Bicycle Wars of Critical Mass
Want a glimpse of the future? Look to Crazy Cali. These two YouTube videos are the intersection of Global Warming insanity and dufus protesters. Two wonderful examples of civil disobedience and martyrdom. Hopefully not coming to a neighborhood near you.
Bicycles were harmed in these videos.
These bike rides are part of Critical Mass, a loosely organized group of eco-nuts who think it is great fun to cause massive traffic jams at rush hour. While this is great fun in places like Crazy Cali, Chicago, Seattle, and Portland, will it sell in the South? One mud covered pickup truck with a rebel flag might cause would be martyrs to think twice.
May 14th, 2007 at 12:58 pm
Everyone out here (sf bay area) hates the “massholes”. When some nut finally runs a bunch of them over I doubt many tears will be shed. The rides started out as events to raise bicycle awarness and advocate for more bike lanes and things like that. In recent years they’ve been taken over by jackass radicals who use them as a license to antagonize motorists and motorcyclists. Strangely they seem to be best at scaring old people in Berkeley, can’ recall seeing them over here in West Oakland… wonder why? Oh yeah, cause they’d get shot or beaten to death!
May 14th, 2007 at 1:17 pm
Heh
I’d have paid good money to see that old man pepper spray those idiots.
May 14th, 2007 at 2:16 pm
Strangely they seem to be best at scaring old people in Berkeley, can’ recall seeing them over here in West Oakland… wonder why? Oh yeah, cause they’d get shot or beaten to death!
Critical Mass has almost no presence in Tennessee. Wonder why?
May 14th, 2007 at 2:36 pm
Because a wanna-be bigfoot truck makes hippies into paste?
May 14th, 2007 at 3:24 pm
Doesn’t the artficial traffic jam cause more CO2 and other “pollutants” to be released into the atmo?
May 14th, 2007 at 4:04 pm
Doesn’t the artficial traffic jam cause more CO2 and other “pollutants” to be released into the atmo?
Oh snap, they are such magnificent hypocrites aren’t they? In the first video they harass an elderly handicapped couple. But they were driving a SUV so I guess they had it coming…
In each video it looks as if the hippies are lodging their bikes under the cars. It is not possible to tell for sure but it looks that way. Why the cops allow this anarchy makes no sense. On their website Critical Mass discusses running red lights as a safety issue. All this does is hurt the normal bike riders that wish to be left in peace.
This is the “us” and “them” viewpoint of eco-nuts.
May 14th, 2007 at 4:24 pm
And I thought that I would never buy a paintball gun.
May 14th, 2007 at 4:36 pm
Hey, # 9. We used to run A CM every Friday at 5 across the Henley Bridge. IIRC, they still do. Where were you?
As for the paintball gun comment, two young men did a year each for shooting a friend of mine with their paintball guns while he was riding his bike. That’s assault. Again, IIRC, he got $50 grand from a third kid’s parents to make it go away.
May 14th, 2007 at 6:08 pm
I know someone (aka dirty hippy) who was on the Berkeley ride…apparently, the driver lunged forward into a crowd of cyclists. There were people on their bikes who were in the van’s path. As the van moved forward, they got off their bikes to move out of the way, but the van moved forward and trapped their bikes under the vehicle. They didn’t throw their bikes under the vehicle…I mean think about it, does that make any sense?
As to breaking the traffic laws, there is a big misconception on this…first you have to realize the sheer numbers of people who ride..the number of riders (atleast in San Francisco) run blocks and blocks and blocks (15 blocks of riders isn’t uncommon). The front of the ride always obeys red lights. however, in order to keep the group together, the middle of the ride will keep going when there is a red light. If they didn’t it would break up the ride into many, many smaller masses and create even more traffic havoc.
As to the idea that the rides let off more CO2, Critical Mass started in San Francisco 15 years ago. In that time, many bike improvements have been made and the number of cyclists has skyrocketed. Apparently, they are having some kind of effect.
I do agree with Sprocket..the rides have started to attract a lot of jackasses, though some of the old time massers have become more proactive about policing them.
