S
Stewart/.
Guest
hi
it seems that there's a heated debate about Critical Mass going on and i'd like to make some
statements.
this past friday was our local critical mass ride, and i was in attendance. in the week prior, four
cyclists were killed by drunk drivers. three of them (at once) were struck 2 blocks from where i
live. the victims were a lot like me, i'd met them and danced to their band many times. none of them
owned a car, all of them were wearing helmets and lights and riding in the bike lane. the
purpose of critical mass was reiterated for its regular participants on friday, and there was
a marked increase in attendance. young people, working people, parents with their families and
all else were all their to make their presence clear to the city. i saw, as i said, all kinds
of people, and all kinds of schwinns, beaters, and weathered and use-worn commuters. what i
did not see was campy, dura-ace, colnagos, spandex or carbon fiber. the division in the
argument seems, as least to me, to be between "cyclists" and "bicyclists". critical mass does
not aim to bring attention to bicycling as a sport or even as an "activity". rather, it is an
an opportunity for those who are not about to drive to a track to ride their bike, for those
who are foreign to the training loops and powerbars of "cycling" culture, to make themselves
seen--actually, undoubtedly seen--for at least one after in every month. i know that, for me,
riding with critical mass is an act of desperation. there is absolutely a "motorist
mentality", seperated from the rest of the world, and, supposedly, from consequence, by
two-thousand pounds of metal. a bicyclist does not register as any sort of concern to a person
behind the wheel of a car, and so the bicyclist's safety is automatically jeopardized.
critical mass is, in itself, the message to the community is that the community itself is
being put at risk when the safety of the bicyclist is comprimised.
the most common comment that ive heard in the past week in regards to the driver who killed those
kids by my house is that he "simply wasn't thinking". what does that mean? what wasn't he thinking
about? he was not thinking of anyone but himself, closed up in his own personal missile. i rode
critical mass for my own safety as i commute to work, to the grocery store. i also rode for those
that were killed, and those that are constantly and consistently being killed an injured while
riding their bicyles.
thanks, stewart stone/.
please respond to: [email protected]
it seems that there's a heated debate about Critical Mass going on and i'd like to make some
statements.
this past friday was our local critical mass ride, and i was in attendance. in the week prior, four
cyclists were killed by drunk drivers. three of them (at once) were struck 2 blocks from where i
live. the victims were a lot like me, i'd met them and danced to their band many times. none of them
owned a car, all of them were wearing helmets and lights and riding in the bike lane. the
purpose of critical mass was reiterated for its regular participants on friday, and there was
a marked increase in attendance. young people, working people, parents with their families and
all else were all their to make their presence clear to the city. i saw, as i said, all kinds
of people, and all kinds of schwinns, beaters, and weathered and use-worn commuters. what i
did not see was campy, dura-ace, colnagos, spandex or carbon fiber. the division in the
argument seems, as least to me, to be between "cyclists" and "bicyclists". critical mass does
not aim to bring attention to bicycling as a sport or even as an "activity". rather, it is an
an opportunity for those who are not about to drive to a track to ride their bike, for those
who are foreign to the training loops and powerbars of "cycling" culture, to make themselves
seen--actually, undoubtedly seen--for at least one after in every month. i know that, for me,
riding with critical mass is an act of desperation. there is absolutely a "motorist
mentality", seperated from the rest of the world, and, supposedly, from consequence, by
two-thousand pounds of metal. a bicyclist does not register as any sort of concern to a person
behind the wheel of a car, and so the bicyclist's safety is automatically jeopardized.
critical mass is, in itself, the message to the community is that the community itself is
being put at risk when the safety of the bicyclist is comprimised.
the most common comment that ive heard in the past week in regards to the driver who killed those
kids by my house is that he "simply wasn't thinking". what does that mean? what wasn't he thinking
about? he was not thinking of anyone but himself, closed up in his own personal missile. i rode
critical mass for my own safety as i commute to work, to the grocery store. i also rode for those
that were killed, and those that are constantly and consistently being killed an injured while
riding their bicyles.
thanks, stewart stone/.
please respond to: [email protected]
