Can somebody fill me in on Critical Mass?

[Sam Huffman]

[email protected] (J. Bruce Fields) writes:

> In article <[email protected]>, NYRides
> <[email protected]> wrote:
> >I wonder if the people who participate in Critical Mass realize the responsibility they are
> >assuming every time they stage a disruptive ride. As Sam Huffman put it so well, I, too, would
> >suggest that "their short glory ride once per month increases the hazards for every other cyclist
> >every day of the month."
>
> OK, so the way this argument goes is: person A delays person B temporarily, and the resulting
> irritation turns person B into a murderer, making person A responsible for the murder of B's
> victim C?

No, that was not the argument.

> This is a totally wrong-headed argument, and we should all stop bringing it up. Any activism, no
> matter how well-mannered, is likely to irritate someone, and irritating people is not in itself a
> capital offense.

It would be a wrong-headed argument. Fortunately it wasn't the argument.
>
> If you think that Critical Mass riders are rude, say they're rude.

I think they are rude.

> That's quite enough in itself without trying to paint them as menaces to the physical safety of
> all other cyclists.

The CM participants are not menaces to the physical safety of all other cyclists. And perhaps I give
them too much credit when I hope they recognize the causal relationship between their actions and
the inevitable backlash against cyclists in general.

To rephrase your example above, Person A performs action Z. Person B is annoyed by Z and endangers
person C. A continues to perform Z, and B continues to endanger C.

I believe it is irresponsible of A to continue to perform Z if he is aware of B's reaction and the
danger to C. I have no idea if A bears any legal culpability, though I doubt it. Maybe A doesn't
recognize the relationship. Maybe A believes the end result of Z is sufficient to warrant the
possible ill effects. Maybe A just doesn't care.

It sounds to me like the CMers (or at least those active in this forum) don't think drivers resent
the delays caused by their protests, or don't think that resentment translates into ill-will towards
cyclists in general. I think they are wrong. Therein lies the disagreement. I doubt they'll change
their mind, and I know I won't.

Sam

 

[Zoot Katz]

Tue, 28 Jan 2003 23:09:36 -0600, <[email protected]>, [email protected] (J.
Bruce Fields) wrote:

>Yes, I'm aware of the source of that term, but the behavior it describes is not something I've ever
>personally witnessed; have you?

Yes. In Montreal during their frequent power outages.
--
zk

 

[Zoot Katz]

27 Jan 2003 16:12:06 -0800,
<[email protected]>, [email protected] (Luigi de Guzman) wrote:

>As to the Central London CM, I haven't gone--have got a class that conflicts with it, but we'll see
>about this month..

The ride leaves from the starting point under Waterloo Bridge on the South Bank, next to the NFT,
bar at 7pm but you're welcome to join-up with them at any point along the route.

http://cmlondon.enrager.net/main.htm

Be there or lose air!
--
zk

 

[Peter Cole]

"Paul Southworth" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:W9iZ9.30745$A%[email protected]...
>
> I wouldn't call it "sick" but I agree it is a kind of broken thinking that makes people boil when
> they have to wait for a stranger. <snip> The sad thing is, this attitude is by no means restricted
> to people in cars - I see this type of behavior exhibited by cyclists every day on the closed
> roads in a nearby park that has twisty descents and cyclists who go zooming through families on
> foot with loose dogs and baby strollers spread across the road. It's all the same thing. I have
> roughly zero sympathy for anyone who acts this way using any vehicle. When I see cyclists do it I
> think "you are acting just like a driver".
<snip>

Well said. One of my big revelations was that when I was getting tweaked by having to slow for
meandering peds on a bike path I was tending to act like an impatient, self-righteous, driver. It's
an easy thing to fall into.

 

[Zoot Katz]

28 Jan 2003 21:39:29 -0800, <[email protected]>, Sam Huffman
<[email protected]> wrote:

>It sounds to me like the CMers (or at least those active in this forum) don't think drivers resent
>the delays caused by their protests, or don't think that resentment translates into ill-will
>towards cyclists in general. I think they are wrong. Therein lies the disagreement. I doubt they'll
>change their mind, and I know I won't.
>
>Sam

Go to Google and two years ago you'll find me arguing that same opinion from a position of equal
ignorance.

