College Times

Issue date: 1/24/08 Section: News

Media Credit: Ryan Ruiz

Bicycle riders - the serious ones - often have a mixed relation with the non-biking, automobile-crazed public. As any even moderately serious bicyclist can tell you, confusion among drivers about the rights bicyclists have on the road often lead to near accidents and honking horns. And while some biking groups have responded by organizing political groups that aim to reclaim the roadways, one simply aims to focus on the fun bicycling can bring.

The Phoenix Phreaks are an offshoot of the Freak Bike Militia - a Florida group that gets together regularly to celebrate their love of the outdoors, custom built bicycles and sometimes loud styles of dress. The group is about as open and accepting as it gets. While some riders build massive, exotic choppers and four-wheel bikes and don bright shades of hair, others kick it in standard street clothes on a mountain bike.

Allan Greenblazer started the Phoenix Phreaks a few months ago, organizing rides around the Valley. His hope for '08: that his rides get bigger and bigger.


College Times: So what lead you to start the Phoenix Phreaks?

Allan Greenblazer: I was looking for an opportunity to ride my custom bicycle that I had built, with like-minded people. I built it for Burning Man and I realized, I have this cool bicycle, why let it sit all year long? So that's where the inspiration came from.



Had you done anything like this before?

I'm a Black Rock ranger and I volunteer my time at Burning Man just because it's really fun, but I hadn't really started a club. I participated in a local dirt bike club as an active member for a while. I'm still part of the club, but I kind of backed off on that. My dirt bike's got 40,000 miles on it, and I'm scared until I get other transportation that I'll break it.



What's been one of the biggest challenges?

One of the biggest challenges is that in many of the different online forums that we post in, I know there's other people that might be interested, but, so far, very few of the people that are participating reply in the forum, and I think because there's no response, people think: "This guy's having a ride by himself, nobody's going, I don't want to go."



I know some biking organizations like Critical Mass have a political element to them, but this sounds like it's really about having a good time.

Continued...

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