I forgot to mention this the other day (by which I mean, like, last week -- and actually, I don't mean forgot, but more like, didn't have time), BUT I had my first two run-ins with Critical Mass, both pretty...negative?
I never really had a lot of love for the concept. Sure, people will notice you if you block up the roads and ride around as a big pack, but they will also get pissed. Hell, I wasn't even in a car and I got pissed.
I was actually biking to the gym and ran into them, but even worse was biking home after my swim. They were coming down...Harrison? I think? Taking up the whole street, making it pretty hard to just commute home.
Really makes me wonder if the ride "promotes bicycle commuting?" I wonder if there has ever been a study about how many people in Critical Mass actually ride regularly around town and follow the rules most of the time. I mean, I'm sure for some people saxophones and nudity on your bike are a special occasion thing, but esp in San Francisco I'd be willing to believe that some people just want to get crazy when the crazy is police-escorted.
Obviously, you can tell I'm not on the inside here, and maybe I just sound like a stick in the mud, but it seems like the best way to promote bicycle commuting would just be doing it and showing people that we can play nice with the cars, even if we don't like them.
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Yeah, I also wonder how many people participating in CM are actually part of the regular bicycle-commuting community. (Commuting community, I like it!) I would assume that most are just in it for the spectacle.
ReplyDeleteP.S. I am looking for bikes and am hoping to get one by the end of the month. We'll see! Yay, bikes!
i fully agree. the glee and smug-ful-ness of some of my Critical Mass peeps seems a bit misguided.
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