What is Critical Mass?

Critical Mass is a mass bicycle ride that takes place on the last Friday of each month in cities around the world. Everyone is invited! No one is in charge! Bring your bike!

Next San Francisco Critical Mass: March 28th, 2025, 5:30pm, at Embarcadero Plaza (foot of Market Street).

Victory! Nearly $1 Million Settlement for NY Critical Mass

October 19th, 2010 by hughillustration

The New York Times reports a massive settlement for Critical Mass participants wrongly harassed by police:

The lawsuit, originally filed in 2007, represented the claims of 83 riders who had been arrested or ticketed by police during the rides from September 2004 to January 2006. The awards to the plaintiffs range from $500 for those who were cited for minor infractions, to $35,000 for a plaintiff who was arrested multiple times and was injured because of the arrests, said David B. Rankin, one of the three lawyers who represented the riders. About half the settlement will go toward legal fees.

The settlements, totaling $965,000, do not include the many lawsuits filed by riders who were arrested during the Republican National Convention in 2004.

Congratulations to the NYC Critical Mass — an important victory that will help protect us all from authorities who imagine they can trample our rights with impunity!

Market Street, Giving New Meaning to Commute Clot

October 7th, 2010 by adama

20101004074033 "Dress'ed" for BikingChangeYourLifeRideABike ran a post yesterday by Calitexican with some well reasoned thoughts on the current state of San Francisco’s Market Street.

The frame for the discussion may be familiar.

i cannot even fathom to promote what can be done with market street as i am not an engineer nor am i an urban planner. i am, however, a bike rider who commutes daily.

She’s already sparked a flurry of reactions to her piece titled…
market street bike lanes, an attractive nuisance?
20100929082052 I PARK IN THE BIKE LANE

Videos of September rides from SF and beyond!

September 29th, 2010 by hughillustration

Brooks Hassig from Design by Seeing did this great time lapse of our 18th Anniversary ride in September. Nice! Thanks, Brooks!

Meanwhile, Twitter pal Deprogrammer 9 found a bunch of videos of September rides from around the country and the world. Here are a few of them!

Budapest!

Brussels!

Oristano!

Detroit!

Los Angeles!

Chicago!

Critical Mass’s Day of Majority

September 26th, 2010 by adama

20100924183336 Velorutionary SOMA
Last Friday’s ride commemorated the 18th birthday of Critical Mass! Happy birthday to everyone who has ridden Critical Mass in those years, all the friends we’ve made and lives that have been changed during that time.

20100924184656
I liked this photo for the wary eye of the San Jose Bike Party rider as he looks over his shoulder at a motorcyclist interloper. It seemed like a good illustration of just why corking is important. Having a motorcyclist or car weaving in the midst of a mass of bicyclists is downright dangerous!

20100924183115
This expensive Lamborghini convertible reminded me of a comment by Ric Bruce I read a few days ago on Streetsblog:

Perhaps it would be useful to address the true underlying cause of driver inattention. That is, driving a car is tedious manual labour.

Paradoxically, nobody knows that better than the automobile manufacturers themselves. Their massive advertising budgets (approximately US$17 billion per year for the last five years or so) invariably feature single cars “flying” down roads uncluttered with other cars, red lights, or pedestrians or bicyclists. In other words, the companies’ extensive research into the issue has clearly proven that the realities of automobile ownership and operation are, at best, unsaleable.

In an effort to distract attention from the underlying tedium that is driving, automobile manufacturers have added an ever-increasing number of toys that enable the driver to amuse themselves.

So, rather than attempt to “make roads safer” or “make drivers pay attention”, perhaps we’d do better to recognize that driving isn’t “fun” or “freedom” or “excitement”, and begin liberating Americans from the tyranny of the automobile-centric way of life.

20100924192913
We ended up in the Presidio — always a great place to explore on a warm September night!

20100924183803 Ralph Nader Does Not Approve
I titled this one “Ralph Nader Does Not Approve,” thinking of the “Unsafe at Any Speed” phrase. I personally love seeing people carrying kids and dogs by bike. The serious injuries I hear about with bikes always involve cars. Biking is not in itself a dangerous activity!

Congratulations for another successful Critical Mass! Here’s to another 18 years!