Critical Mass Bike Ride

I have heard about this concept but living in a small rural community like Albert Lea, it’s a “big city” issue. I started reading your article, assuming that Critical Mass would be a concept heralded as free speech and individual rights at its finest. As I continued to read the article, I became incensed, having grown up in Brooklyn Park and the Twin Cities area, that law enforcement resources are wasted on protecting these scoff-laws; that rather than arresting them for deliberately and blatantly breaking laws that would normally warrant a citation at the least, they were enabling them by stopping traffic and giving them a full escort. It was extremely encouraging to see your conclusion. As someone who has not lived in the metro area for going on 8 years, when I first hear these stories, I wondered if all city cyclists in the city are like this. Thank you for taking a stand as a responsible cyclist. As a driver and a former avid cyclist, I agree that drivers can do a better job of seeing RESPONSIBLE cyclists. However, I also remember the first rules my parents taught me as I started riding those Brooklyn Park boulevards. 1- You are part of traffic and therefore responsible to obey all the laws just like cars. 2. Cars are bigger than you. You WILL lose- every time.

Steve Patten
Albert Lea, MN

Thank you for the article on Critical Mass. It exposes them for who they really are. This is the first article I’ve read that actually takes the time to document their activities, including breaking multiple traffic laws.

Just curious, did you ask the police department how they can support such illegal activity? Also, I would like to know what they would do if an emergency vehicle or other emergency (such as a laboring female) were to need to use the road?

Ryan Bortolon
Minnetonka

I totally agree with how you summed up your piece on CM. I rode in it once last year for about ten minutes and was bored out of my mind. I understand how some of the participants feel like there’s a great comraderie and how they’re raising awareness of bikes, blah, blah, blah. To me, though, it was just a boring ride that went slower than I like to go and didn’t accomplish anything.

A couple of months ago I was driving through downtown on a Friday afternoon and got caught in a Critical Mass ride. Since I do not drive downtown very often at first I was not aware of what was happening. All I saw was a stream of bikers running the stop light. I was going to honk my horn until I noticed that there were police bikers with the group. That is when I realized what this was all about. I was upset and angry. Not because people were biking but because they were smugly defying the law. But then why should this shock me. I have a 25 minute commute to my work place and this summer I would estimate that at least 3 out of every 5 days I see bikers crossing major intersections against the right light, turning in front of oncoming traffic against the light, and other obvious violations of the law. I respect bikers and never crowd them or cut them off. But on those occasions I have laid on my horn and given them the one finger salute. Most of the time they respond by flipping me off or yelling at me. Are they upset because I am exposing their disregard for the law? Or do they really think the law does not apply to them while on a bike?
Sincerely,
Harley Reed

PS Do you think I can get a police escort if I want to hold a pogo stick “ride” to demonstrate the plight of pogo stick riders and the difficulty we are having in getting respect for our “cause”?

Harley,
If there are actually thousands of people riding to work on pogo sticks, then yes, you can. But it’s not a viable form of alternative transportation. And, when you are riding to work, do you also honk and flip off every single person who is j-walking? What about those motorists who don’t do a complete stop at stop signs? Let’s be consistent here.

I agree with Steve.. Lets not forget that in the eye of the law bicycles are considered vehicles and are
suppose to follow all traffic laws. We don’t have any more right just because we ride a bike.

I live in a small community that is trying to become ‘bike-friendly.’ We hold full moon cruiser rides every month. Depending on the month we have 45 – 300 people show up to ride through town. We obey stoplights, and try to ride on streets with out a lot of stop signs so we don’t have to stop. I must say, it is fun to make a car wait for all the bikes to go by…. It goes well and we’ve never had a run-in with an angry motorist or police in the three years its been going on. At the same time, I bike commute every day and regularly fear for my life even though I ride on the bike path, obey stop signs and really pay attention to my surroundings. I’ve discovered that there are two types of drivers: 1. a driver that sees the bike and assumes the biker is going to run the light/sign so stops and waits forever (until i physically put my foot down and lean on my bike and stare at them until they go – although I’m probably the only biker that even stops) and 2. the driver that is oblivious and almost hits me backing up, turning right into me (almost happened this morning) or blowing through a stop sign itself because it doesn’t see me. Its definitely a balance, and as the first poster said, cars are bigger, they will win, so us cyclists have to be constantly on the defensive.

