THE AWAREWOLFS : FRESH START

I first actually said “AWAREWOLVES” back in 2006.

I (Charlie Sears) and a few others were at a demonstration in San Diego’s Balboa Park to support Invisible Children. Over 1,000 people were in attendance and the idea was that you couldn’t DRIVE to the demonstration – you had to walk, take public transit, or ride your bike to the event. Everyone spent the night in the park, with no tents allowed, and the next day you had to get back home without the use of a car. The event’s idea was to get all of us on the same level as those in Africa who have to walk miles for their basic human needs like water.

It was super late, we were all hanging out reflecting on why we were there when I said that “It’s like we’re A-WARE-WOLVES.” BOOM – Epiphany. After that night, we kind of threw that name around but nothing ever came of it. It wasn’t until four years later in 2010 that I decided what to do with the name. I started organizing bicycle rides every full moon with my close friends. We’d meet at midnight and just go on little rides around downtown San Diego. After the first few rides, and thanks to word of mouth and Facebook, the rides rapidly grew to 30, 40, 60+ people.

After a few months of Fullmoon Bikerides (FMBR for short), I started organizing different kinds of rides – long distance rides, advocacy rides, races, and etc. I even helped get a new non-profit called Ride4Water off the ground by helping organize their annual 200 mile Summer Solstice Ride. Fullmoon Bikerides continue to be The Awarewolfs’ most popular ride and people all over the world have hosted their own “AWLF inspired FMBRs”.

Within the San Diego bicycling community, The Awarewolfs continues to be a vital contributor. The amount of connections and opportunities I / The Awarewolfs have made over the years are priceless. I’ve been allowed to let my artistic ideas flow freely and that makes me so excited to see The Awarewolfs through til the end… When’s the end? There is no end.