Keep it rolling: examining the San José Bike Party with methods on the move

ABSTRACT

This paper is an exploration of the possibilities for employing multiple ‘moving’ qualitative research methodologies in order to engage and capture embodied emotions and practices of participating in the San José Bike Party (SJBP). SJBP originated in 2004–2005 as an organised community group ride through the urban streets of San José, California. The ride has grown to include 2000–4000 riders of diverse riding levels and social backgrounds. Through social media, leaders of the group map out the route, lay out the rules of the road, and provide instructions for riders. In an effort to capture and examine the meaning of SJBP to participants, we have taken a multi-dimensional approach that incorporates ethnographic and phenomenological elements through the use of both traditional and nontraditional (mobile) data collection methods: conducting, for example, one-on-one interviews, focus group interviews, as well as ‘on the move’ interviews with GoPro cameras during the ride itself. Leaning on work that calls for more sociological engagement in the ‘mobilities turn’, we present some of our reflections on the use of multiple and moving/mobile methodologies towards a hybridised post qualitative research practice.

KEYWORDS:

• Bike party
• cycling
• go-alongs
• mobile methods
• sensory ethnography

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jessica W. Chin

Dr. Jessica W. Chin is an associate professor in the Department of Kinesiology at San José State University (USA). Her research involves interdisciplinary, critical cultural analyses, focusing on the ways social, cultural, political and historical contexts intersect with the construction of identity through sport and physical activity. In some of her current ethnographic research, she investigates the meanings and experiences of sport participation in Asian and Asian American communities, hazing among collegiate athletes in North America, and mass community bicycle movements.

Matthew Masucci

Dr. Matthew Masucci is the Interim Associate Dean of the College of Health and Human Sciences at San José State University. Masucci's research is interdisciplinary and sits at the intersection of cultural studies, critical sport studies, philosophy, and sociology. His work employs a number of qualitative research methods and has centered on, among other things, physical narratives and their implications on identity, meaning and community. Some of his current projects have included: critical and multi-faceted  examination of the combat sport of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), elite triathlete perspectives on anti-doping education, and multiple studies that have investigated various aspects of cycling, including a recently co-authored analysis of contemporary narrativization of cycle racing within English language popular literature.

Jay Johnson

Dr. jay johnson is an associate professor in the Faculty of Kinesiology and Recreation Management at the University of Manitoba. His current interdisciplinary research explores the impact(s) of climatic change on our physical experiences and the interfaces with the environment. He is investigating how Indigenous youth experience the built environment, physical activity and outdoor adventure/land-based education; community-based research examining the function of the bicycle, culture and community in activ(ism); child labor issues; bullying; sport doping; and the cultural intersections of gender, race, ethnicity, sexuality and homophobia in team hazing/initiation rituals. He has published extensively on hazing, co-editing Making the Team: Inside the World of Sport Initiations and Hazing with Dr. Margery Holman.