Crowds of adolescents sped around refusing to yield to either cars or other bikers so they could stay together, united by the need to be 'with their friends' more than biking. The nature of what might be called 'social deviance' typical of adolescent behavior, however, was quite mild in what I saw, mainly manifesting itself in terms of attitude. The main transgressive actions were collectively disobeying traffic guidelines, putting themselves at risk more than drivers: deviancy is often "distinctly unheroic" in adolescents and is often more risky with negative consequences to the self (Hobbs 207). The beach is far from a democratic place. Even a free beach manifests notable divisions of social class and age. Economics determined social associations on the beach even though the area contained a blend of many different social groups. The young people who stuck together seemed to come from the same social classes -- the young girl bikers all wore jean shorts and...

Some bikers on older bikes, based upon their dress, looked like they needed their bikes for transportation, like the gas station attendant I saw. On the beach, social class divided the people who only had enough money to stare at the water from those with money to buy fancy surfboards. In short, the beach is a human ecosystem -- as well as a natural environment.
References

Hobbs, Dick. (2007). Ethnography and the study of deviance. Handbook of ethnography. Sage.

James, Allison. (2007). Ethnography in the study of children and childhood. Handbook of Ethnography. Sage.

Keating, Elizabeth. (2007). The ethnography of communication. Handbook of ethnography.

Sage.

Tilley, Christopher. (2007). Ethnography and material culture. Handbook of ethnography.

Sage.