Critical Mass Horror in Brazil

This last Friday 25th February 2011 a Critical Mass event was held in Porta Alegre in Brazil, as I am sure many of these same CM rides were held in various parts of the world.

This one ends in a horrific manner. A car driver deliberately drives at high speed through the crowd of cyclists and keeps on going.

I was sent the link to this video by Juan Salazar, a regular reader of this blog. He gave no details of casualties.

I later found this report, and miraculously no one was killed, eight were injured, one female was seriously hurt. The driver later abandoned his car and fled the scene.

                          

Okay, here’s my problem with Critical Mass

1.) CM has no structure or organization. No one is responsible for the yahoo element that behaves badly and spoils it for everyone. Let the police deal with the “Bad” element and don’t rush to their defense when they are handled roughly.

2.) I am always told CM is not a protest it is a “Celebration” of cycling. If it is a celebration then why hold it on a Friday evening when it causes maximum disruption? If it is early in the evening it disrupts people getting home from work. If it is held later it disrupts people going out for the evening. Friday night is always the biggest night out on the town for most people. Cyclists are a small minority of the general population and disrupting and inconveniencing others is no way to get people on the side of the cycling cause.

3.) If Critical Mass is a celebration, celebrate it on a Sunday morning when it is safer and there is less disruption to the lives of others. On a Sunday morning, CM could become a family type event that would actually attract people into cycling. The disruptive element would probably not participate because the event would lose its "Anarchistic" appeal.

I am fully aware that I am in the minority on this issue, and it is really a lost cause. But, so many cyclists cry and whine that everybody hates us and that the cops won’t investigate or prosecute motorists who endanger or injure cyclists, and yet no one is willing to step back and see the other person’s point of view. Mine or that of the general public.

Critical Mass is a boil on the backside of the pastime of cycling, those who started it created a monster that will be hard to stop.

Those who criticize me for speaking out and dismiss me as a “Grumpy Old Man,” should remember I have dedicated my whole life to bicycles and the cause of cycling, and I continue to do so by spending my time writing articles here.

At least allow me the right to rant once in a while about something that quite frankly pisses me off. I fully accept that it is your right to disagree, but remember I am on the side of the cause of cycling.

Now I’ll shut the fuck up

                        

A storm in a Hollywood bowl

After watching this video taken during a recent L A Critical Mass ride, with the title, “Hollywood Cops Attack Bike riders,” I am left to wonder what all the fuss is about?

I had to watch the video several times to figure out what was going on. I see a police officer (On the far side of the street.) handcuffing a cyclist. I have no idea why, we are not told that, but let’s assume he has a reason. The cyclist appears to be cooperating.

The cop, when all is said and done, is doing his job. A man is filming this from across the street and bystanders are whistling and calling out abuse to the officers.

A second officer is then seen kicking out at the wheel of a passing cyclist. The guy filming (Or someone with him.) shouts, “What the fuck was that for.”

While I agree the officer was wrong in his actions, how much abuse will a cop take before he retaliates?

We have no way of knowing what the passing cyclist and others said to the cop that made him kick out.

Finally the last cyclist passes and the cops come across the guy recording the incident. He is knocked to the ground where he meekly asks, “What I do, what I do.”

I’ll tell you exactly what you did. You mouthed off to some cops, and then you were dumb enough to stay there after the last cyclist passed.

Go to any city in the USA, stand and verbally abuse a police officer as he is arresting someone. I can practically guarantee the result will be the same. You will be wrestled to the ground, and possibly arrested yourself for interfering with an officer during the course of his duty.

As I see it, this whole thing is a non-incident. The guy doing the filming was hoping to catch some “Police Brutality” on video. He was doing his best to goad the cops into doing just that; the only “Brutality” I see, is a bike tire gets kicked.

It saddens me that respected bicycle advocates are running with this and pressing for a full investigation. Los Angeles is fortunate that it has a Police Chief who is pro cycling; don’t fuck it up by protesting something as trivial as this.

This is Critical Mass at its worst; an unorganized rabble who take over public streets and create mayhem, then cry foul when the cops try to bring some order.

L A bike advocates are also pressing their Police Chief to pursue motorists who endanger the lives of cyclists. Who is going to bring these motorists to justice?

These very same police officers and their colleagues that Critical Mass participants are goading into a fight right now.

Good way to make friends and influence people. Good way to get the cop on the street to be on your side.

What is your take on this incident?

Update, 2 PM, Thursday 17th June

I have just read on LA Streets Blog that the LAPD is going to join the next LA Critical Mass ride on June 25th.

It is interesting to read the comments on LA Streets Blog, people are already discussing whether or not there should be “Corking” of intersections. According to this flyer being passed out by LAPD there will be no running of red lights or stop signs. All bikes must have lights and brakes.

So bring your Visa to pay your ticket, I understand LAPD doesn’t take American Express

                       

Miami Critical Mass

I received an email a few weeks back from Andres Viglucci, a reporter with the Miami Herald; later we talked on the phone.

