The Elm City Party Bike: Public Nuisance or Public Good?

“WOOOOO!”ing Elm City Party Bikers zipping past the Green. All photos courtesy of the Elm City Party Bike

If you’ve walked around New Haven, you’ve likely seen an Elm City Party Bike. And you likely have opinions. It’s hard not to when you come across a trolley-like party machine powered by 15 drunken bikers. 

Judgements are formed immediately when you spot Suncoolers balancing on the bike’s wrap-around bar and attendees screaming along to Billy Joel blasting from the speakers. You’ve likely rolled your eyes at the silliness of this journey, or honked as you’ve gotten stuck behind one on the street.

I’ve judged the Party Bikers, too. I’ve given wide eyed stares to parties who bust through the door at Three Sheets on a weekday afternoon, creating an incredibly loud 15 minutes as I try to enjoy my post-work pitcherita. 

But ask yourself: are you just jealous? It’s hard to dismiss the fun of biking with a large group of friends, taking up a full lane of traffic, and facing each other instead of trying to hold a group conversation in one long line. Once I let my hardened exterior soften, I wondered what it would be like to combine exercise, travel, and vodka for hours on end.

Drinking on the bike in a non-public-intoxication way.

The Party Bike is even societally idyllic, a 12% ABV dream of a world where people bike their way across the city communally, travelling under 30 miles per hour wherever they’d like. I’d take that over driving a socially-isolating gas-guzzling car among New Haven drivers who seemingly want to crash into you.

My Party Bike dream came true when I was invited to my friend’s sister’s 39th birthday party: an Elm City Party Bike ride. On a Friday at 8pm, I biked (individually) to the bike (party) starting on Crown Street, a fitting place to begin the fun

I met this Elm City Party Bike driver once at Diesel Lounge two years ago and asked how he liked his job. He said he loved it.

Earlier in the day, I attended a birthday party for a member of the Bradley Street Bike Co-Op and shared my excitement with the fellow bikers in attendance. A few scoffed, saying that they didn’t think the machine was actually powered by people downing White Claws. I didn’t think so either. I imagined a little motor allowing the attendees to pretend pedal as they zip to their next tequila shot. The Co-Op organizes their own Bike Party where a crowd of bikes will ride New Haven streets at night, forming the shape of a bus. It’s a bike party. The Elm City Party Bike? No, that’s different.

In terms of price, it is definitely different. The Elm City Party Bike costs between $475 and $525 for a private party of 8 to 15 people. Alternatively, you can join a public tour for an individual starting price of $45. The 2-hour reservation will allow you to stop at as many bars as you’d like, but doesn’t include any drinks or food. However, you’re allowed to bring as much alcohol as you’d like from home and drink while riding. 

And no, this is not drinking-while-driving or public intoxication. We parked right by a police car at one point, and the driver and officer just smiled and waved at each other. However, we needed to keep any booze we brought on the bike at all times, and could not step off the machine while sipping.

The rules were made incredibly clear. The cruise director, a man who looked like if Top Chef’s Tom Colicchio were a huge Pats fan, laid them out before we took off: people may give us some weird looks but pay them no mind, keep phones on the bar instead of in pockets or they will fall out, and don’t stop pedalling.

The bars seem to know the Party Bike drill, too. Our first stop, Blue Taruga (not to be confused with the previous homonymous tenant, Barracuda) had tequila shots for everyone at the ready. Our bike director recommended that we get pickle back shots at our second stop, Three Sheets. And the third bar, Elm City Social, had cocktail options, including their microplastic-spiked cocktail with a rubber duck floating on top.

Despite being pretty tipsy, our crew truly powered the bike. There was no special motor secretly moving the party along. I was seated toward the front, and multiple times I had to stand up to push down on my pedals. The driver, maneuvering the direction, seemed to have an extra-powerful crankset, but we were all crucial to the speed.

After an hour and a half, I was five drinks deep, waddling into our final spot: Barcade. I sat down at a racecar game, absolutely bombing, while my fellow party bikers cheered me on. I couldn't power a car, but I could power a car-like bike.

While the Party Bike was a fun experience, I was left wondering whether I would choose to ride if I wasn’t offered a free spot. It would be easier to barcrawl with your own individual bike — you could ride for free, go with as many people as you’d like, and choose drinks you wanted instead of grimacing while throwing back a group pickleback shot. However, the thrill of cruising around the city at night, wind tussling my hair as we listened to Sabrina Carpenter, with a sangria in my hand on the way to get another, was quite an experience. Instead of judgmental jealousy, I will smile upon the Elm City Party Bike, grateful for the joy alums of the ride have shared.

Me (left) with my BFF Ian (right) in front of the Elm City Party Bike post pickleshot.