So what is it that makes the bicycle and the demonstration such good companions? To me, there are two factors at play.

Firstly, if you’re in a group, there is something undeniably liberating about riding around a city surrounded by cyclists. I’ve never been on a Critical Mass ride, so going to Blackheath was a strange sensation – no longer a vulnerable solo rider lined up against the massed metal forces of the motorised traffic, I was part of an entity too big to ignore or shove unthinkingly into the kerb.

Second, if you’re a solo campaigner in an urban environment then the bike is the mode of transport most guaranteed to get you to your protest on time and – perhaps more important still – give you the best chance of slipping away from pursuing authorities. When I worked for another news organisation in Beijing I’d regularly pedal to meetings or protests, nipping down narrow lanes to shake off the unmarked police cars, which routinely trail foreign journalists in China.

Here’s a video I made of the March ride (I try to make one of these every year):

From The Guardian:

Police attempts to outlaw the monthly Critical Mass cycle ride through the streets of London unless its route was notified in advance were blocked by the law lords today.

The House of Lords allowed a challenge by cyclist Des Kay to a court of appeal ruling that the Metropolitan police had the right to demand prior notice of the ride’s date, time and route and the names and addresses of the organisers.

Cyclists who gather on the South Bank and ride through the city to celebrate safe cycling have in the past been handed written notices by the police stating that the event was unlawful because no advance notice was given.

But the law lords held that the event, which had no organisers or set route and proceeded on a “follow my leader” basis, was not governed by section 11 of the Public Order Act 1986.

Read the rest of the article.

And here’s the Web site of Critical Mass London.

More Halloween cycling madness! Here are photos from the Critical Masquerade in Rochester.

Perry Woodin, unicyclist extraordinaire, sent along these photos of last night’s Critical Mass riders and their arrival at his house.

Scott Kellogg’s brief talk was interesting, if a little too dogmatic. Carlsson’s talk was very thought-provoking. It’s good to hear someone else say what you’ve been thinking for months.

But, honestly, the best part was the ride home. A half dozen of us, lit up to varying degrees, cycling through mostly empty streets. Really a lot of fun. I met many people, and hopefully I’ll see them again.

ok, looks like we’ll be leaving the downtube @ madison around 6 then the next meet up will be 6-615 at the boat launch then we’ll be taking the trail over to troy. if we don’t meet up before, there will be a large group going back to albany – see everyone there or along the way!

And this, of course, refers to tonight’s talk by Chris Carlsson in troy.

There’s several people wanting to ride over to troy for the chris carlson event. Anyone interested in meeting at the downtube between 6-615 to ride over? There will be myself and a friend in town from asheville, thanks! -bob

unless it takes longer to get there, then maybe meet 545, leave @ 6?

You can contact Bob via e-mail if you want to meet.

Here’s the info about the event:

World-Renowned Bicycle Revolutionary to Visit Troy 9/15

On September 15, Chris Carlsson – San Francisco-based author, urbanist, and instigator – will be presenting his latest work, Nowtopia, at The Sanctuary for Independent Media. The event is co-sponsored by the New York Bicycling Coalition and Troy Bike Rescue. Event begins at 7 P.M. at The Sanctuary for Independent Media, 3361 6th Avenue, Troy, NY. Admission by donation ($10 suggested, $5 low income). Directions and more information at www.MediaSanctuary.org or by calling 518-272-2390. Valet bike parking will be available.

Carlsson will be discussing his new book, Nowtopia, while sharing the spotlight with local bike enthusiasts, Troy Bike Rescue, and members of Rhizome Collective, of Austin, TX. As the number of cyclists continues to visibly grow, some might hope that this prophet from the bike-city of San Francisco will be bringing the good word of separated bike lanes and proper bike parking to the auto-dominated streets of the Empire State. However, Carlsson’s latest writing carry a much broader message – it’s an analysis of “work” and a vision of radical new economics that he contends is already taking shape.

Carlsson is perhaps best known in the bicycle community as one of the first motivators of the monthly Critical Mass bike rides that began in the early 90s in San Francisco, and have spread to 5 continents and over 300 cities around the world.

Local organizer and founder of Troy Bike Rescue, Andrew Lynn, remarks: “Making true social change and moving society towards sustainable future is not just about ‘going green’; it’s about building sustainable social and technical infrastructure. This will require new levels of cooperation and innovation.”

