Critical Mass 101

I ride in the Critical Mass bike ride every month while I'm living in Chicago. I notice that many people are confused about what we are doing and why, so I decided to make this video. It's 5 minutes and 19 seconds.

In the United States many people need cars to get around just because other alternatives are not available, sufficient, or feasible. With gas being a finite resource, and it also being a cause of war, I think it's so important to promote other alternatives: bikes, trains, walking, and building pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods and cities where we can walk to the stores or other businesses from our homes. Here are some other things to ponder when we are thinking of ways to build a better society:

"Road accidents cost about $90 billion annually by killing over 40,000 Americans, about as many as diabetes or breast cancer, and injuring 5 million more. Globally, car accidents are the fifth- and will soon be the third-largest cause of death: They currently kill a half million people and injure 15
million more every year. If automobility were a disease, vast international resources would be brought to bear to cure it."

--from "Natural Capitalism", by Paul Hawken, Amory
Lovins, and Hunter Lovins.

Hope you enjoy the video and thanks for watching!

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Critical
• Mass
• CCM
• bikes
• bicycles
• transportation
• urban
• transit
• cars
• oil
• gas

[kungfu009]

The idea is cool but the way it's handled is not. I think one of the main problem is that there is no "Leader" to properly organize the ride. I think at the very least, stay on the bike lane or something. Other then that the video was good.

[cheencheenvideo]

I agree! I don't like it when the bikers cross into the oncoming lane and interrupt oncoming traffic. It's sufficient to stay in one traffic lane. However, when 500 or more bikers are participating it's impossible for all of us to stay in the small bike lane. It's the same concept as a march... taking the street to try to raise awareness about something. A march violates traffic laws; marchers can't let cars drive in the middle of the march either! Otherwise, bikers should obey traffic laws.

[GeoffLafayette]

Looks like a great time! See My critical mass parady: BUCKYSTEIN (#7) VS. CRITICAL MASS ROED RAGE! Have a good laugh!

[cheencheenvideo]

Hey, I finally got around to watching your video. It cracked me up! Loved the whiny kid. Thanks!

[richardsull119]

I totally disagree with the methods of Critical Mass. I ride the streets of Boston every day and I feel like CM puts me at a greater danger than if people just cooperated instead of intentionally antagonized those who share the road with them. It gives cyclists a bad name. It makes people think that we all have no respect for the laws of the road.

[BestTits]

@richardsull119 EXACTLY Critical mass gives cyclists who ride legally a bad name.

[PancakeRecipes]

This just makes it LESS safe for bikers. That's why as a biker I hate Critical Mess.

[futboleroR10]

Most of these people dont even ride a bike on a daily basis. Theyre just out there cuz they have nothing better to do at that time. How pathetic.

[BestTits]

@cheencheenvideo why dont you just do a legal bike ride?

[BestTits]

It is illegal to do a critical mass bike ride thru the city like this.

[spazracing94]

they aren't bikers their cyclists

[AndrewBedno]

HeeHee, there I am skating in safety orange outfit and purple hair at 5:02.

Such good work, thanx for creating it.

[OmegaDude22]

They do that pretty much every day in the big US cities.

[ramtes1971]

Great documentary.

Is the same situation when black people refused to give the sit in the bus to white people.