The Awarewolfs
www.theawarewolfs.com/
@theawarewolfs
Thank you for doing this interview with me, Ricky. To start, could you share a bit about who The Awarewolfs are? Where does the name come from, and what inspired you to start the group?
Started way back in 2010 by Charlie Sears here in San Diego CA - "The Awarewolfs" name came to him while was with some friends at a demonstration protesting the atrocities taking place in Uganda. It was a full moon, there were hundreds of demonstrators around him, and he drunkenly told the friends he was with "It's like we're all Aware-Wolfs..." At the time, there weren't many group rides happening so it was in that moment that Charlie decided to start "Fullmoon Bikerides" under the name "The Awarewolfs" and the rest is history. I've been coming on the rides pretty much since day one and in 2015 Charlie moved to New York so that's when I took over The Awarewolfs. Charlie has since moved back to San Diego and is still involved with The Awarewolfs but yeah - him and I do The Awarewolfs together now.
Your website states, “We’re not trying to ‘take back’ the streets – they were never ours to begin with.” Could you expand on this and share how it shapes your approach?
Well, when we started The Awarewolfs, Critical Mass was the main group ride here and we felt it was just a horrible example of how bicyclists should treat the streets. Critical Mass was riding through shopping malls, on the freeway and ultimately giving bicyclists an overall bad image. Critical Mass is all about "reclaiming the streets" but the streets aren’t ours. We believe the streets are for everyone - bikes, pedestrians, and yes - cars.
The Awarewolfs aim to bridge the gap between cars and bikes and foster mutual respect. What specific steps does the group take to make this vision a reality?
It's not that hard - don't be a dick! Respect the road and respect each other. Respect is a two way street and bicyclists will never get respect if we don't give respect. So - on our rides we try our best to be everything Critical Mass was not.
In recent years, there's been a notable shift in bike activism towards a "war on cars" mindset. What are your thoughts on this perspective? How would you respond to those who feel action should be directed against cars rather than in cooperation?
Personally, I'm not in to it. I mean - f*ck cars - but like I stated above, The Awarewolfs believe that bicyclists will never get respect if we don't respect the rules of the road. We'll never win the war on cars outright but if we can show that we can share the road, then we'll win over the city officials and those who can improve the infrastructure of city to make riding safer. I mean, since 2010, we have noticed a massive improvement in the San Diego bicycle/pedestrian infrastructure. Theres been so many miles of protected bike lanes added since 2010 and while I'm not saying we're responsible for these improvements, we do believe that our rides have shown our city that "we are here and we're not going away so you best accommodate us."
Further, cars aren't going away. Especially here in hilly San Diego. People need cars here. But people here are super active and enjoy bicycling. So - we have to learn to live together. This cannot be an "us versus them" situation.
As I’ve been traveling the country, I've noticed that each group has a unique way of interacting with traffic. Some rides cork every intersection without stopping, while others make a strong effort to obey traffic laws and work with traffic flow. How does The Awarewolfs handle these interactions, and what’s the approach if you encounter an aggressive driver?
We're San Diegans right? We go with the flow. We rarely cork intersections but we have been known to do so when the mood strikes. We ultimately communicate with each other but do our best to stop at lights and yield at stop signs. Of course we still go through red lights and stop signs but only when it's very clearly safe to do so.
When I comes to aggressive drivers or even cops, at some points, I always tell the group to keep moving and take matters into my own hands. I talk to them respectfully and let them know what we are doing, why we are doing it, and showing them how fun it is.
Could you tell us more about the Full Moon Ride? What makes this ride unique? What’s the energy like?
The rides are always on a Full Moon right so the energy is wild. Our Full Moon Bike Rides have been called "the people's ride" and "anyone and anybike" is always welcome. We're LGBTQ+ and 420 friendly plus we'll always make a "snack" stop at a liquor store before the end of the ride. I like to refer to our rides as the "gateway drug" to the San Diego cycling scene. I can think of many riders who heard of us first then branched out to either start their own club or join another that might be more their speed.
I think the thing that makes our rides unique is the consistent inconsistency. Meaning, sometimes the full moon lands on a Saturday night and some times it's a Monday. It's never consistent. We always plan a new meetup/route too so every ride is different. The full moon is always going to happen and its always about a month apart which gives us plenty of time to plan the next one.
Is there anything else you’d like to share about The Awarewolfs?
We have an online store where we sell some merch and that keeps the lights on. We also like to throw unsanctioned races all around town too so please - head to our website and check out ALL the things we've got going on! www.theawarewolfs.com
- Rick