I lived in LA, and rode my bike everywhere I went for a year and a half. I believe in obeying traffic laws. Bikers who don’t give bikers a bad name, in my opinion. I don’t understand why a Critical Mass ride has to run red lights to get the point across.

Nation: Try the ‘critical kiss.’ If a driver respects me when I’m on my bike, I blow them a kiss. Gets a smile every time.

I rode in a sad Critical Mass here in Seattle after the death of another cyclist. What hit me was the undercurrent of animosity towards regular cyclists like myself who happen to wear bike shorts. It was not the most welcoming of participatory events.

I’ll echo some sentiments already posted. If CM is trying to raise awareness, how does breaking traffic laws help that? Seems like it ends up being more of an anarchists’ convention (even though that’s technically an oxymoron.)

If you tick people off how do you achieve what you want? As a one off it may be fine.

There is a place for everyone but there has to be reciprocation it just seems to me that it is all or nothing sometimes.

CIM has had my attention however been abused whilst riding for some indeterminate outcome does not seem worthwhile. The rides if held regularly just reinforces other road users worst feelings about cyclists and it may not be a CIM rider who is harmed in the worst instances.

As an aside as pedestrian, cyclist, father of three i.e. citizen I wonder if in the USA (my location is Sydney, Australia) are your local state even federal governments funding work were road infrastructure -refuse to say/acknowledge rules-such as broken even solid white dividing lines are appearing on footpaths. shared paths. cycle paths? I think this is a dangerous nonsense that allows the callous, the cavalier, the incompetent or careless to justify their stupidity around pedestrians/other users. Approaching at speed from behind and ringing the bell as they sail past and of course taking offense if something is said. Not unlike passing another car at two or three times their speed and wondering why the other care driver maybe unnerved-150mph v 50mph is the same as 15mph v 5mph.

For the first time, The Gear Junkie has seriously let me down. I am also a law-abiding bike commuter. While I don’t choose to participate in critical mass often, I do value that it exists and disagree with your conclusions based on visiting one critical mass. I have met parents pedaling with their children on critical mass who tell me that it is the one time of the month they feel safe on the streets.

CM is intended to be a celebration, not an opportunity to cause trouble. Those who want to try to tie up traffic as much as possible and be confrontational with motorists are missing the point. We can assert our right to the road without being rude about it. Focus on the ride, not on the cars that also happen to be on the road. Just like there are always a few motorists causing road rage— there are always a few cyclists who bring an attitude to critical mass. But don’t dismiss it all because of the actions of a few. At many Critical Masses, bicyclists hand out doughnuts and flowers to waiting cars at the intersection, and say thanks for waiting!

Here is an excerpt from a SF Chronicle article by Charles Higgins back in 2000 that I enjoyed, you can read the full article here: http://tinylink.com/?r1lh1nyd9H

“Sadly, it is the confrontational side of Critical Mass that most people remember. The idea that the bicycle is a practical mode of transportation and a symbol of good quality of life gets lost in the fracas.

But there are many faces to Critical Mass. The event is at once a rebellion and a celebration. It is a manifestation of deep consternation over transportation, the environment, materialism and free market-driven urban planning.

Though it raises the blood pressure of some rush-hour commuters, Critical Mass offers a change, if only for a few moments, in the domination of the streets. In place of tons of steel and glass is a rolling community of people who can talk to each other and experience safety in numbers.

Critical Mass exists because thousands of people are exhilarated and inspired by its ability to redefine public space that was mapped out two generations ago with the oil industry at heart. It is the voice of the minority amid the deafening roar of engines and the seduction of Madison Avenue advertising.

Before Critical Mass emerged in 1992, bicyclists were nearly invisible. On the streets and in the political landscape, they were less than a minority.

The ride has helped people question the arbitrary rules set forth by an auto-dominated society.

While some activism and confrontation remain a small part of the ride, Critical Mass provides an opportunity for average people to gather surrounded by other cyclists on the streets that otherwise threaten them. It is an expression of how many people think differently from mainstream society. Critical Mass originally intended to bring people together, at the same time and place, to ride home. It was and is an experiment with unpredictable consequences. That it grew and transplanted to cities all over the world says something about the collective frustration people feel about the streets.”

Just like many other celebrations— parades, marches, and the like— allowing autos into the procession decreases the safety of all participants and makes the procession stretch out much farther than is necessary. The police realize this, and that is why they help keep the ride together.

Come out and try Critical Mass again— the San Francisco Halloween Mass is the best of the year, and I’d love to give you a tour.

Sarah