NOTE: Per Andrew Lynn: “we are looking for a few people who might want to help specifically with Valet Bike Parking. we have advertised that this service will be available. its pretty simple – taking peoples bikes a they arrive and taking them to the little alcove between the sanctuary and the adjacent building. then, someone will need to hang out by the door and be the security. ideally this would be a rotating role. please let me know if you can help with this at anyone@breathingplanet.net.”

How do the Open Source software movement, bicycle sub-culture, guerilla gardening, and the Burning Man Festival fit together?

Author and Critical Mass co-founder Chris Carlsson connects these dots as he profiles the social networks that are cooperating outside of economic regulation and laying the foundation for a genuine movement of liberation from market life.

NOWTOPIA is, I believe, Monday, September 15th, at 7pm. I’m thinking about biking there, so if anybody from Albany is going, bump me.

This officer was subsequently stripped of his badge and gun. The rest of story is at the New York Post site. (Thanks to Karen for the tip!)

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Dozens of friendly people, all on bikes.

What’s not to like?

Since I moved to Albany, I’ve been working a lot and socializing very little. Tonight, I met a huge gang of fun folks all at once at Critical Mass. Much like Rochester, this CM is a very laid-back affair. All different types of cyclists on all different types of bikes, including two guys on unicycles with 36″ wheels. Amazing!

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We met at the Soldiers and Sailors Monument in Washington Square Park. There were about 30 riders, ranging in age from 1 or 2 to … um … older than that. Experienced. Then again, I was probably in the top 10 in terms of age. When the hell did that happen? Ah well, we pudgy Pillsbury Doughboy types gotta have our day, too, right?

The weather was drop-dead gorgeous. Perfect temps, late enough that the sun was very mellow, a light breeze. It was everything you could ask for in cycling weather.

Before the ride started, we were approached by an Albany cop who was wondering what we were up to. He was alerted by the presence of the Red Bull crew — two young women who travel in a car with a huge Red Bull can, distributing canned joy for free to all takers. The officer was concerned because there was a run/walk happening in the park, and he didn’t want us colliding with the participants. We told him we were about to split, and he couldn’t have been nicer, so all was well. A few minutes later, we were out on the street.

I won’t recount the route, but we covered a decent amount of territory — maybe 10 miles up Central, through Pine Hills, down Clinton through Arbor Hill, up State (which, as Gavin said, “sucks every time”). By the way, if you’ve never been passed by a unicyclist up a steep hill, it’s something to see. One wheel. No gears. Faster than me. Oy!

At one point, going north on Hackett, we spotted another cyclist maybe a half-mile ahead. A cyclist named Carolyn and I hammered up to 22 or 23 miles an hour to catch up to the guy (and believe me, hammering on the Packet Boat/Xtracycle is quite a challenge). When we got there, I asked if he wanted to join us, and he nervously declined. We looked back, only to realize that the entire group was turning off onto another street. So it was hammerfest number two to catch up.

We also went on a tour of all the homes a cyclist named Marylou lives in or has lived in, including her folks’ place. It was very charming, although we didn’t get to meet her parents.

I was happy to import one thing from Rochester — the tradition of yelling “Happy Friday!” to folks along the route. It really seems to have a positive effect on the folks who see us pass by. Plus, I just like yelling in public.

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After the slog up State, the mass had split into two groups. A bunch of us waited at the corner of Lark and Madison in front of the Dunkin’ Donuts, which is a hangout for motorcyclists. I chatted with a guy named Louis who struck up a conversation because of my Silver Surfer t-shirt. After a while, the gang caught up and we headed to the Palais Royale. They don’t have food, though, so about half the group went to The Madison instead, where we feasted on pizza, fries, onion rings, burgers, soda and beer.

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Eventually, that group broke up and I rode up Madison toward home. On the way, I ran into Tom, one of the CM riders. He said a bunch of cylists were at Mahar’s on Madison, and he offered to show me the way. Eric, another CMer, joined us, and we met up with the gang at Mahar’s, which is really worth visiting if you’re into beer. And pretty cool even if you’re not.

After Mahar’s, it was off to Randy’s House Of Bike Porn. This is a lovely house just a few blocks north of where I’m living. It features a basement with maybe 30 bikes — tall bikes, tandems, every kind of road and street bike. It’s amazing. Some of us sat outside and chatted while the rest ogled the bikes and took them for test rides.

