Unorganized Mass?

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Permalink Reply by Vilda on May 30, 2009 at 8:36am

Yeah that dude at California was an asshole! I lack subtlety so i would of ended up in a fight but truly admire Martin for being sneaky. ;-)

The Shit can only wanted to go fast and ride major streets. Wish i could get a name for him so i can avoid the shit out out of him.

Permalink Reply by Bob Kastigar on May 30, 2009 at 9:07am

It really was a lot of fun. It was different and it was far more crowded than I expected it to be. This is only May; it wasn't warm and sunny. We can only imagine what the rest of summer is going to be like!

It started off well - very well. Those in front (I.e., "leaders") stopped several times in the first 30-45 minutes to allow us to Mass Up. I wasn't too far back so I could see this and appreciated it, though I did hear several voices getting anxious about the long wait. This was an excellent example of CCM leadership.

Sometime later, the ride was hijacked. An obvious member of the testosterone-crowd thought we should ride on the main, busy streets instead of the side streets we were following. They took it upon themselves to guide the ride into a 90-degree turn (I don't know where and what direction was involved!). It's a little tough to take over that hijacking process, especially if you aren't following the map but following the crowd. I saw his standing in the middle of the intersection, encouraging the turn. I saw a few riders going straight and the majority turning right. I followed the right-turn though I realized the map route was about to be lost. About the time we got to North Avenue I realized Ping Tom Park was no longer on the agenda. Someplace en route the divergent group re-assembled (I think) and the crowd got bigger once again.

I didn't see any examples of drinking. I did see several examples of corking. I didn't see any examples of police interference or aggressiveness. Of course with a mass that large it could be that I just missed it.

After the split and re-assembly of the mass I did see several instances of car drivers breaking the group into parts, because we were no longer trying to maintain a Mass-Up process. Or maybe those in front didn't realize they were now "leaders". This might have turned into a disaster, but I didn't see it.

I saw the final split at our traditional intersections, Milwaukee-North-Damen. Some went north, some went back east. I followed the crowed east but it eventually got split up by cars and the groups got smaller and smaller.

There's always next month.

Permalink Reply by Reddog (Cliff) on May 30, 2009 at 12:00pm

The whole thing started out well enough. It seemed to be moving slow at first, but that was due to the large numbers. I have no idea of large it was, perhaps 1500 or so? Once we were firmly on our way into the south side and into Pilsen things seemed great. (and I really liked the blimp! did you guys see that?) I did not see any police interference or much open container stuff going on. I was not near the front of the ride, and I never got a route map at Daley plaza, but once we started going north on California it was obvious that something had gone terribly amiss. I put on some speed to get up front. It wasnt long before I caught up with some friends, Gabe, Martin, Erik and Lauren. they told me about the guy who hijacked the mass and even pointed him out to me. Like Gabe, I tend to lack subtley in situations like that so I guess it is a good thing I wasnt up front when it happened. from there the ride kind of devolved into a moving train wreck.
From there on out, I saw many angry motorists and some pretty scary stuff involving people trying to punch through the mass with cars. I guess I have only myself to blame, I did not need to keep going but I was curious to see just where this circus was going. I almost bailed at North/Damen/Millwaukee. but I kept going on. the ride snaked its way back downtown causing chaos the whole way.

I finally had enough by the time the small mass (about 150 riders) had made its way to Michagan and 18th. I peeled off and headed west on 18th. Ironicly enough, while going west on 18th I got a good look at Ping tom Park from the bridge. It was silent and dark, no happy friday for Ping Tom park. I was really looking forward to the post-mass chit chat and camraderie at the park.

but, these things do happen. And no one made me continue. It was dismaying to me, because the people that came up with the route worked hard and made flyers and all. I saw the map here on Chainlink and thought that it was a good route. But, like I said, these things happen.

there is allways next time I guess. But next time I may decide to stay up front the whole time.
it really only takes two or three people with an assertive manner about them to keep things on track.
And if the right people are up front perhaps a diffrence could be made.

The whole thing made me nostalgic for the winter rides. I can suffer bone-chilling cold much more readily than loudmouthed fools.

Permalink Reply by Bob Kastigar on May 30, 2009 at 12:18pm

Reddog said:

but, these things do happen. And no one made me continue. It was dismaying to me, because the people that came up with the route worked hard and made flyers and all. I saw the map here on Chainlink and thought that it was a good route. But, like I said, these things happen.

We've seen a lot fewer maps proposed over the last several rides. I wonder if the reason is that it does take considerable effort to map out a good route - only to have it spoiled because it isn't followed.

That kind of thing like last night does discourage map making.

Permalink Reply by Vilda on May 30, 2009 at 12:20pm

I think the map from this Mass should be done in the Pilsen or Wicker Mass's (with modifications). It was an awesome map for sure and would be a great ride for a small group and could end at a restaurant in Chinatown instead of the park with a smaller crew. ;-)

Permalink Reply by S on May 30, 2009 at 2:20pm

I thought the map was great and was hoping to end up in chinatown so I was a little disappointed when the route got hijacked. Things did get a bit disorganized after that and it did seem like there were quite a few more angry drivers after. The ride did go through chinatown but it seemed like things just gradually fizzled out as people split off rather than having people chilling out afterwards. A smaller mass would definitely have made keeping people on the map much easier.

Permalink Reply by lauren sailor on June 1, 2009 at 11:57am

hey mark, thanks! it was good to see you too. i am pretty energetic overall, and that tendancy only increases on happy fridays :)

i am also bummed the ride got hijacked, but i suppose i am partly culpable. i had been near the front, but pulled off to count people (1626 was my—admittedly, quite approximate—total) at racine and taylor. i'm kind of a loudmouth, and for some reason members of the testosterone brigade seemed to be massing up when i suggested it near the front (maybe it was the tube top?). so, sorry for not doing more to lead, howard. it looked to be a solid route; maybe we can try it again next month!

i have been counting ridership since february, if anyone's interested. here are the numbers i got, rounded to the nearest ten:
february 120
march 380
april 1120
may 1630

keep in mind, these are only my counts and have not been corroborated in any way. i talked to a guy in april who counted 1800, which i have a hard time believing... but you never know!

Permalink Reply by Andrew Bedno on June 1, 2009 at 6:44pm

Lauren, I love that you do that. When I'm on skate I do as well, good to have multiple counts.

I saw a corking bust on Michigan, maybe South of Water Tower-ish, I haven't read others mention yet, but others must have seen. A spectators asked me in broken english to do something, that he was only trying to help the cyclists, I got a photo, but cops had loaded him and were getting set to leave by then.

I believe a mass this size can be managed, but it takes a little more preparedness than we put forth this time. Get the skaters involved. And let's test out my high-end radios someday... Meta-view, I think the mass evolves self-adjusting mechanisms through feedback. Multis, splits, communications and unforeseen solutions will emerge as needed / when ready.