May 14th, 2007 at 6:10 pm
Hey, # 9. We used to run A CM every Friday at 5 across the Henley Bridge. IIRC, they still do. Where were you?
I was out in the country where people don’t go out of their way to piss people off, obstruct traffic, and endanger themselves and others. I find fewer and fewer reasons to enter the downtown area.
Thanks, you just gave me another one.
Why would anyone participate in Critical Mass? What possible reason is there to risk your safety for 15 minutes of anarchy? I cannot think of a way to make people resent a cause more than the idiocy of Critical Mass. This is the logical progression of Al Gore’s madness. Two wheeled Luddites trying to resist the internal combustion engine.
Again metulj, you are the supreme hypocrite. It was comical when you used to accuse me of being an anarchist. It doesn’t surprise me you would be part of this group. It fits you.
May 14th, 2007 at 6:17 pm
As to breaking the traffic laws, there is a big misconception on this…first you have to realize the sheer numbers of people who ride..the number of riders (at least in San Francisco) run blocks and blocks and blocks (15 blocks of riders isn’t uncommon). The front of the ride always obeys red lights. however, in order to keep the group together, the middle of the ride will keep going when there is a red light. If they didn’t it would break up the ride into many, many smaller masses and create even more traffic havoc.
Manish, they are running Red lights.
Period.
Can people in cars or on motorcycles run Red lights without fine or penalty. What about the other people? Do they not have rights?
May 14th, 2007 at 6:38 pm
Metulj and his ilk do this because they lack the courage to be anything but passive/aggressive. It is a coward’s tactic. Use all the room you can, abuse as many people as you can, then cry “Foul” when someone decides enough is enough.
I hesitate to use the word “chickenshit” but it seems he has a lot of henhouse ways.
May 14th, 2007 at 6:44 pm
seems to happen quite a bit..the red light running not so much, but definitely speeding, not stopping for pedestrians in crosswalks, etc. I suppose this all means that you will support a crackdown on speeding whereby someone driving a mile over the speed limit will be tarred and feathered, no?
May 14th, 2007 at 7:51 pm
Probably. But:
Disrupting traffic is illegal and may even be felony reckless endangerment. So, I don’t think I’d be lecturing on the law breaking. But I’m no lawyer.
May 14th, 2007 at 9:45 pm
#9 Says:
The very tactic they use is to have no leaders or official spokesperson. Standard police tactics. I suppose, focus on leaders and this somewhat circumvents that. The rides are not planned out and anyone may suggest a start time or location. Anyone may also chose the route, it’s just that you are not guaranteed that everyone will follow your lead.
If one wanted to organize a group of people to protest internal combustion engines, piss people off, break traffic laws in broad daylight and still have a pretty good chance of getting away with it, teh anarchy tactic is probably the very best one to use.
Manish Says:
So If I got a bunch of cars together we should also be able to run red lights in order to keep the group together? If they want to coordinate as a group and plan a route, I’m sure they could get a permit to have a parade, but the critical massholes don’t wanna do that.
Manish Says:
A mile over the speed limit = running a yellow when you know you actually had time to make a safe stop. Let’s keep it real here .
Manish Says:
Oddly enough, both times I was hit by a vehicle as a pedestrian, the perpetrators were some asshole on a bike, “sharing” a hiker-biker trail with me. It’s probably no coincidence that both were hit-and-run accidents too.
May 14th, 2007 at 10:13 pm
Feel the anger. Feel it. It swells up inside big. Daddy didn’t love you and hit you and you couldn’t do anything about it. Mommy was a cloying drunk. It hurt. So you see the guy on the bike in the tight shorts. You are confused. You don’t know. It’s so hot. You love it. You say “No one looks good in those shorts,” but you are confused because you are thinking about what it means to look good in those shorts. Then you realize, the guy on the bike that cost more than one month’s of your pay is exactly that: A guy. You fell dirty. You reach for the only thing that makes you feel strong…
May 14th, 2007 at 11:02 pm
hey dude…if you can get 5000 cars together you can do whatever you want.
