Avocado & Shrimp Party
MONDAY NIGHT
Los Californios host the first night out — avocados, shrimp, and the rest of the ride wandering through First Camp.
THE CAMP
How they got here.
Los Californios was established in 1979 by riders from a handful of camps who shared California roots — and a willingness, as one founder put it, to tolerate “a few out-of-state flakes from New York.” The early roster ran heavily to law enforcement officers and attorneys, which earned the camp the nickname Cops and Robbers. Membership has diversified considerably since.
Today the camp pulls riders from fifteen states and as far as England. Most ride rentals, most go by nicknames rather than legal names, and most have stopped trying to remember what the other guys do for a living.
Self-assigned nicknames don’t stick. The camp picks them by consensus, and the ones that endure tend to be one or two syllables — something that rolls off the tongue around a fire. Tuk, Duck, Cargo, Taco, Pale Rider, Nieto, Boots, Moon, Chewy, Oklahoma. Earn one and you’re in.
— ADAPTED FROM NOTES BY CAMP CAPTAIN MIDNIGHT SCHWARTZ.
What this camp brings to the week.
Every camp hosts something the rest of the ride looks forward to. Here’s what this one is known for.
- • Camp nicknames are awarded by consensus, not self-assigned.
- • Heavy presence of sponsored riders — the camp is a common landing spot for first-year Caballeros.
New riders are placed by the board.
If you want to ride with Campo de los Californios, say so on your application — and list a sponsor if you have one. Final placement is up to the board.