First sentence is snarky, off-topic, and dumb…not everyone has a bike, newsflash, and if that not everyone wants to ride in CM, I think it’s OK, but we won’t ask your permission. Interesting that you seem to know the “purpose” of CM, which varies from city to city if it even has a named purpose. "In fact, the purpose of Critical Mass is not formalized beyond the direct action of meeting at a set location and time and traveling as a group through city or town streets.Cite
Second sentence: Wow. I don’t know if you read the OP, but the ride here is AT NIGHT. When it’s, you know, dark. It’s actually the LAW that you have a light on the front. Reflectors on the back? Yeah, those are a good idea, too, when it’s NIGHT (that’s when there’s no sun). That way, cars coming up behind you are more likely to see you and not run into you. I saw hundreds of little blinking red lights in front of us…it was a cool view. So, nearly the whole CM ride and my husband didn’t have any problem with the lights and reflectors. And as soon as he realized what a big deal it was to me, he agreed to wear the helmet.
Everybody else: Yeah, it was fun, and it was a lot smaller than SF. The motorists didn’t seem to be annoyed with us – gave us friendly honks as we rode by. And yeah, I stayed clear of packs, and someone in our group did fall, but she was OK. I felt GREAT the whole time and it inspired me to start riding more often again.
Out of curiosity, what part of town was it held in? And I have to laugh at the “San Diego is probably more crowded than Berkeley” part. Maybe the car traffic yes, but since we don’t seem to get worked up about much in this city, I can’t imagine there were as many riders at this ride as there would be for a CM ride in the Bay Area.
See, this is exactly my point. Peaceful protest? Nice ride in the park? Not by a long shot. Both groups are pretty hostile towards each other, apparently so much so that occasional violence could break out (and IIRC, it has).
It is nice to hear that the San Diego event was much more peaceful! I think it’s a good statement to make, but it’s probably gotten way too politically charged up here in the Bay Area. I think we must be wound a little tighter…
Scout, we started out at Balboa Park at the fountain, where everybody watched this woman who is apparently a world champion at trick riding do amazing feats on her bicycle. I can’t even begin to describe them, but it seems like she should be able to work for Cirque du Soleil. Then we finally rolled out, went down Laurel, took a turn south at some point and made some loops downtown, then hit Harbor Blvd and came up north to the airport, and then they went all the way to Pacific Beach (and then back, I surmise) but we turned around at the airport and our ride was about 20 miles. San Diego is not even close to more crowded than Berkeley, in any way I’ve seen so far, including the ride. Yeah, way fewer people…I think that’s why the cars were not mad. Their delay was short. I do remember one intersection we went through in which a cab driver was leaning on his horn (not the friendly honks we got the rest of the time) but other than that, it was good, at least what I experienced.
Yeah, way fewer people…I think that’s why the cars were not mad. Their delay was short. I do remember one intersection we went through in which a cab driver was leaning on his horn (not the friendly honks we got the rest of the time) but other than that, it was good, at least what I experienced.