‘A Vegas staple:’ Cyclists take downtown by storm in weekly ‘Hump Day Ride’

Families unloaded bikes from the backs of their trucks while older men cracked open beers and pumped up their tires. Some bikers showed off their wheelies and light-up bikes around the parking lot.

“You see kids, you see lawyers, you see all types of different people that come together with no drama. We’re just out here cruising the streets,” Joshua Villegas said at a recent Hump Day Ride.

Those walking or driving downtown on Wednesday nights may know the group.

The hundreds of bikers — ranging anywhere from 300 to as many as 1,000 for a Halloween ride — meet up at 6 p.m. on South Main Street and Gass Avenue before embarking at 7 p.m. on a two-hour, 10-mile-plus bike ride throughout downtown. Bikers range from former BMX racers to those who picked up rentals five minutes prior. Some are even on skates, scooters or tricycles.

According to several attendees, participants find community with one another each week.

“It’s become a Vegas staple,” said Carlos Vivaldo, who began the rides in 2016 with his son and a friend.

Vivaldo, who owns the Crank & Grind Cycle Shop in the Arts District, said his rides started taking off during the COVID-19 pandemic — at one point doubling in attendance each week. The group has an Instagram page, but for the most part, Vivaldo has let it grow organically.

After growing up in poverty and having been unable to afford a bike growing up, Villegas said, he relishes the opportunity to join Vivaldo’s rides. He bikes with a camera in hopes of capturing the biking community.

“A lot of people have a misconception about the bike life. They see a lot of people on bikes, and they think they’re hoodlums — but really they’re out there sharing a common hobby,” Villegas said.

‘We serpentine’

The group trails behind Vivaldo, who rides his tall bike out front.

“We serpentine,” Danny Estrada said, adding that he never knows where the group will go on any given night.

Estrada has been a loyal cyclist every week at the events, attending with his wife and neighbor. He has also made friends at the rides — though he noted he mostly knows people by faces.

The long snake of riders winding through the streets can anger motorists, who sometimes honk at the bikers as they block traffic.

The group tries to make sure they are pacing everyone and sticking together to avoid danger on the roads, according to Villegas.

Marty Baier, also a weekly rider, said he makes an effort to yell two words to the cars as he passes: “Thank you.”

Contact Katie Futterman at kfutterman@reviewjournal. Follow @katiefutterman.bsky.social.