Big DC Bike Party rides to site of A16 (April 2000 IMF) Convergence site
Video highlights of this spectacular ride(5 min 18 sec)
On the 9th of May, a rather large DC Bike Party rode from Dupont Circle to a park in NW, and finally through Adams-Morgan, past Howard, and ended up at a warehouse on Florida Ave. Eighteen years ago, that same warehouse served as the convergence center for the A16/2000 IMF protests, where amoung other things scout bikes had been assembled.
Probably this was not intentional, but the whole ride was rich in symbolism. At the halfway point, a bike was hoisted into a tree, like the Critical Mass photos from the 1990's except that this was in a park and out of the way. One bike was set up in that same park with an umbrella-facing forward, in classic "J20 position" perfect for leading a charge into pepper-spraying cops. The second half of the ride went by Howard University, site of the successful student uprising and admin building occupation that won 7 out of 9 demands this past Spring. Finally there was that incredible end point, complete with cops driving by demanding riders clear the street over their sound systems.
DC Bike Party rides down 18th st after the halfway point break
Riders exit Dupont by two directions at the start
Crossing Conn Ave early in the ride
A bike hoisted into a tree in 1990's style Critical Mass pose at the halfway point
A perfect "J20 pose" on a bike with umbrella down and forward
Organizers may not have known it, but this finish point was the convergence space for the April 16, 2000 (A16) IMF and World Bank protests.