All in all, it couldn’t have been a better intro to this part of Albany’s bike culture.

I think I’m going to like it here.

I think there’s something special about a bunch of quasi-socialists riding to the mall on bikes on busy shopping days to wish everyone a happy Friday. And of course, we’ll be gently confronting people about mindless consumerism. We’ll have leaflets, a bike trailer sound system, and a route that takes us through all the major strip malls and shopping centers in Henrietta.

For those in Rochester who’d like to promote this event, here’s a PDF of a flyer for you to paste up all over town!

Tonight was the Critical Masquerade — Critical Mass with Halloween costumes. Although, as it turned out, only a few of us were in costume. I wore my black-and-white Walz cap and most of my typical costume from my vintage baseball days at Genesee Country Village. I didn’t get any pictures of myself, but I looked a bit like this:

It was about 57 degrees and raining when we started out. It got colder, but it never stopped raining. I arrived on the Xtracycle with a metal bucket full of candy strapped on the back. A few minutes after I showed up, though, Team RocBike member Adam Durand came and suggested that he ride on the back of the Packet Boat and leave his own bike locked up downtown. That was fine with me because: (a) I dig Adam and (b) I was excited to take an adult on the X for the first time. (At least, it was my first time. Adam borrowed the Packet Boat a few weeks ago and took a friend on it for 20+ miles.) Stopping and starting is a bit of a challenge, and the slow speed of the Mass certainly didn’t make it easier to balance 300 pounds on the bike, but we did just fine for the 15 or so miles of the ride. Midway through, Adam hopped off the Boat and his significant other, Kristine, hopped on. She took all the road photos that are in the video and in the gallery below. Thanks, Kristine!

We had a good turnout despite the stinky weather. I’m terrible at estimating crowds, but I’d say we had 40-50 riders at the height of the ride. We rode through downtown, then up past the High Falls district to High Falls Blvd, eventually coming back down Hudson Ave and back into the city. It was a lot easier to ride with an adult passenger than I’d expected. There was a bit of wobble for the first few minutes, but I got more stable fairly quickly. (You can ask Adam whether he agrees…)

Adam and I did have one scary moment right after we dropped off his bike on Gibbs St. As we were crossing on the Packet Boat at the corner of East and Main to join the Mass, a car nearly ran into us. Half of Team RocBike was almost killed! Luckily, even had we been smeared across the front of the guy’s car, Jack Spula was on the ride to carry on the RocBike name.

The ride ended at St. Joseph’s House of Hospitality, where the Massers watched Jesus Camp. While they were watching the movie (and bagging up some free swiss chard courtesy of St. Joe’s), Adam and Gary Young and Caitlin Holcombe fixed a flat that Caitlin got toward the end of the ride. (Caitlin’s first submission to RocBike.com is on the way … or else! Don’t make us get all spindly and vegan on you!)

Here’s a video recap of tonight’s ride. Adam will have another one of his own soon. This video runs about 6 minutes. It features video of the start of the Mass, photos from the road, and an incomplete but wonderful how-to segment on patching a punctured tube. With Adam. In a dress.

And here are my photos. These are all in the video, too.

I hope to see you this Friday at 6pm for some Rochester Critical Mass!

For as many bicyclists that love Critical Mass, there seem to be just as many who oppose it. Some feel it angers motorists and reeks of hypocrisy. Others see it as simply an outlet for liberal aggression. The event certainly doesn’t seem to be winning over Minneapolis newspaper columnists.

In a column for the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Katherine Kersten comes down hard against Critical Mass and recommends serious police crack-down. She implies that all protesters in modern social movements are only interested in venting their aggression, not in making the world better. She says that like “petulant children,” leaving Critical Mass participants’ misdeeds unpunished will only result in more serious trouble down the road.

Kersten is an advocate of corporal punishment, which makes her child-punishment analogy/fantasy even more disturbing.

In order to bring some clout to her arguments that massers ride to exert power and seek to boost their reputation by adding to their arrest record, she calls in Robert Lichter of the Center for Media and Public Affairs. He shares his vast knowledge of the narcissistic and aggressive nature of “’60s-style radicals” and draws a connection to Critical Mass.

But he seems like an odd choice for a source; according to his own biography Lichter is an expert on the news and entertainment media. Maybe he used to study hippies before his current gig, but his activities prior to CMPA seem somewhat biased against social justice – he has earned himself a page on SourceWatch for his past associations and statements.

