The Irkutsk bike night on August 11 drew a record 2203 participants, becoming the largest night bike ride in the citys history. The article explains how such events become part of modern urban culture, take place in cities across Russia and the world, and why Irkutsk residents especially remembered the ride through the night streets. Organizers already plan to make the bike night an annual event.
This year, Irkutsk Bike Night on August 11 brought together a record number of participants — 2,203 cyclists. Mass night bike rides are becoming part of modern culture and are held in most major cities around the world and in Russia. In Irkutsk, Bike Night was held for the fourth time, but while in previous years it was possible to gather no more than 280 participants, on August 11 more than 2,000 bicycles took to the night streets, and this is an absolute record for our city. Our compatriots hold night bicycle promenades in Omsk, Voronezh, Chelyabinsk, Uzhhorod, and Kolpino. The traditions of mass bike rides include strict observance of traffic rules and meeting the sunrise on the riverbank, if there is one in the city. Positive events are becoming part of modern culture: for example, the popular rock performer Jared Leto (30 second to Mars) shot a video for his song The Kings and Queens (of Promenad) during a mass night bike ride in Los Angeles.Everyone without exception was left with only the brightest impressions from riding through the deserted night streets of Irkutsk. The organizers of Irkutsk Bike Night plan to make it an annual event.
Based on materials from the press service of the administration of the city of Irkutsk