How LA’s longest-running Trikke ride came to be.
On Saturday, a bunch of Trikke riders in Southern California will gather together at Miramar Park by the sea and ride their Trikkes up and down the beach bike path of LA’s South Bay. Nothing all that unusual, except — if history is any indication — they’ll be dressed as werewolves in granny nightgowns, wicked witches, super heroes, gladiators, body parts, movie characters, condiments, and the list goes on.
Sean Tice rode a Trikke turned chariot at the 2009 TNT.
Chances are, they won’t be the only beach-goers in costume — it’s become a folk tradition, of sorts, around these parts — but the scene-stealers of the day will undoubtedly be the crazy characters carving in the rolling parade known as the 4th Annual Trikke & Treat Halloween Ride.
For me, the TNT Ride represents my first foray into becoming an active member of the Trikke community. In the fall of 2009, I was six months into my new life as a Trikke lover, brimming with an ever-growing passion for this three-wheel miracle machine. In July of that year, I’d finally met another Trikke rider, Andy Pliska of SouthBay Trikke, who put air tires on the rear of my T78 cs.
In August, I showed my Trikke to fellow Long Beach resident Jeri Thompson, who bought her own in September. Now I knew two other Trikke people!
Life was on the move, and so was my imagination. In late September, I ran an idea by Jeri. Her reaction was positive, I decided to pursue it. I then emailed the other Trikke rider I knew, Andy Pliska. Here’s what the email said, along with his reaction:
Oct 6, 2009
Andy
Brainstorm idea:
The Trikke ‘n’ Treat Halloween Ride.
I think SBT needs a ride. The Trikke is the bike of the 21st century, but it’s only 2009, so the Trikke is still a strange, freaky-looking creature to most people. Halloween is perfect for playing that up.
You could have awards, like, best costume, best tricked-out Trikke-Halloween style, stuff for kids and the whole family.
The event could be something that starts small and grows bigger each year. The idea is to get the “annual” ball rolling and to put SBT on the Trikke map with a unique brand all its own, the Trikke n Treat Halloween Ride, sponsored by South Bay Trikke. I could offer my services as a writer for the PR.
Whaddaya think?
Randy
Andy’s response:
I love it. I think we could put together a cool ride for this idea. Let’s do this and expand on the movement. Nice job Randy.
Andy’s Iphone
A dream was born. So too was the first collaboration of what would eventually come to be called SBT&T (SouthBay Trikke and TrikkeWorld).
At that first TNT — my first group ride ever — I met even more Trikke lovers, Sean and Irene Tice of SouthBay Trikke, Lisa and Sarah Hoolihan of Trikke OC, to name a few. I was home.
That feeling when you find others who love this thing as much as you do. Priceless.
I wrote up a blogpost about that first Trikke & Treat, called it the Best Halloween Trikke Rider Ever!
The following year, the SBT&T partnership began in earnest, and we announced the coming debut of TrikkeWorld Magazine at TNT 2 (via a brochure called Ride Day, distributed at the event).
Sarah Hoolihan as Beetlejuice won first prize at TNT 1 in 2009.
But TNT 2 almost never happened. Bad weather throughout the week and a forecast of rain made it the Scariest Halloween Trikke Ride Ever!
In the end, the So Cal weather gods didn’t let us down. And attendance for TNT was 19, up from the inaugural’s 11.
Last year, attendance for TNT 3 shot up to 33, with most riders donning costumes. That made the headline, the Biggest Halloween Trikke Ride Ever!
What will this years ride end up being called? Only time will tell. No scary weather, however, only hotness and dryness. And a group of wonderfully diverse people who all share a great passion for a great vehicle.
No matter the headline, the Trikke & Treat will always be a special ride. That’s why it’s called Trikke and Treat, not Trikke or Treat.
You see, there’s no need for an either/or scenario. The Trikke is the treat.
About Randy Boyd
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