In the interim, I decided to have another look at CM and found that my original assumption
was wrong.

Yes there are hypejobs who will be impatient and some sickphux may even harbour a grudge but their
problems are rooted deeper. They'll use anything as an excuse to drop their facade of civility. I'm
getting the uneasy feeling that you're one of them.
--
zk

 

[Sam Huffman]

Zoot Katz <[email protected]> writes:

> 28 Jan 2003 21:39:29 -0800, <[email protected]>, Sam Huffman
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> >It sounds to me like the CMers (or at least those active in this forum) don't think drivers
> >resent the delays caused by their protests, or don't think that resentment translates into
> >ill-will towards cyclists in general. I think they are wrong. Therein lies the disagreement. I
> >doubt they'll change their mind, and I know I won't.
> >
> >Sam
>
> Go to Google and two years ago you'll find me arguing that same opinion from a position of equal
> ignorance.

Thanks for the tip. I did go to google and search for your past posts.

> In the interim, I decided to have another look at CM and found that my original assumption
> was wrong.

That's great, but you haven't addressed any of the issues raised in this discussion.

> Yes there are hypejobs who will be impatient and some sickphux may even harbour a grudge but their
> problems are rooted deeper. They'll use anything as an excuse to drop their facade of civility.
> I'm getting the uneasy feeling that you're one of them.

I also found that you frequently resort to ad hominem attacks rather than addressing any real
issues. There's nothing wrong with that, and I guess it probably even appeals to a certain audience.

Not to me though.

Sam

 

[Zoot Katz]

28 Jan 2003 22:42:28 -0800, <[email protected]>, Sam Huffman
<[email protected]> wrote:

>I also found that you frequently resort to ad hominem attacks rather than addressing any
>real issues.

The real issue is this fantasy you harbour that a driver will vent their frustration on you because
of other cyclists' behaviour.

Reference some statistic that shows this is anything but a paranoid fantasy.
--
zk

 

[Sparhawk]

On 29 Jan 2003 10:48:08 GMT, [email protected] (Jon Isaacs) wrote:

>>>And then as a group riding alone or however we ride, we can be messengers of
>>a
>>>different and more tranquil way of living.
>>
>>Jeez what have you been smokin' Jon, I got to get me some of dat!
>
>It might do you some good. But I ain't telling..... On the otherhand, I think I already spilled the
>beans but you aren't listening. Interesting huh...
>
>Jon Isaacs

No, don't tell me you found religion! That's all we need, another Moses, Ghandi or Jesus on
a bike. <g>

Sparhawk

 

[Richard Kaiser]

On Tue, 28 Jan 2003 22:09:36 -0700, J. Bruce Fields wrote:

> In article <[email protected]>, Zoot Katz <[email protected]> wrote:
>>The name Critical Mass comes from Ted White's bike-umentary "Return of the Scorcher" wherein
>>intersection crossing etiquette in China's big cities is discussed as a matter of Critical Mass
>>"The cross traffic waits until it achieves critical mass and then pushes through, leaving the
>>original stream of traffic to stop and build until it reaches its push-through point."
>
> Yes, I'm aware of the source of that term, but the behavior it describes is not something I've
> ever personally witnessed; have you? Do you want to?
>
> From what little I've heard, the traffic patterns in China's big cities don't seem like good
> models to follow (except for the high proportion of bicyclists!). If the intent of Critical Mass
> is to advocate this sort of of might-makes-right mass behavior, then I'm against it. I don't think
> that's really anyone's intent, though.
>
> --Bruce F.

Yes, in China.

Richard Kaiser

 

[Robert J. Matte]

"J. Bruce Fields" wrote:
>
> In article <[email protected]>, Zoot Katz <[email protected]> wrote:
> >The "mass" is a safety device. The front of the mass stops at red lights but when the mass is too
> >large to pass through an intersection in one signal sequence, it's safer to block the cross
> >traffic to keep the caged yahoos from infiltrating.
>
> I'm not convinced that you're necessarily safer in the middle of the mass than you would be in the
> middle of mixed traffic. In any case the mass certainly isn't *required* for safety; solo bike
> commuting is also reasonbly safe.

