Hi y'all,
I've been meaning to come to the playa for several years, but this is the first in which I can actually get away from work. So playa here I come!
There seems to be almost unanimous consensus that a bicycle is a necessity, though I have also read one dissenting opinion, that bicycling removes one into a more personal space and becomes a barrier to interaction.
So, two questions:
How large, really, is the playa? I walk a lot every day, and have no fear of the exercise.
Is a bicycle, really, a sine qua non for Burning Man?
Thanks
are bikes really really necessary
I imagine the responses to this are gonna run across the spectrum.Is a bicycle, really, a sine qua non for Burning Man?
No, bicycles aren't a necessity. LOTS of people for whatever reason make the trip sans a bike. Having said I think bikes are a good idea if your intent is to see as much of BRC as possible.
I'll let others give the actual distances, but here's the short answer. No, you do not need a bike to enjoy BM. One of the greatest joys/adventures you can have at BM is to just walk slowly and interact, at least in some small way, with everyone/everything you encounter...
But here's the problem: you live at Point A and you find yourself hanging around Point B. You may be doing lots and lots of A to B, B to A, etc..
But here's the problem: you live at Point A and you find yourself hanging around Point B. You may be doing lots and lots of A to B, B to A, etc..
You should bring a bike regardless. You can always choose to spend a day, an evening or an hour walking. But if you don't have a bike, then you don't even have the option. Even if you have one, it's great to spend a night or part of a night walking, especially cause you can hitch rides in art cars.
A lot of cool, and very different stuff happens waaaaaay out on the deep playa and, yeah, you could walk there, probably in about 1/2 hour from the farthest parts of the city, but then once out there, you couldn't easily go to other deep playa stuff, or <<<GET YOURSELF QUICKLY TO SOME SHADE, WATER, PLACE TO SIT>>>.
Bring one, you'll regret it if you don't.
A lot of cool, and very different stuff happens waaaaaay out on the deep playa and, yeah, you could walk there, probably in about 1/2 hour from the farthest parts of the city, but then once out there, you couldn't easily go to other deep playa stuff, or <<<GET YOURSELF QUICKLY TO SOME SHADE, WATER, PLACE TO SIT>>>.
Bring one, you'll regret it if you don't.
You should bring a bike regardless. You can always choose to spend a day, an evening or an hour walking. But if you don't have a bike, then you don't even have the option. Even if you have one, it's great to spend a night or part of a night walking, especially cause you can hitch rides in art cars.
A lot of cool, and very different stuff happens waaaaaay out on the deep playa and, yeah, you could walk there, probably in about 1/2 hour from the farthest parts of the city, but then once out there, you couldn't easily go to other deep playa stuff, or <<<GET YOURSELF QUICKLY TO SOME SHADE, WATER, PLACE TO SIT>>>.
Bring one, you'll regret it if you don't.
A lot of cool, and very different stuff happens waaaaaay out on the deep playa and, yeah, you could walk there, probably in about 1/2 hour from the farthest parts of the city, but then once out there, you couldn't easily go to other deep playa stuff, or <<<GET YOURSELF QUICKLY TO SOME SHADE, WATER, PLACE TO SIT>>>.
Bring one, you'll regret it if you don't.
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theCryptofishist
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It depends on how you want to do burningman.
I haven't had a bike for either of my two burns. I'm insisting on one this year.
Some figures: If you start at 3 o'clock and the Esplanade, walk to the man and then to 9 o'clock and the Esplande you've done almost a mile. Cedna/the Abyss to Cedna/the Abyss is almost two. The Esplanade from 2 0'clock round to 10 o'clock is almost two miles again. Cedna/the Abyss is more like three. If you did the entire city in a block by block grid search pattern up all the radials and then around all the circulars, I belive that you're getting towards 50 miles. Okay, you still wont see everything with a bike and YMMV in terms of what you want to do, but it gives you flexibility. What if you meet someone you want to hang with who's biking all over? No chance for seduction if you want to keep up.
Okay, okay, okay--those are my memories of what I calculated before, from previous years the final calculation was so seat of the pants that I didn't even use scratch paper.
I haven't had a bike for either of my two burns. I'm insisting on one this year.
Some figures: If you start at 3 o'clock and the Esplanade, walk to the man and then to 9 o'clock and the Esplande you've done almost a mile. Cedna/the Abyss to Cedna/the Abyss is almost two. The Esplanade from 2 0'clock round to 10 o'clock is almost two miles again. Cedna/the Abyss is more like three. If you did the entire city in a block by block grid search pattern up all the radials and then around all the circulars, I belive that you're getting towards 50 miles. Okay, you still wont see everything with a bike and YMMV in terms of what you want to do, but it gives you flexibility. What if you meet someone you want to hang with who's biking all over? No chance for seduction if you want to keep up.
