Today was also the opening of the Joyride art exhibition organized by the bicycle film festival (BFF). It was extremely crowded.
It was so full that I could not see the art work. But maybe it was not the art but actually the free beers that attracted so many people.
It was great to see my friend Anna Grace Carter from Beijing.
Outside of the exhibition was some portable pole dancing going on.A guy had a tricycle with 2 hot girls dancing on the back.
Then I went to the BFF 10th Anniversary Dinner.
Everybody came from the art exhibition and was already drunk with all the free beers. When we arrived at the dinner venue we were not allowed to go to the main area and sit down, we had to wait and have more free drinks like wine and beer. Then finally an hour later we could sit down. The starter was already standing on the tables and it was welk lettuce with some beans on top. There was also some viscose soup that we poured into the tea cups but it was not delicious.
Then the BFF NYC organizers did a small speech and toast.
Then they asked the organizers of all the other places in USA and around the world to come up on stage.
The whole time the free drinks continued and even champagne (well sparkling wine) was added. But it took forever for the „main course“to arrive. This what we got at about 11:30pm.
It was dried polenta with some peas. Maybe I should have told them that I can eat also non-vegan. The invite had said you should notify them if you need vegan food but this tiny amount of food was all vegan and not the right thing for hungry and drunk cyclists. I could not believe that there was no more food. When people started knocking over wine bottles, lifting up chairs and making ape like screams, jumping on the tables and then insulting each other I decided it was time to go and have some food somewhere else. From my Chinese perspective this was a very horrible dinner as there was hardly any food. But I think the Americans were all very happy to get completely wasted for free. In China there would have been an excellent dinner with all the food being on the tables latest by 9:45pm also with free beer and rice schnapps. People would stand up and go to the different tables and cheer with those friends and make each other finish the tiny glasses in one sip, but all happy together rather than against each other. I probably have lived too long in China making me be really shocked by this American way.