I’m sorry to hear that. I know someone who is paralyzed for life because a car hit her in the crosswalk and ran. I’m not excusing the cyclists that hit you, but a several thousand pound car powered by a motor has to be more careful than a cyclist. They have the capability to inflict more damage.
We’re talking about once a month for 2 hours cyclists running some reds which causes maybe 15 minute delay for motorists (in San Francisco which has one of the larger Critical Masses, other cities the wait would be less), while clearing the street they are on quicker so that other motorists will be able to get on them faster. Its a zero-sum game for the cars.
May 14th, 2007 at 11:06 pm
Okay, for those in our home audience, the comment from “The Hot Guy in Tight Shorts” is our old friend Metulj. Spamming/trolling of this nature would get some people banned but not here. At least not by me. As usual, he makes my case better than I can.
Metulj, you have told me a hundred times I can never take you in a debate. You are lame beyond comprehension.
Thanks a bunch for the homoerotic lunatic fantasy Butterfly, it was so very weird, unneeded, bizarre, and wasted on this audience. For those who don’t know, “Metulj” means Butterfly in Slovenian.
You are a gutless coward and hypocrite and while I will never censor you, it is not my blog. I hope Uncle will let you stay as you do a better job than I ever will on making my case. You have given me hell for my anonymity but of course it is perfectly fine for you do to the same. Did I mention you are a gutless coward?
My psychic ability tells me SA may have a few comments.
May 14th, 2007 at 11:08 pm
Thanks for the legal advise, Metulj.
My comment about the paintball gun was a joke.
I have done a good bit of riding, both on trails and on the roads.
It’s funny how the notion of hassling motorists never crossed my mind.
These guys were looking for trouble and found it.
I wish that the older couple they were harassing had used a taser on them.
If they have one of these disruptive events on Kingston Pike, I will invest in a few bottles of Wesson oil and every thumb tack that Staples has on the shelf.
I will happily run the risk of the littering citation.
May 14th, 2007 at 11:58 pm
So let’s see…a few ragtag civil disobedience minded bikers are misbehaving…therefore “econuts” are all wrong. Is that about right, #9? Yawn…
Cause out in greater Bumfuck East there aren’t any traffic jams to begin with?
Picking on the imaginary hippie conspiracy, the surefire sign of grumpy old reactionaries the world around.
May 15th, 2007 at 1:25 am
I saw a video some college kids did where they blocked all lanes of the Atlanta Bypass going the speed limit. It was terrifying with trucks passing on the shoulder. These guys should try this there. The law of maximum tonnage would be impressed upon these bicyclists.
But to effectively deal with these idiots, they should be escorted by a couple of city busses in front. A couple of hours of bus fumes would take the fight right out of them. But mass transit would be fully supported.
Is it me or is this a bit ironic in that “critical mass” is when things get so tense something blows up and people get hurt?
May 15th, 2007 at 2:47 am
Naw, #9, I said it all, and he proved it.
May 15th, 2007 at 8:09 am
Yes. You can comment all you want but stick with one moniker please.
May 15th, 2007 at 9:26 am
In NYC the cops kick ass. Of course it is Police Brutality.
The whiners of Critical Mass responded, “The NYPD now requires a permit for any public gathering, or ‘parade’, of 50 people or more. Section 1A of the city ruling defines a parade as “any march, motorcade, caravan, promenade, foot, or bicycle race, or similar event of any kind, procession or race which consists of a recognizable group of 50 or more pedestrians, vehicles, bicycles, or other devices move by human power, or ridden or herded animals proceeding together upon any public street or roadway.”
Where in the First Amendment is the part where anarchy is protected?
May 15th, 2007 at 10:03 am
Manish Says:
You, of course are not implying that cyclist can ignore laws because they are not as dangerous/heavy.
Accident number one was on the C&O towpath. After a 15 mile hike I was low on energy and dehydrated and I drifted into the center of a dual-track. It was a sparsely populated portion of the trail way above Harper’s Ferry. Not only was I sideswiped from behind, but the guy got back on his bike and took off as fast as he could. Laws require bikers to have a bell and use it while approaching from behind, but I’d be happy with a shout-out. Not only do 60% of bikers ignore this, but about 25% of all bikers on the trail actually attempt to approach as quietly as possible.