Okay, okay, okay--those are my memories of what I calculated before, from previous years the final calculation was so seat of the pants that I didn't even use scratch paper.
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theCryptofishist
- Posts: 40312
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- Burning Since: 2017
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It depends on how you want to do burningman.
I haven't had a bike for either of my two burns. I'm insisting on one this year.
Some figures: If you start at 3 o'clock and the Esplanade, walk to the man and then to 9 o'clock and the Esplande you've done almost a mile. Cedna/the Abyss to Cedna/the Abyss is almost two. The Esplanade from 2 0'clock round to 10 o'clock is almost two miles again. Cedna/the Abyss is more like three. If you did the entire city in a block by block grid search pattern up all the radials and then around all the circulars, I belive that you're getting towards 50 miles. Okay, you still wont see everything with a bike and YMMV in terms of what you want to do, but it gives you flexibility. What if you meet someone you want to hang with who's biking all over? No chance for seduction if you want to keep up.
Okay, okay, okay--those are my memories of what I calculated before, from previous years the final calculation was so seat of the pants that I didn't even use scratch paper.
I haven't had a bike for either of my two burns. I'm insisting on one this year.
Some figures: If you start at 3 o'clock and the Esplanade, walk to the man and then to 9 o'clock and the Esplande you've done almost a mile. Cedna/the Abyss to Cedna/the Abyss is almost two. The Esplanade from 2 0'clock round to 10 o'clock is almost two miles again. Cedna/the Abyss is more like three. If you did the entire city in a block by block grid search pattern up all the radials and then around all the circulars, I belive that you're getting towards 50 miles. Okay, you still wont see everything with a bike and YMMV in terms of what you want to do, but it gives you flexibility. What if you meet someone you want to hang with who's biking all over? No chance for seduction if you want to keep up.
Okay, okay, okay--those are my memories of what I calculated before, from previous years the final calculation was so seat of the pants that I didn't even use scratch paper.
2 cents goes a long way
Rscohen,
I can definitely say that you can survive, and even have a great time, without a bike. For whatever reason I did not use one for the first 3 days last year. The first thing I did after we finished setting up our camp was to go wandering in the deep black of night into the center area with nothing but a single lightstick on each side of me for safety. It was... amazing! Thereafter I walked from one end to the other on foot, which really did feel like the "right way" as I really felt a palpable sense of community the entire time. It was one part rite of passage, one part idealized form of "weary travel", and one part Lillith wandering and suffering in the desert (this part tripled before the end.)
On the other hand, once I got on one of the bikes we brought the event became much more active (what I did) than passive (what the situation did to me). I was able to accomplish and see a lot more in a lot less time.
With a bike, your day's summary might sound like "I left camp, rode to Pinkys for a drink, picked up a girl at Pinkys and went back to her place, stopped by the ice-place just to see it, had tea at center-camp, gave a wheelchair bound guy a tow to the 9:30 edge where we had drinks and popsicles, rode across the playa to participate in an art/ritual dance, got body painted back near center camp, traded my old fairy wings for new ones, fell off my bike and had to haul it home when the chain broke... where I remembered that I had not eaten all day and so had dinner and nursed my wounds from falling off the bike."
Without a bike, your day's summary might sound like "I left camp and wandered out to the man, got a sunburn, and had a drink on the way out. I found a guy there I got along with so we walked back to camp. I remembered that I didn't eat all day, so we made dinner and nursed our wounds from walking all day long."
<Shrug> Like I've heard said about RV's, drugs, and camps including people you know from outside you should probably try the Playa with and without them at different times.
Just my long-winded 2 cents!
I can definitely say that you can survive, and even have a great time, without a bike. For whatever reason I did not use one for the first 3 days last year. The first thing I did after we finished setting up our camp was to go wandering in the deep black of night into the center area with nothing but a single lightstick on each side of me for safety. It was... amazing! Thereafter I walked from one end to the other on foot, which really did feel like the "right way" as I really felt a palpable sense of community the entire time. It was one part rite of passage, one part idealized form of "weary travel", and one part Lillith wandering and suffering in the desert (this part tripled before the end.)
On the other hand, once I got on one of the bikes we brought the event became much more active (what I did) than passive (what the situation did to me). I was able to accomplish and see a lot more in a lot less time.
