How Do They Start a Critical Mass

[David13]

I have seen good publicity for Critical Mass, and bad. It can be a good idea, to let people know that there are many cyclists out there, and that they need to be respected, and nobody should try to run them off the road or run them over.
The bikers have rights too.
I recently saw a Critical Mass video from Vancouver and it was ok, and many of the motorists expressed support for the bikers.
How do those things begin?
And like anything, it can go wrong, particularly when some idiot in a car tries to run them over.
dc

 

[Piotr]

I think Critical Mass events do very little in terms of converting idiot drivers to curteous ones. More likely that they cause apathetic drivers to become out right hostile. The fact that some drivers are supportive is meaningless as we're not out to change their minds anyway. I wish Critical Mass would just go away (and take all other hippies with them). If you want to change how drivers perceive cyclists, be curteous to everyone and obey the law. Waving our rights in front of other people's faces, especially those with closed minds, will only have the opposite effect. That's just my $.02.

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[64Paramount]

I think Critical Mass events do very little in terms of converting idiot drivers to curteous ones. More likely that they cause apathetic drivers to become out right hostile. The fact that some drivers are supportive is meaningless as we're not out to change their minds anyway. I wish Critical Mass would just go away (and take all other hippies with them). If you want to change how drivers perceive cyclists, be curteous to everyone and obey the law. Waving our rights in front of other people's faces, especially those with closed minds, will only have the opposite effect. That's just my $.02.

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I agree with Piotr on this...

 

[swampy1970]

I used to work in San Francisco and on a couple of occaisons I've 'had words' with some of the riders on the Critical Mass rides.

On one occaision a "tough guy" saw fit to start berating me, afer it sounded like he scraped his old school quill pedal the side of my car, whilst leaning against my car door in a vain attempt to stop me from getting out. He didn't figure on me opening the door with a helftand knocking him off his bike. Nor did he count on me hold his bike off the ground while he was trying to get his feet out of his clips 'n straps in a vain effort to get up while I was threatening to mince his head into the floor...

All I got from a Police motorcyclist was a quick blast of the siren and a 'wave of the finger' suggesting "don't do it" as he continued to ride down the road. I don't know why but I was more ****** that a cyclist had got me mad - I'd never really expected people of bikes to be such cnuts... fixed wheel riding fcuktard.

My door wasn't scratched, so I don't know what the noise was but I was fecking ****** that a cyclist would do something like that. It's no wonder why lots of drivers in SF treat cyclists like dirt.

 

[alienator]

This is a how a critical mass ride starts: a group of "riders" get together and try to figure what is the one thing they can do to make every other cyclist look like an azzhat. Then they do that thing.

 

[frenchyge]

I think they start with the traditional smoking of the wacky weed.

 

[David13]

Wacky Weed??!! Whoa, I'm there, dude. No seriously, I'll post about the San Jose Friday night party.
Like CM but with rules, and all nice and everything, or so they say.
dc

 

[alienator]

Wacky Weed??!! Whoa, I'm there, dude. No seriously, I'll post about the San Jose Friday night party.
Like CM but with rules, and all nice and everything, or so they say.
dc

Well, then it's almost exactly like Critical Mass, except for the rules, nice, and stuff. Is the San Jose party populated by feckless, brainless, turds? Critical Mass is.