Second one was on the Capital Crescent Trail. Because of the bikers, I chose to walk that one on a Tuesday during business hours. “Lance Armstrong” clipped me as he swooped on by, again without warning. He only looked back when I called him an asshole.
May 15th, 2007 at 10:13 am
Mischief-
I know where you are coming from on sharing the roads and trails for runners/walkers and cyclists.
I seldom have trouble from cyclists when I am running on the local roads, sidewalks and greenway trails, although I did come face to face with a cyclist on the side walk on the Henley Street Bridge last night.
I don’t fault the guy for not wanting to brave that road with its heavy traffic and lack of places to ditch.
I agree. The First Amendment applies to peacable assembly, not attempts to stop traffic.
May 15th, 2007 at 2:55 pm
Of course not. Cyclists should ride in a safe manner at all times and most of all should be respectful to pedestrians. However, I tire of seeing all sorts of scorn thrown onto cyclists for breaking the law with no scorn thrown the way of drivers, who have the capability of inflicting more damage.
May 15th, 2007 at 2:58 pm
So if your company organizes a picnic for 100 people, they should get a permit?
May 15th, 2007 at 3:24 pm
So if your company organizes a picnic for 100 people, they should get a permit?
If it is in the middle of the street, then Yes.
Manish, why is Critical Mass good in any way?
Maybe I don’t get it. It looks like thuggish cowardly anarchy to me.
What am I missing? Do you honestly think this is the way to convince people to use bikes for transportation as opposed to enjoyment?
May 15th, 2007 at 5:14 pm
Re-read what the NYPD wants…Section 1A of the city ruling defines a parade as “any march, motorcade, caravan, promenade, foot, or bicycle race, or similar event of any kind, procession or race which consists of a recognizable group of 50 or more pedestrians, vehicles, bicycles, or other devices move by human power, or ridden or herded animals proceeding together upon any public street or roadway.”
This means that if 50 people in cars are going to a picnic following the same route, they are a parade. If 5000 Vol fans come to Neyland Stadium, they are a parade. Seriously, why should government control how can get together and what they do when they get together.
Critical Mass started as a group of people biking home together after work and has evolved to what it is today. The emphasis is on traveling by bike. 5000 bikes might tie up auto traffic, but 5000 cars would also tie-up auto traffic…just see what happens at a sporting event or concert.
In San Francisco (and other large cities as well), Critical Mass has been the driver (so to speak) for a resurgent cycling movement. Many more people here ride bikes and there are fewer injuries and deaths then there were before.
Critical Mass is also a time that bikes rule the road and it is kind of fun. There is no way to describe the feeling of being on a Critical Mass ride other than to bike 29 days of the month where you are constantly on the lookout for drivers about to clock you, and riding for an hour or two in calm and bliss. Now i know what you are going to say…why do you have to tie up traffic? We aren’t tying up traffic, we are traffic…just like the people coming to Neyland Stadium mucking up traffic in that area of town.
May 15th, 2007 at 6:06 pm
Manish, I am for bike lanes in places where they make sense. I share the road with bike riders. I have close friends that ride every day. I would ride on the street if there were bike lanes. But not for transportation, just for fun.
But how does holding a town hostage on a Friday further your cause?
Even bike messengers and other bike riders feel Critical Mass has been taken over by radicals. The idea that you “are traffic” and it is okay to run red lights is crazy. I am sure it is exhilarating. But believe me the PR doesn’t work. I don’t think you understand the message you are sending.
There has to be a better way. The only awareness you are creating is that you are above the law. I would expect the police to arrest you.
May 15th, 2007 at 8:29 pm
Well, since it appears you have your own blog, then have at it! Nobody’s stopping you. I look forward to your posting of an event where a couple hundred vehicles decide to hit the bike trails just to piss off the cyclists.
May 15th, 2007 at 9:22 pm
How does holding the area around Neyland Stadium hostage further anything? People are getting together going on a bike ride. As I’ve said, over the past 15 years CM has increased the safety and numbers of cyclists. you might not see it as a recreation cyclist at best, but as a commuter I do see the increase and the extra bike facilities.
