Not-So Critical Mass – October 2005 Ride Report
I hadn’t been able to make last months CM ride, but I had high hopes for this month. Not only was it Halloween, but we put up a bunch of fliers, and tagged a bunch of bikes through out the week. The turn out, however, was disappointing to say the least. Rumor had it that September had had a good number of people, but apparently none of them felt like coming out this time.
Of the handful that showed up, half of them left since they were expecting more of a “critical” mass. This left just four of us. Having only this many riders does have its advantages though.
First, the police didn’t see us as much a problem, and went their merry way, allowing us to go our merry way. (Actually, we are developing a very good relationship with the police) Second, instead of going for a slow ride, we went for a very fast ride, basically becoming one with traffic; weaving in and out of the cars. Wait, we already are traffic. How can we become one with something we are already part of? Anyway. Third, you can take a picture encompassing every cyclist on the ride!! Try doing that in chicago :-P
All of us. Well, if you count the Scotch-lite strap off my messenger bag as being part of me, then there are all of us. I'm actually super impressed that this picture turned out. I didn't really slow down much to take it. Although I did realize that the cars behind us might not appreciate the flash to much!
Fourth, and possibly most important, when four riders show up at an Irish pub, and one of the riders knows the bartender, she’ll have no problem giving everyone free drinks the entire night.
I think we’re still going to continue trying to promote the ride through the winter, but I’m not sure if we’re going to get much more participation. It’s kind of sad how many people stop biking around here when cities like Minneapolis and Chicago can draw hundreds if not thousands of people under much harsher conditions.
At the very least, we’ll probably be doing a ride like this past one even if others don’t show up.
Of the handful that showed up, half of them left since they were expecting more of a “critical” mass. This left just four of us. Having only this many riders does have its advantages though.
First, the police didn’t see us as much a problem, and went their merry way, allowing us to go our merry way. (Actually, we are developing a very good relationship with the police) Second, instead of going for a slow ride, we went for a very fast ride, basically becoming one with traffic; weaving in and out of the cars. Wait, we already are traffic. How can we become one with something we are already part of? Anyway. Third, you can take a picture encompassing every cyclist on the ride!! Try doing that in chicago :-P
All of us. Well, if you count the Scotch-lite strap off my messenger bag as being part of me, then there are all of us. I'm actually super impressed that this picture turned out. I didn't really slow down much to take it. Although I did realize that the cars behind us might not appreciate the flash to much!
Fourth, and possibly most important, when four riders show up at an Irish pub, and one of the riders knows the bartender, she’ll have no problem giving everyone free drinks the entire night.
I think we’re still going to continue trying to promote the ride through the winter, but I’m not sure if we’re going to get much more participation. It’s kind of sad how many people stop biking around here when cities like Minneapolis and Chicago can draw hundreds if not thousands of people under much harsher conditions.
At the very least, we’ll probably be doing a ride like this past one even if others don’t show up.
posted by Frick at 7:18 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home