no pledges and as for the zoo-like atmosphere I think you are talking about the Chronicle Tour de Peninsula.

Friends don't let friends ride that one 8-(

TdP is horrid, crowded, over advertised, over booked, traffic cones lined the route-c'mon can't you just say "stay to the right"?, you pay extra for food at the end and it attracts a beginner ridership not that there is anything wrong with that, folks have to start somewhere but I've never seen so many people steer left when a rider says "on your left"