Riding in the mass is an order of magnitude safer than riding in smaller groups or solo. The mass is
so conspicuous cagers can't help but to see them. This keeps cagers from right hooking, left
crossing, and pulling in and out of driveways and parking spaces until the mass has passed. This is
why we like to keep in a tight mass and "mass up" at stoplights, to keep cagers from threading
through. Often in Chicago we take all the lanes in one direction. This keeps cagers from fast close
passing. Sometimes a cop will come along and make us move into the rightmost lane of a two lane road
so cagers can pass. If cagers pass slowly at a safe distance that isn't so bad. Not likely without a
cop around though. Many parents will only ride downtown with their children during CM because of the
safety offered by the group. The different routes we take each month also allow people who are
unfamiliar with neighborhoods outside of the ones they live and work in to learn about new
neighborhoods, businesses, parks, and routes to take to get there. The large group provides a layer
of safety for exploring the city without fear of wandering into a bad neighborhood or getting lost
or ending up going the wrong way on a one-way high-speed street.

Riding in the mass is so much more pleasant than riding solo or in smaller groups too. You can let
your guard down a little because of the group safety. You hear laughter and voices and whirring of
chains and free wheels. The air smells better. You are chit chatting with your friends at a social
6-8mph pace, not fretting about some berserk cager behind you screaming and honking to get out of
the way and no pressure to keep up with traffic or be run off the road. No lit cigarettes or beer
bottles thrown at you.

> The only real reason I can see for keeping the mass together is that critical mass is
> basically just a parade, and parades cease to make sense as parades if they're all split up
> into little bits.

See above.

> Some like to speak of critical mass as a demonstration of what the world would be like without
> motor vehicles. I don't see it. I don't see how riding in the mass bears much resemblance to
> riding in real traffic of any kind.

Ciclovia in Bogota, Columbia: http://pages.prodigy.net/rjmatter/gallery/Ciclovia-1.jpg

Chicagoland Bicycle Federation "Bike the Drive" Ride, Chicago, IL:
http://pages.prodigy.net/rjmatter/gallery/lsdnorthave.jpg

Chicago Critical Mass "Bike the Ike" Ride, Chicago, IL:
http://community.webshots.com/photo/42078663/42079780mRmTaZ

> It's just a parade.

How wrong you are. It is so much more. See my other post containing excerpts from Charles Higgins'
article or letter in the SF Chronicle.

-Bob Matter
-----------
"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds."

-- Albert Einstein

 

[Crispy]

YMMV. By your description the Vancouver CM sounds a bit sedate. Here's a slideshow of last June's
Chicago CM. The car driver in pic
#10 is a classic.

http://www.santheo.com/album/critical.mass/picture.php?1

crispy

>
> >How do you know, since you weren't one of the drivers? And how do you judge "inconvenience"?
>
> Relative to the number of cars behind the Mass or waiting at a cross street, there are far greater
> numbers of cars moving freely on all the other streets.
>
> Inconvenienced meaning they may have had to wait through an extra signal sequence or two.
> (Vancouver's CM rides have never been larger than about 260 people and at times includes a cycle
> commuting city councillor)
>
> The same type of inconvenience that drivers may experience waiting for one of their kind to push a
> derelict shitwagon out of the road from where it stalled in an intersection. Less inconvenience
> than when some of their consorts smack into each other.

 

[Nyrides]

Well, I'm sorry this question opened up so many cans of worms -- and I'm really sorry to have been
the target of so much mudslinging just for reporting what I've heard and how I feel about it.

In any event, the length and eclectic content of this thread says a lot about our mixed and
passionate feelings about issues like the ones Critical Mass tries to address.

I don't know if what CM is doing is right or wrong. But, until I've made my own decision about it, I
want the world to know that the opinions of CM do not necessarily reflect my own.

Thanks for "filling me in." No thanks for bashing my face into the ground. Good night.

into each other.

 

[Robert J. Matte]

crispy wrote:
>
> YMMV. By your description the Vancouver CM sounds a bit sedate. Here's a slideshow of last June's
> Chicago CM. The car driver in pic
> #10 is a classic.
>
> http://www.santheo.com/album/critical.mass/picture.php?1
>
> crispy

http://www.santheo.com/album/critical.mass/picture.php?21

Hey, that's me!

