{"id":3371,"date":"2014-06-25T17:17:32","date_gmt":"2014-06-25T17:17:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lbpost.com\/articles\/life\/gfunk-brings-heart-pounding-bike-driven-stampedes-through-long-beach\/"},"modified":"2014-06-25T17:17:32","modified_gmt":"2014-06-25T17:17:32","slug":"gfunk-brings-heart-pounding-bike-driven-stampedes-through-long-beach","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/hi-lo\/gfunk-brings-heart-pounding-bike-driven-stampedes-through-long-beach","title":{"rendered":"Gfunk Brings Heart-Pounding, Bike-Driven Stampedes Through Long Beach"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><em><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" size-full wp-image-29254\" src=\"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/GFunk.png\" alt=\"GFunk\" width=\"640\" height=\"305\" \/><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Full gallery of pictures below.&nbsp;<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The weekly Tuesday night bike ride that is Gfunk is, to say the least, much more than your average two-wheeled community gathering. This is not your Sunday coffee cruise to Seal Beach nor is it a rolling, beer-guzzling extravaganza of BUIs. Gfunk is a heart-pounding, physically challenging and mentally demanding stampede through the (more often than not) pot-holed, \u201cbike friendly\u201d streets of Long Beach and its neighboring cities.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Tong Sheng, Gfunk\u2019s founder, moved to Long Beach from Northern California in 2009 and learned the ropes from various DTLA rides.&nbsp;On August 25, 2009, Gfunk was born.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAfter moving to the LBC, I realized there was a dearth of night-time group rides,&#8221; Sheng said. &#8220;So I decided to try to start my own thing by incorporating various elements from my experiences with LA-based rides.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>If Long Beach were to have an \u201cunderground\u201d cycling scene, Gfunk would appear in the upper echelons of such a category. Rarely do the trumpeters of Long Beach\u2019s bike-friendly reputation mention anything about the riders after dark, but choose to focus primarily on daytime activities and upcoming events that are open to the general public. Gfunk is open to the public, but only the ones interested in blood, sweat, tears and a celebratory beer afterward.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI envisioned a medium-fast-paced ride with minimal stops,&#8221; Sheng said. &#8220;I figured that people didn&#8217;t want to stay out all night on a weeknight, so a brisk pace was ideal. Also, since I was new to the LBC, I wanted to emphasize exploring various neighborhoods within and surrounding the city.&nbsp;In addition, I really enjoyed the &#8216;forge and gorge&#8217; concept, which is to mash hard during the ride, celebrate after with food and drinks. It really does a good job of uniting riders through shared suffering as well as celebration.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"video-container\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/79183597\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" webkitallowfullscreen=\"\" mozallowfullscreen=\"\" seamless=\"\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>For Sheng, the group&#8217;s moniker of Gfunk represented not only the LBC well by way of its hip-hop roots, but the city&#8217;s well-known diversity.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Whereas Gfunk music was a sound that brought together elements of funk and rap,&#8221; Sheng said, &#8220;the ride was envisioned to cater to all different kinds of cyclists, from everyday commuters to weekend roadies to kids who liked to ride fixed gear bikes on the streets.&#8221;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Gfunk welcomes the skin-tight, curve-clinging lycra akin to \u201cserious\u201d cyclists, yet rejoices in the jean-clad, laid back, t-shirt-flapping-in-the-breeze ensemble worn by more casual riders. Anyone and everyone is welcome to test their stamina and strength and will never be left behind. However, a less experienced cyclist will quickly learn to ride in a paceline or get dropped. If he or she falls off, there will always be a regroup, kind words of encouragement, and a short water break. However, if you\u2019re not there to push yourself physically and mentally, you might be in the wrong place.<\/p>\n<p>Sheng spoke of his fear that \u201cas the ride became faster, newer cyclists might feel intimidated or unwelcome. Fortunately, from what I can see, the core group does a good job of bringing the suffering and leaving the ego and attitude at home.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The ride is an incubator for safer and stronger cyclists, top competitors and a close-knit camaraderie among its participants. Over the past five and a half years, Gfunk has successfully created a productive space for Long Beach\u2019s up-and-coming and established competitive cycling community, not to mention those looking for an intense weekly workout away from the confines of a claustrophobic gym. Cyclists from CSULB, working professionals, Long Beach natives, and the occasional out-of-town visitor are all within the realm of Gfunk attendees.