Regardless of the column’s accuracy, it’s pretty clear where the readership stands. A poll on the StarTrib site, asking “Should police crack down on ‘Critical Mass’ events?”, with almost 3300 respondents at the moment, results in 66% Yes and 32% No. Although the poll is unscientific, I’m not surprised at the results.

Critical Mass is an event, a statement, a celebration. It’s not a strategic attempt to get motorists to respect bicyclists. I’ve probably said this a hundred times to my friends. My favorite essay on the subject, by Adam Kessel, argues that Critical Mass as an event has a neutral effect on the state of bicycling. But it’s an amazing tool for energizing people into action, participation, and advocacy. People who ride in Critical Mass develop the confidence and motivation to move bureaucracies towards change.

Some see the humor in columnists getting so bent out of shape over a bike ride. Wonkette, a DC political news and satire site, mocks Kersten’s column, and commenters there make some fun points:

She should stage her own right-wing protest. She can get all of her friends to clog sthe streets of Minneapolis with gas-guzzling SUVs to really show those damn hippies….

Of course, that already has a name: rush hour.

I like the way the photo she used for her piece shows an orderly enough procession of bikes riding on the correct side of the street.

Now now…we all have a common enemy. Rollerbladers!

I can attest that Portland is the epicenter of two-wheeled terrorism. I see scores of them every morning on my drive to work. Some of the little tree-hugging bastards have the termerity not to get out of the way when I blow my horn and aim my Escalade at them.

The official Star Tribune blog post has already drawn over 350 comments so far, not nearly as insightful or funny as Wonkette’s.

If the Star Tribune site asks you to log in, username:idontthinkso password:bugmenot worked great for me! Thank you, bugmenot!

As I approached the rec center, I saw numerous people dressed in cycling clothes getting out of cars and pulling bikes off of bike racks. Soon after arriving, I saw a young man named Joey who I had met at last Friday’s Critical Mass. We were a duo of plain clothed bike commuters in a sea of LYCRA®-clad recreational and sport riders. I happened to have a backpack strapped into a milk crate on my back rack, and was wearing a bright yellow T-shirt with “Bike Commuter” in large letters on the back. I overheard a couple riders talking about how TNUA draws all kinds, knowing that they were referring to me.

Scott Page of Full Moon Vista fame pulled up right next to me and told the group to gather round. He asked who was new, and up went Joey’s hand and my hand. He told the group that we didn’t own the road and we’re not out there to anger motorists. We were told to share hazard information with each other by yelling it out to the people behind us – turns, potholes, and parked cars were all things to make note of. He said something about having a reputation for yelling at cyclists who don’t follow the rules – and there were some knowing chuckles from the group.

Scott was quite obviously the long-established leader of TNUA. People looked up to him. He spoke as if he was the model of a dedicated cyclist. He belittled others in a joking way, almost like a high school jock. Although he didn’t make a positive first impression on me with his statements and attitude, judging by the 45 or so enthusiastic riders there, he’s doing something right with the ride.

He assigned us each numbers (he was number 1, and because I was standing next to him he assigned me number 2) which the group would call off at various stops during the ride to make sure we didn’t lose anybody. And then we were off, heading towards a nearby traffic circle. I expected us to clear out of there pretty quickly but we circled around for a good few minutes. The motorists trying to pass through the circle seemed confused. I was happy when we moved on.

As my bikepooling buddy Caitlin will attest, I’m a stickler for stopping at stop signs when I’m not on group rides. This group blew right through them, probably for the better, in the interest of safety and keeping the group together. On certain roads we went single file, but we spread out to claim a full lane in low traffic or two-lane areas. Sometimes with group momentum going we’d hold back a car that had the right of way, but most motorists reacted with enthusiasm and humor as they mostly do during Critical Mass rides.

As far as I could tell, the group universally followed traffic signals, which caused the group to split if a signal went red as we passed through. At times when the forward group got out of sight, a couple bikers would stay behind to help the isolated back group find their way. This is in contrast to Critical Mass, which tries to preserve the mass as safely as possible even in the face of traffic signals changing.

Near the beginning of the ride, one cyclist’s tire popped with an amazingly loud sound. We looped around for him and he was still working on it and told us to go ahead without him. I believe that later that evening, a rider went back to get him, as he was later reunited with us.