I would put myself in that camp too. There are too many testosterone filled cyclists who turn small incidents into huge affairs. No one is defending these people, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t a lot of respectful CM riders.
So then tell me what does work? Look at SayUncle..he started a thread about the nasty cyclist who *gasp* rode on a crosswalk and what an asshole this person is…presumably Uncle has never run into Critical Mass. So let me pose the question to you..how do you get drivers to respect cyclists in the way that they respect other drivers? Why do drivers excuse other drivers (and presumably themselves) for things like speeding, violating pedestrian right-of-way, talking on the cellphone, and other activities that endanger themselves and other users of the road? Do you think that if CM ended that suddenly all the drivers would respect cyclists?
I expect the cops to arrest you when you speed, talk on the cellphone, violate pedestrian right-of-way, follow too closely, etc. but I’m not going to hold my breath. How often do people get pulled over for these kinds of things? Makes me think that drivers are above the law too. So seriously, cut out the holier than thou crap.
May 15th, 2007 at 9:25 pm
bikes are vehicles and entitled to full use of the road. if you think that cyclists ride to piss off drivers, you are sadly mistaken. We ride to please ourselves.
May 15th, 2007 at 11:33 pm
So seriously, cut out the holier than thou crap.
I don’t get together dozens of people in cars and run red lights. If you cannot obey the traffic laws then who is holier?
I don’t think you would like car drivers to have one day a month where they just do what they want when they want and just ignore every one else’s safety.
The videos on YouTube do not present your cause in a positive light. I had never heard of Critical Mass until the other day. Your insistence that people in the ride should run red lights for their safety ignores everyone else’s safety.
Good luck. You won’t find my in an area where there is a Critical Mass ride.
May 16th, 2007 at 2:33 am
#9..please answer the following questions:
Do you always obey the speed limit?
Do you always leave 2 seconds of distance between yourself and the car in front of you?
When a pedestrian wants to cross, do you always yield for this person?
Do you never talk on your cellphone when driving?
If you answered yes to any of the above, you are not obeying traffic laws, period. If you answered no to all of the above, you are holier than me and a fucking liar.
I see this 30 days every month. Tell me you don’t see drivers acting in a dangerous manner daily..just please tell me that. Tell me daily you don’t see someone talking on their cellphone with no regard to the road around them. Tell me you don’t see someone driving way too fast for their own safety or the safety of the other users of the road including other drivers. However, you somehow seem to excuse this..why is that? Is it because you see Critical Mass as somehow deliberate and the drivers actions accidental? Bullshit. you choose to talk on the cellphone. You choose to drive too fast.
The first video probably doesn’t. In fact, I’m on an email list where many people were berating the guy who posted it for doing so. The 2nd video, the woman jumps the curb to chase down a defenseless cyclist..in my opinion, this doesn’t put this driver in a particularly good light. But again, I ask you..you thought that cyclists were assholes before you saw this video, did your opinion suddenly change? What will put our cause in a good light oh great one? Seriously, what should we do to make you us like you? I suppose it will be a standard that you will impose on yourself too..right.
But let me approach this with you from a different light…you are a libertarian right? And I assume that you aren’t the BS kind of libertarian who believes government should stay out of everyone’s business when its suits you and government should be authoritarian when it suits you as well.
Well, here’s why they just can’t arrest CM riders…they aren’t doing anything wrong. You can’t have guilt by association. Every rider in the ride is doing something they are allowed to do which is ride their bike. They can’t be responsible for the fact that others are doing the same. NYC and San Francisco both tried to shut down critical mass with no success, which is where this whole parade thing comes into play. Its the only means that they have to try and control it. The courts ruled that it overstepped the bounds in SF, and I don’t think it has a chance in NYC. As a libertarian do you really think that a walking tour of NYC with 50 participants should get a parade permit (street usually includes the sidewalk)? Or are you really an advocate for authoritarian government when its something you don’t like?