-Bob Matter
-----------
"One after another, flying overhead, passing through the blue sky, bikers leaned down and started
slapping hands with me. Some of the skin was soft, some of it hard. Some of the hands were white,
and some of them were black. Some were the hands of men, and some were of women--but none of that
mattered. Everyone the same touched my palms and fingers, shouting and celebrating to reclaim the
street, to make it human again."
-- Travis Hugh Culley, _The Immortal Class_

 

[Zoot Katz]

30 Jan 2003 13:53:38 -0800, <[email protected]>,
[email protected] (crispy) wrote:

>YMMV. By your description the Vancouver CM sounds a bit sedate. Here's a slideshow of last June's
>Chicago CM. The car driver in pic
>#10 is a classic.
>
>http://www.santheo.com/album/critical.mass/picture.php?1
>
I saw one driver on a phone and another thumbing his nose at the camera.

Those were some scary photos of where the mass was really insufficient to hold that many lanes. The
mix of cars totally eliminates the safety factor gained by maintaining the mass.

The classic is "The Beemer Salute" from the CCM Feb. '99 ride.
http://www.chicagocriticalmass.org/gallery/cmfinger.html

>crispy

The Vancouver ride "changed" one day when someone decided it was time to roll and shouted "Let's go
**** **** up!" and a bunch of people yelled, "NO!". Somebody else spoke and said "Let's go out and
show drivers how much fun it is to ride a bike. Let's make them envious and cream their jeans
because we're just so damn SEXY!" Well everybody laughed, the mass was rolling and it's been a whole
lot less confrontational ever since. People bring their children along on Vancouver CM rides.
--
zk

 

[Stewart/.]

here's my bit, from an avid supporter of critical mass:

all major progressive change in the history of the United States is steeped in DIRECT ACTION. things
like boycotts and rallies are ineffective, postured bull. it takes YOUR BODY AGAINST THE GEARS to
stop a machine. this statement is one taken literally by those bicyclists that hope to force the
public to take notice of the facts that the automobile is playing a major role in slowly and surely
destroying this planet while consistently causing immeasurable suffering through astronomical
accident-related death and injury rates. "cyclists" gripe and ***** and moan about critical mass
constantly, but screw 'em. "cyclist" culture is bloated, homogenic & driven by a hysteric
consumerism similar to the strains found in automotive culture. Critical Mass is as much in
opposition to these elements as they are are to auto-centrism. Critical Mass riders believe
passionately (passionately enought to ACT!) in their causes for riding a bicycle, while a "cyclist"
might passionately lust after titanium waterbottle cage bolts. a few whiny, rich, white boys arent
about to change a damn thing, carting $3000 Colnagos atop Ford Extinctions on their way to the
velodrome.

as far as the annoyance of drivers goes--this is a GOOD THING. driving a car in the (1st) world
today is a compulsive action, bereft of thought & emotion. getting these poor people to react to
ANYTHING is an achievement. If they are truly outraged, then at least their minds have been pointed
in the direction of the question: "why do i drive a car?"

the "cyclist" club can go ahead & pout from the sidelines as our parade rolls by.

-s

*THIS BIKE IS A PIPE BOMB.

 

[Owen Pope]

[email protected] (stewart/.) wrote in news:[email protected]:

> here's my bit, from an avid supporter of critical mass:
>
> all major progressive change in the history of the United States is steeped in DIRECT ACTION.
> things like boycotts and rallies are ineffective, postured bull. it takes YOUR BODY AGAINST THE
> GEARS to stop a machine. this statement is one taken literally by those bicyclists that hope to
> force the public to take notice of the facts that the automobile is playing a major role in slowly
> and surely destroying this planet while consistently causing immeasurable suffering through
> astronomical accident-related death and injury rates. "cyclists" gripe and ***** and moan about
> critical mass constantly, but screw 'em. "cyclist" culture is bloated, homogenic & driven by a
> hysteric consumerism similar to the strains found in automotive culture. Critical Mass is as much
> in opposition to these elements as they are are to auto-centrism. Critical Mass riders believe
> passionately (passionately enought to ACT!) in their causes for riding a bicycle, while a
> "cyclist" might passionately lust after titanium waterbottle cage bolts. a few whiny, rich, white
> boys arent about to change a damn thing, carting $3000 Colnagos atop Ford Extinctions on their way
> to the velodrome.
>
> as far as the annoyance of drivers goes--this is a GOOD THING. driving a car in the (1st) world
> today is a compulsive action, bereft of thought & emotion. getting these poor people to react to
> ANYTHING is an achievement. If they are truly outraged, then at least their minds have been
> pointed in the direction of the question: "why do i drive a car?"
>
> the "cyclist" club can go ahead & pout from the sidelines as our parade rolls by.