Andres was preparing to write an article on the Miami Critical Mass ride and wanted my views because he had noticed I had opposed CM in the past here on my blog.

Whenever I have written an anti-Critical Mass piece, I get comments from pro-CMers saying stuff like, “It is not a protest, it is a celebration of cycling,” and “It is so much fun.”

I am sure it is fun, it is an unofficial “Mardi Gras” on bicycles, and this is my entire problem with these events. It is a group of people having fun at the expense of a larger group of people, namely other road users.

For example, a group of people cannot dress up in costumes, get a marching band and parade down the street without a permit, especially during Friday evening rush hour.

However, you can legally ride a bicycle on a public road at any time, and this is technically what Critical Mass riders are doing

They are abusing the privilege of riding a bike on the road. Doing so in the pretence that they are bringing awareness to cycling, when if the participants were honest they are doing it because it is fun and because they can.

They are simply having a huge party on bicycles, taking over the streets and technically, they are not breaking rules; however, if they were a mob on foot, they would be arrested.

In the video at the top of the Miami Herald article, I see an unruly mob of cyclists taking as many as four lanes, when they could quite easily ride in one lane. I see cyclists riding though red lights, while fixie riders get to display their track stand skills while corking the intersection.

Blocking or corking an intersection is illegal and the perps justify this by saying it makes it safer for the group by keeping them together, and it cuts down on the delay.

So here you have one group of road users delaying another, and justifying it by saying it keeps the delay to a minimum. What’s wrong with that statement? And I can’t think of any thing that gets a motorist's blood boiling more than having a green light and can’t go.

Andres Viglucci actually wrote a pro-cycling article, he got on a bike and rode with Critical Mass. Kudos to Andres and the Miami Herald for having the balls to write such a piece; many big city newspapers will not risk doing so in an auto centric society.

From the article, I gather that Miami has a pro-cycling Mayor and Chief of Police. The article mentions there are plans to put in more bike lanes in the city. So why does the Critical Mass movement feel it is necessary to bring attention to the plight of cyclists? It would seem Miami city officials want to encourage cycling.

Critical Mass needs to decide if it has a real purpose, if the purpose is to celebrate cycling then do so at 6am. on a Sunday morning. (Probably the best time of the day temperature -wise in Miami.)

Riding at this time would cause the least disruption for other road users. Of course, if the object and most of the fun is in causing disruption then it just proves my point.

In which case Critical Mass needs to be honest and admit its purpose is for the selfish enjoyment of its participants, and it is not cycling advocacy.

Responsible cyclists in Miami might consider contacting the Mayor and the Chief of Police and let it be known that they distance themselves from CM, speak out and encourage people not to participate.

Why should I, an avid cyclist, want to spoil the fun for other people on bikes? Because Critical Mass is handing the general motoring public a stick to beat the rest of us with, whenever they see us commuting to work, or out riding alone

Footnote: In the top picture I don't see too many helmets. What conclusion, if any, do you draw from this? Am I being over critical of Critical Mass, what is your take?

The San Fran’ Fiasco

California, often seen by the rest of the USA, if not the World, to have more nuts and flakes than a box of muesli than their share of eccentrics.

It is no small wonder when there are people out there like San Francisco’s Rob Anderson.

A wanna-be politician who last time he ran for office got 332 out of 34,955 votes. He lives in one room, on a hand out from the government welfare because he cares for his 92 year old mother.

And he has a blog. Well whoop-de-fucking-do, who doesn't have a blog these days?

Yet, in spite of his overwhelming insignificance being relatively unknown, Mr. Anderson, single handedly has managed to halt San Francisco’s plans to make that city a better and safer place for cyclists.

Anderson managed to persuade a judge that encouraging more bikes on the streets of San Francisco would cause more traffic jams, thereby causing more pollution from idling car engines.

No one pointed out that with more people commuting to work by bike, means less cars, therefore less traffic jams, and less pollution.

Now the court has ordered that San Francisco do an Environmental Impact Study before they can implement this plan. Of course, the city is going to take its own sweet time about doing that. It will be at least another twelve months before they even think about it.

Why is Anderson doing this? He doesn’t even own a car. It is a personal vendetta against cyclists, in particular Critical Mass. It seems a bunch of rude cyclists pissed our Rob off one day.

How can one individual like this yield so much power, and hold a city’s cycling community to ransom? Well it is a lot easier to stop something, than it is to implement something.

Cycling is a political hot potato anyway. I’m sure from the city’s point of view, they have plenty more pressing issues on their plate, like crime, the homeless, etc., to be worrying about a few cyclists.

The Wall Street Journal’s Blog commenting on the WSJ article on Rob Anderson said:

Why does San Francisco, the city that gave the world Critical Mass, seem to lag other American cities in becoming bike-friendly? Maybe because San Francisco gave the world Critical Mass.

See what happens when you make cycling a political issue.

Thanks a lot, Rob Anderson, and thanks a lot Critical Mass. You know what? You are perfect together, you deserve each other.

However, San Francisco and the rest of its cycling community deserve better.