Critical Mass
dennis — Tue, 08/04/2009 - 16:18
On the last Friday of every month, over a thousand people ride their bikes from Balboa Park passing in front of Sea Rocket before heading to who-knows-where, not even some of the people we asked who were riding in it at the time! It always promises to be an exciting time and we enjoy the entertainment! It's called Critical Mass and here's what it looks like if you're standing on the roof of the restaurant.
critical mass
Anonymous (not verified) — Wed, 08/26/2009 - 08:44I understand it's a protest but shouldn't all bicyclists also have to obey traffic laws? I would feel more sympathy if they weren't allowed to all ride through red lights and stop signs with no regard to anyone else. And I've yet to see someone on a bike do this even when not protesting.
Controversy
admin — Thu, 08/27/2009 - 16:27Critical Mass is definitely controversial. They justify the running of red lights by saying that they are riding as one group and that, like the tail end of a truck going through an intersection, it's part of the same mass. The police seem to agree since they follow the group down the street and don't arrest everyone. I think the main goal of the police is to make sure the group doesn't stop!
Another challenge the Critical Mass people seem to have is that a lot of people who do the ride don't actually ride their bikes on a day to day basis as transportation. I like that Critical Mass gets people excited about bikes, but I think even more important than that is the day-to-day riding and setting your life up so you don't have to drive a car as much.
--Dennis