With a bike, your day's summary might sound like "I left camp, rode to Pinkys for a drink, picked up a girl at Pinkys and went back to her place, stopped by the ice-place just to see it, had tea at center-camp, gave a wheelchair bound guy a tow to the 9:30 edge where we had drinks and popsicles, rode across the playa to participate in an art/ritual dance, got body painted back near center camp, traded my old fairy wings for new ones, fell off my bike and had to haul it home when the chain broke... where I remembered that I had not eaten all day and so had dinner and nursed my wounds from falling off the bike."
Without a bike, your day's summary might sound like "I left camp and wandered out to the man, got a sunburn, and had a drink on the way out. I found a guy there I got along with so we walked back to camp. I remembered that I didn't eat all day, so we made dinner and nursed our wounds from walking all day long."
<Shrug> Like I've heard said about RV's, drugs, and camps including people you know from outside you should probably try the Playa with and without them at different times.
Just my long-winded 2 cents!
-Christopher of Aeneadae
Per ardua ad astra
Per ardua ad astra
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headquarters
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Tancorix
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I wouldn't dream of going to BRC without a bike. To explore the wholly other or the vast space beyond 10 and 2, to ride out there among the various art with that vast canopy of stars above you is one of those things you just have to experience. And to look back at the lights of BRC from a distance on Thursday or Friday night as the city starts hitting it's peak....there's nothing like it. NOTHING.
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EB
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Ever walked the Strip in Vegas?
At the beginning of the night, everyone's excited to go casino-hoping and it seems like those suckers are right next to each other but after walking between two or three, your feet hurt and, worse, your buzz wears off.
Next thing you know, some guy's handing you porn flyers and you're staring at bus benches of a waiter holding up the world's biggest lobster.
This exact same scenario happens at BRC, only it's a woman handing out the porn flyers and the lobster is a dildo covered with corn pops.
You can always leave your bike at camp if you want to hoof it.
At the beginning of the night, everyone's excited to go casino-hoping and it seems like those suckers are right next to each other but after walking between two or three, your feet hurt and, worse, your buzz wears off.
Next thing you know, some guy's handing you porn flyers and you're staring at bus benches of a waiter holding up the world's biggest lobster.
This exact same scenario happens at BRC, only it's a woman handing out the porn flyers and the lobster is a dildo covered with corn pops.
You can always leave your bike at camp if you want to hoof it.
Things that are hard to do without a bike:
Be at a specific place at a specific time.
Get to the potties towards the outer streets when the inner ones get full.
Go far in the heat without depending on someone with an art car.
Check out the art, far out in the playa.
Some people are really good at getting around hitching rides on art cars. This works well if you're pretty open to where you end up. Also the years I didn't have a bike, I stayed close to home and got to spend a lot of time with my camp or neighbors. I ended up hooking up with my husband because an anticipated art car ride fell through.
Be at a specific place at a specific time.
Get to the potties towards the outer streets when the inner ones get full.
Go far in the heat without depending on someone with an art car.
Check out the art, far out in the playa.
Some people are really good at getting around hitching rides on art cars. This works well if you're pretty open to where you end up. Also the years I didn't have a bike, I stayed close to home and got to spend a lot of time with my camp or neighbors. I ended up hooking up with my husband because an anticipated art car ride fell through.
Be the change you seek in the world.
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Bob
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Yes, walking is a good thing, esp. at night and to facilitate talking to the people and seeing the details that might be missed speeding by on a bike, but a bike is a good thing for going back again and doing the rounds in the daytime.
Nothing wrong either with freeing up the vehicle space bikes might take up and bringing extra ice in a duct-taped cooler. Being lower on the motility curve means you don't have to worry about adding yours to the sperm-like stream of bikes choking the Esplanade and knotted up higgledy-piggledy around all the major attractions.
Nothing wrong either with freeing up the vehicle space bikes might take up and bringing extra ice in a duct-taped cooler. Being lower on the motility curve means you don't have to worry about adding yours to the sperm-like stream of bikes choking the Esplanade and knotted up higgledy-piggledy around all the major attractions.
Amazing desert structures & stuff: http://sites.google.com/site/potatotrap/
"Let us say I suggest you may be human." -- Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam
"Let us say I suggest you may be human." -- Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam
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Guest
I love having a bike during the day for cruising the open playa, exploring the back streets, ice trips, and those early morning porta pottie trips. At night I ditch the bike and hoof it, best way to tour the esplanade is on foot, (day or night). At night I like to walk along the esplanade and then cut across the playa through the man or from 2 to 10. F'in awesome.
Although taking the bike at night out to the perimeter is pretty damn cool too. Looking back on the lights of the city and hearing the distant thump thump, nothin like it in the world.
Although taking the bike at night out to the perimeter is pretty damn cool too. Looking back on the lights of the city and hearing the distant thump thump, nothin like it in the world.