @keepsake.images.Foco IG: @ericas_eye IG: @chelseabethmusic keepsake.images.foco@gmail.com | | |
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The Atrium Words can't describe how important The Atrium is to Fort Collins. It is a haven, a place of celebration and a stronghold for this expressive community and we love it here! Hunter and Conner, founders & owners first opened their doors to us in 2018 and we're rocking it together still. This is a place for you to feel safe being whomever you feel like expressing so long as you are good to others. A true watering hole and church for the creative, vivid and wild at heart. <3 | | |
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Yes, we coordinate bike events, but that’s not what is all about… Our goal is to do our part in making Fort Collins the most prominent cycling city in the US by holding space for people have fun riding bikes with one another. The more people on bikes, the more influential our agenda becomes. Additionally, we strive to represent Fort Collins’ counterculture, disco-punk rock, artsy, responsibly-irresponsible community. We are the young-at-heart working professionals of this community who have our acts together, yet still know how to have a good time. You’ll find us at the cross-roads of activism and glitter. On the surface it might all just seem like a good time, but take a moment to read through our core principals and you’ll get a much better idea of what this is all about. This is where the juice is, so give us a squeeze. Bike Mob Core Principals Radical Inclusion Anyone and everyone who wants to be a part of the MOB, can and should be. We are loud and proud about supporting humans of all backgrounds, diversities, sexual identity / orientation, gender, and political views, As long as that means being good to one another. This is the vision we have for all of Fort Collins. Self-Expression Let your freak flag fly baybeee! Your uniqueness is a gift to everyone around you so don’t be shy. However you feel like expressing yourself, that is how we want you. This isn’t only acceptable, it's celebrated. You want to wear a dress, fishnets and stilettos, cool, do it. Love polos? Whatever, who cares, you're gorgeous. This applies to you, your bike, your dance moves, and how you move through your daily life. We’ve got plenty of status-quo-conforming “normies.” Please. Be. You. Participation YOU are this community. Show up! Seriously, we want and need creative individuals to share what they have. FOCO Bike Mob is a conglomeration of inspiring humans who believe in more than what currently is. We all have something to share and your flavor is important. If all you can contribute is yourself then we are so grateful you made it! If you have more to give, then literally, the sky’s the limit. From welders, to painters, graphics designers, speakers, djs, local businesses and organizations, etc, we want you to come out and play. Activism
Fort Collins is our home and we love it here. That said, we can be so much more. Bikes are an amazing tool and heaps of fun, but beyond that, they’re so popular with us because they’re a means to a richer and more meaningful community experience. We also use this platform to advocate for other groups that are working to protect and enrich the lives of others. Foco Bike Mob supports LGBTQ+ rights, universal access to reproductive healthcare, inclusivity of people of all identifications and backgrounds, and gender equality. We will do whatever we can to help support other groups who stand up for these things as well.
Bikes are just our vehicle to a healthier community. |
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If you made it this far, thank you so much for your interest and support in this project. It means so much to so many and I am committed to holding this space for as long as I can for whomever wants to play with us. Reach out for any reason. With gratitude, Scott Bolte |
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