On long, straight stretches of road, the group would ride at around 17 mph, much faster than the 8 mph or so that Rochester Critical Mass travels at. I carried on conversations with other riders when the group was stopped but I found it difficult to talk at faster speeds.

I headed out a little over an hour into the ride, after riding the hill repeatedly at Maplewood Park Rose Garden. I unintentionally popped a wheelie heading up a steep part of the hill, and figured it was time to leave to avoid too much wear and tear on my bike and my legs. Scott said that the early rides are easier than the rides he starts holding in December, but my legs were certainly remembering last night’s ride during my 9 mile commute this morning.

So Tuesday Night Urban Assault draws a different crowd than Rochester Critical Mass. I’ve never seen someone park their car near the RCM meeting place and pull their bike off a bike rack. But the folks at TNUA had just as much enthusiasm as RCM for riding on the city streets, just a different way of doing it. And although I have way more fun at Critical Mass than I did at Urban Assault, I could see the joy in it.

As far as bike advocacy goes, I doubt that seeing a bunch of riders in a large group does much to convince motorists that bikes belong on the road. But like RCM, TNUA’s strength is in empowering riders to feel comfortable on the streets. The outdated “About” page I found here captures the infectious spirit of the ride, and its goal to turn apprehensive riders into confident ones.

As someone who uses a bike mostly for transportation and never for recreation, I certainly felt out of place at TNUA. And yet you may very well find me there on Tuesday nights. Maybe I can come to enjoy recreational bike riding with enough exposure. I’m even considering a visit to Goodwill to see if they have any LYCRA® around. If you don’t mind injecting a little bit of sport into your utility riding, I highly recommend checking it out. Don’t expect the spontaneous leaderless moving social club that is Critical Mass, and expect to use those leg muscles, particularly later in the season.

Bruce Wilbur, a local cyclist, is a huge fan of TNUA and has a post up at his Scenic Route blog about last night’s ride. And be sure to visit Full Moon Vista Bike & Sport, official sponsors of TNUA (Jason gives the shop an A+).

Are you a union cyclist, or a cyclist who believes in worker justice? Then this is for you:

Hey Folks,

Last night a majority of the critical mass crowd said they would be interested in being apart of the labor day parade. Therefore, there will be a bicycle/skateboard/inline and rollerskating contingent in the anti-war portion of the labor day parade.

Let’s meet at East Ave and sibley place (across from the boy scouts) where division 6 is meeting. Division 6 is the division that has rochester against war in it.

The parade starts at 11am.

Noise makers, costumes, et al are very welcome!

<3 and bikes,

Ted

Enjoy!

Tonight I took part in one of the most exhilerating things I’ve ever done with a group of people — my first Critical Mass ride. What is Critical Mass? Here’s one definition:

Critical Mass is a monthly bicycle ride to celebrate cycling and to assert cyclists’ right to the road. The idea started in San Francisco in September 1992 and quickly spread to cities all over the world. Critical Mass has no leaders, and no central organization licenses rides. In every city that has a CM ride, some locals simply picked a date, time, and location for the ride and publicized it, and thus the ride was born. CM is an idea and an event, not an organization.

More than 50 cyclists came out tonight for the ride, riding everything from fixies to road bikes, mountain bikes to hybrids. There was also an inline skater and a skateboarder. It was wonderful! We cruised through the lights, taking an entire lane and reveling in the rare feeling of security and confidence that is sometimes hard to find when commuting by bike here in the Flower City.

Before, during and after the ride, I interviewed riders using the Hipcast mobile audio blogging service, which allows you to post instant audio clips to a blog using your cell phone.

• I also took pictures.

Please send me your pictures, and please post your own comments on the ride using the comment form below this post. Thanks!

For your listening pleasure, here are the interviews, many conducted while riding. Enjoy!

#1: Adam Durand

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#2: Ally, Ray & Jenna

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#3: Dave Skinner

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#4: John Cuminale

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#5: At the Liberty Pole

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#6: Monroe Ave, while riding out of the city

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#7: Dawn Zupelli, while riding

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#8: Paul Fuller, while riding

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#9: Monroe Ave, while riding back to the city

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#10: Culver Road on the way to Park Ave

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#11: Main St, post-ride

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Remember to post your own stories from this ride using the comment form below. See you on July 27!

p.s. — You should also check out these brilliant Critical Mass leaflets from Rochester’s past!