Ride in a Critical Mass

I got my bike all fixed up and I found out when and where the BR chapter of Critical Mass meets up. PLUS this month’s ride is a Pirate and Ninja themed ride. I need to participate and post pictures, yes?

I found a nearby bike shop that does tuneups for a reasonable price and I’ve also met a guy recently who use to work in a bike shop and rides frequently.

I wanna get riding!

I finally rode in Critical Mass last Friday. It was a lot of fun, but our ride was plagued with flats. Riding down Folsom to Justin Hermann Plaza Ashley got a major flat at First and Folsom – probably from the inordinate amount of glass on the road that night. We changed it with my one spare tube and got to the Ferry Building, but the only people left were kids on fixies riding around in backwards figure-eights. We rode up and down a few blocks on Market until someone yelled out that the Mass was at Union Square and we met up with it at Geary and Stockton. Now here’s where it gets a little fuzzy – I was so caught up in everything that I’m not sure how we could have gotten up to the Broadway tunnel, but that’s where I thought we were, and we went down Broadway to the Embarcadero and headed towards Fisherman’s Wharf.

After taking the funky little path after Hyde we ended up in the Marina and I lost Carlos and Ashley so I waited for them at the beginning of the Marina Green. The Mass passed so rode to the front again and waited, but no luck. I got a call, Ashley had another flat at Sports Basement (shoulda bought another tube), but at least this looked like a slow leak so it held air for a little while and we caught up with the Mass and got a great view of the City from the Presidio. Her flat kept acting up so we had to bail once we got back out to Lombard. So I hammered up and over Divisadero (gnarly hill) from Lombard and picked up the truck (irony) in order to pick up Carlos and Ashley for lack of another tube or patch kit. All in all, despite the flats, it was loads of fun and we’re definitely showing up after Christmas – you should be there too!

I finally did Critical Mass this summer. Twice. It’s definitely worth doing.

My wood nymph friend and I, Paris Hilton with a $10 blonde wig, rode in Chicago’s Halloween Critical Mass last month. It was ridiculously fun. While its fun to get on the busy streets like Michigan Avenue, it’s also great to ride through different neighborhoods that I wouldn’t bike through on my own. Now that I’m more familiar I may reconsider!

We were starving, so to go through Chinatown, Pilsen, and Greek Town, not only made our hunger unbearable but reminded us of our city’s wonderful ethnic restaurant offerings.

There are a couple other things I like about Critical Mass. When people ask you “Where are you going?” and the collective response, except for a few in the front, is “We don’t know!!!” We were near the back of the pack and really had no clue! And then there’s the curious reaction from onlookers. People dress up other months besides Halloween, a few riders drag speakers and overall you just feel like part of a parade.

Critical Mass can be whatever you want it to be. For me it’s creative expression, promoting biking as a viable transportation option, and exploring more of the city than my usual radius of activity. And it’s just darn fun. The Halloween ride was my second Critical Mass and you should see some of the folks even when it’s not Halloween! I may just wear that blonde wig under my stocking cap for the next one!

Despite Chicago temps it’s year round on the last Friday of the month. Fellow Chicagoans – hope to see you there!

do I take things so personal? i dwell on cirticism way too much! I always have. Often it’s just jealolusy, especially with that one friend I have… I wish it wouldn’t take me so long to see it for what it is sometimes…

The theory behind Critical Mass, as I understand it, is that cars won’t give bikes space on the road until there is a critical mass of us out there. In an attempt to shift the balance, bikers gather regularly to ride en masse through downtowns all across the country—at rush hour.

It’s such a rush to be riding your bike down the middle of a busy street, surrounded by hundreds of other bikers—to experience a feeling of safety on the road. It’s amazing to see the mass approach cars from behind and totally surround them as we whip past. I try not to be antagonistic; to influence the group to turn onto a different street every block or so, so as not to ruin any one driver’s commute completely. But people still get pissed off, as you can imagine.

Minneapolis has Critical Mass rides the last Friday of every month at 5 p.m., meeting at the fountain in Loring Park.

I do feel like this theory works: Franklin Avenue in south Minneapolis is a great example. Five years ago there weren’t many bikers there, and trying to ride there was a death-defying experience. But now there are tons of bikes along there, and the drivers seem to have adapted well.