The only law that they could get them on is running a red. But that law is the same law that applies to all vehicles all the time. So what do you think that the law should be for running a red? Arrest and confiscation of the vehicle? Hope your prepared to get arrested and have your car impounded if you gun it on a yellow and don’t make it on time.
Critical Mass is freedom. Don’t like critical mass, go to an authoritarian country where they can make it illegal.
May 16th, 2007 at 6:55 am
What makes you think they can’t make it illegal in this country? Won’t, perhaps, but only for want of balls, not adherence to any of your pseudo-libertarian gibberish. If states can ban cyclists from freeways, they can ban them from any other streets where they’re causing trouble. And in the end, if legitimate cyclists end up with less freedom because of you Criminal Massholes, their anger will properly be directed at you, not the “authoritarian” country that found an imperfect solution to the problems you deliberately caused.
May 16th, 2007 at 9:18 am
But let me approach this with you from a different light…you are a libertarian right? blah, blah, blah…
Wrong.
Critical Mass is freedom. Don’t like critical mass, go to an authoritarian country where they can make it illegal.
Critical Mass is anarchy. Enjoy it while it lasts. If you care about it try to save it. Go back to the original intent and stop acting like terrorists. Stop for red lights and allow cars to pass you. Occupy one lane and coexist with pedestrians, cars, buses, and motorcycles. Equal rights, not superior rights. Does that make sense?
Or have your little toy taken away. I have no doubt it will survive in parts of Crazy Cali. Well, except for West Oakland and Compton. You don’t have Criminal Mass in West Oakland or Compton do you?
May 16th, 2007 at 1:01 pm
Experience over the last 15 years suggest the opposite..that bike issues have taken a greater significance. People were pissed off at cyclists long before CM and they’ll be pissed off now.
May 16th, 2007 at 1:49 pm
Experience over the last 15 years suggest the opposite..that bike issues have taken a greater significance. People were pissed off at cyclists long before CM and they’ll be pissed off now.
Just because something happens in San Francisco does not mean it has any merit outside the goldfish bowl. San Fran doesn’t count.
The solution is not finding ways to piss people off. If it were, Criminal Mass would be a huge success.
May 16th, 2007 at 3:23 pm
Similar things have happened in other large cities. Generally, cycling is only viable in large numbers in denser cities so that where-ever you are going is close enough to go by bike. No one is going to bike 60 miles, the way that people drive those distances.
you are correct, the solution is better bike facilities and more people cycling. Critical Mass is only a tool to get people mobilized and an effective one at that. There is nothing about a bus boycott that brings about civil rights..it was just a tool. If you have a better way (that has actually worked) to get better bike facilities I’m all ears. (My comment is not meant to equate the civil rights movement to bicycling.)
May 17th, 2007 at 2:38 am
Hey #9,
One other point..Critical Mass probably doesn’t look like what you think it does. The video is not representative at all..altercations are few and far between. I’ve seen lots of people get out of their cars and enjoy themselves watching the cyclists go by. Now there are definitely people in cars who who get upset, but they are usually not that many. Granted the majority are folks stuck in their cars who don’t betray any emotion one way or the other who are might be upset, but most just accept the delay and then move on.
I’ve seen rides go through residential neighborhoods where people got out and sat on their stoops with their kids to watch.
Having lived in Knoxville for about a year, my guess is that people there would largely go the same way. When their was an incident at the SF Critical Mass a couple months ago, people flooded the comments of different local blogs seething in rage at cyclists, but what you say in on the internet and what you do in real life can be totally different (or its just lucky that none of these people found themselves in the middle of the Mass).
May 17th, 2007 at 2:40 am
oopss.and let me add one other thing, if you ever find yourself in a big city on the last Friday of the month, I’d say find out where Critical Mass is and check it out. What do you have to lose? I’m not necessarily saying ride in it, but follow it on foot for a short distance. Can’t hurt to do some on the ground research..you might learn something.
May 17th, 2007 at 11:15 am
Can’t hurt to do some on the ground research..you might learn something.
If the opportunity comes up I will. I like to learn why people do things.
May 17th, 2007 at 4:31 pm
#9 – I appreciate your attitude.