gee, stereotype much?

-owen

 

[Jon Isaacs]

>As far as the annoyance of drivers goes--this is a GOOD THING. driving a car in the (1st) world
>today is a compulsive action, bereft of thought & emotion. getting these poor people to react to
>ANYTHING is an achievement. If they are truly outraged, then at least their minds have been pointed
>in the direction of the question: "why do i drive a car?"
>
>the "cyclist" club can go ahead & pout from the sidelines as our parade rolls by.
>
>>*THIS BIKE IS A PIPE BOMB.

Well it is nice to see someone with a friendly and helpful attitude. <g>

For those of you who have been trying to present the point of view that CM is reasonable and
something that we should all be involved with, this fellow is a prime example of why many of
us avoid CM.

I note that some of the CM pictures I saw looked like fun.

But I make it a definite practice to avoid riding with people with attitudes like this fellow.

I might point out to Mr. "THIS BIKE IS A PIPE BOMB" that rather than pouting from the sidelines,
cyclists such as myself would be taking an alternative route and going about our way having a good
ride and getting along with traffic.

It was certainly nice of Mr. 'THIS BIKE IS A PIPE BOMB" to provide me with this example. For that I
thank him.

Jon Isaacs

 

[Tom Keats]

In article <[email protected]>, [email protected]
(stewart/.) writes:

...

> "cyclists" gripe and ***** and moan about critical mass constantly, but screw 'em.

One thing I know -- you can't get people on-side by alienating them. But it sure works for starting
conflicts. If that's what you /really/ want. (I don't believe it is.)

...

> *THIS BIKE IS A PIPE BOMB.

The medium is the message, I suppose. My bike is a Bike. Sometimes I metaphorically regard it as a
"land canoe".

cheers, Tom

--
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[Bluto]

[email protected] (Jon Isaacs) wrote:

> [Stewart] >
> >As far as the annoyance of drivers goes--this is a GOOD THING. driving a car in the (1st) world
> >today is a compulsive action, bereft of thought & emotion. getting these poor people to react to
> >ANYTHING is an achievement. If they are truly outraged, then at least their minds have been
> >pointed in the direction of the question: "why do i drive a car?"
> >
> >the "cyclist" club can go ahead & pout from the sidelines as our parade rolls by.
> >
> >>*THIS BIKE IS A PIPE BOMB.
>
> For those of you who have been trying to present the point of view that CM is reasonable and
> something that we should all be involved with, this fellow is a prime example of why many of us
> avoid CM.

Well, you _are_ a car driver, Jon. By some assessments of the division of us/them, that's "them".

If you spent a few years away from the Dark Side of motoring culture, you might see the issue more
the way Stewart does.

I've lived for long periods on both sides of that divide. When I was bike-only, I would have been
willing, if pressed, to identify someone just like my present self as a fat, lazy hypocrite for
abandoning his values in favor of personal motor travel.

Motoring, particularly the anesthesia we call car driving, really has done nothing good for me
except to broaden my range of employment options.

Chalo Colina

 

[Just Zis Guy]

On 31 Jan 2003 15:15:55 -0800, [email protected] (Bluto) wrote:

> When I was bike-only, I would have been willing, if pressed, to identify someone just like my
> present self as a fat, lazy hypocrite for abandoning his values in favor of personal motor travel.

When I was non-bike I did identify someone like myself as a fat, lazy hypocrite - and that someone
was me. I changed my job to something closer to home, lost 30lb and started cycling to work. Easy to
say, harder to do of course, but it's improved my relationships with my wife and children as well.

Guy
===
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