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" size-full wp-image-29255\" src=\"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/5369270445_819e114529_b.jpg\" alt=\"5369270445 819e114529 b\" width=\"640\" height=\"429\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Despite the reputation of most night rides being dangerous, outlandish, and downright unlawful, Gfunkers don\u2019t pride themselves on running reds, unnecessary confrontations, or disobeying traffic laws. Rather, it\u2019s about the bond formed through shared physical exertion and pushing past one\u2019s limits (mental limits included).&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA lot of people saw the ride as something that had the spiciness of <a href=\"http:\/\/wolfpackhustle.com\/about\/\">Wolfpack<\/a>,&#8221; said&nbsp;John Maniquis, a first-generation Gfunk participant and consistent ride leader. &#8220;But we had more of a camaraderie and spirit that was welcoming and warm\u2014and the beer and tacos at the finish helped with the post-ride bonding.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>One of the more positive attributes of the Gfunk community involves leaving the egos at home. The ride is continually evolving as new cyclists come and go, while new route ideas from any charismatic participant are always welcomed. While both Sheng and Maniquis led the ride with gusto, nowadays it\u2019s more of a group effort. The route is posted the night before so anyone wanting to come out can see where they\u2019ll be riding.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Last Tuesday, Gfunk rode to Disneyland and back. For the first time in the ride\u2019s history, cyclists were showered with a booming half-hour Disneyland fireworks display. The ride pulled over to the side of the road and tilted their heads up in awe. According to the Gfunk group milieu, it\u2019s moments like these you can\u2019t experience if you\u2019re at home on your computer or running the hamster-mill at the gym.<\/p>\n<p>Gfunk was born nearly five years ago and has continued to meet weekly to this day. You can sometimes find them on the Blue-Line, traveling home from a swift ride to W\u00fcrstkuche in Downtown LA, or whizzing through the traffic circle, an occasional grand finale to a hard ride through Palos Verdes.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Although Sheng passed the torch so to speak, he is \u201coptimistic that the ride will continue to provide a healthy cycling environment and sense of community to its ridership and to the city of Long Beach.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em>Gfunk meets on Tuesdays at the Traffic Circle In N\u2019 Out (4600 Los Coyotes Diagonal Long Beach, CA 90815) at 7:30pm; ride rolls out at 8:00pm.&nbsp;<\/em><em>Bring a helmet, lights, tubes, tools, a positive attitude, and a will to suffer. Leave the ego at home. Bring money and lock for food\/drinks afterwards.&nbsp;<\/em><em>Gear up, we ride rain or shine.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>{gallery}asia\/gfunk{\/gallery}<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Gfunk is not your Sunday coffee cruise to Seal Beach nor is it a rolling, beer-guzzling extravaganza of BUIs.&nbsp;Gfunk is a heart-pounding and physically challenging stampede through the pot-holed \u201cbike friendly\u201d streets of Long Beach and its neighboring cities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":136,"featured_media":68631,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","inline_featured_image":false,"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_":"","_author_alias":"","cap-aim":"","cap-description":"","cap-display_name":"","cap-first_name":"","cap-jabber":"","cap-last_name":"","cap-linked_account":"","cap-newspack_employer":"","cap-newspack_job_title":"","cap-newspack_phone_number":"","cap-newspack_role":"","cap-user_email":"","cap-user_login":"","cap-website":"","cap-yahooim":"","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_email_html":"","newspack_email_type":"","newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_hide_page_title":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_show_share_buttons":"","newspack_sponsor_byline_prefix":"","newspack_sponsor_disclaimer_override":"","newspack_sponsor_flag_override":"","newspack_sponsor_only_direct":"","newspack_sponsor_url":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[810,1441],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-3371","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hi-lo","tag-bicycling","tag-gfunk","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3371","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/136"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3371"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3371\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/68631"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3371"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3371"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3371"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_spnsrs_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newspack_spnsrs_tax?post=3371"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=3371"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}