Chicago Critical Mass - July 2010 Makes CBS (Channel 2) News Coverage
Hmmm... Just found this over at http://chicagocriticalmass.org/
CBS Channel 2 Coverage
Submitted by 4barbra on Sat, 2010-07-31 16:03.
Report from the July, 2010 Ride:I guess because they're located across from Daley Plaza, CBS-2's car-driving staff doesn't like Critical Mass and made this effort at an expose-style story. They're attempt to shed a negative light on Critical Mass is bogus. I guess they didn't want to shed any light on the underwear theme...that might actually get more of the public interested in having fun with us! ha!
http://cbs2chicago.com/video/?id=73250@wbbm.dayport.com
Interesting. They talk about "sharing" the street right at the end because the mass riders just "take it over." Im sure most of you have had the pleasure of riding downtown Chicago streets without a Mass with you. Did you feel like the cars were "sharing" the streets with you? I'm not sure Chicago drivers share the streets with other cars lol. I attended this mass and I must say I had a blast, though I must admit that I would have been pissed when driving but I usually am when driving in Chicago, Critical Mass or not lol.
Views: 158
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by igz on
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its part of the vicious cycle of 'mass'. tho many participants have their own agendas for riding, from political activist to shear fun adn mayhem, a general and popular theme is the proclamation of sharing the road.
we, at 'mass' present a horrible display of sharing the road. and even moreso against common sense and respect...we egg the motorists on, aggrevate them even more. yeah...thats all 'fun and games' when en masse, but when you are out there alone on the road, and that motorist that was egged on...well...you might become a victim like the Pritzker/Ibarro case.
And since media is so persuasive, and its media thats pushing this, they can easily paint us in a bad light. All of a sudden, it all seems counter-productive.
dont get me wrong. i love 'mass'. i do. but i cant help but play devils advocate on this one.
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Permalink Reply by Davo on
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I really don't think aggrivated drivers are remembering how pissed off they were (at that one mass they got stuck in) when they drive like assholes.
That being said, Mass does piss people off. IMO that is something that they have to deal with one day a month.
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Permalink Reply by h' Zerocats on
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no, its not necessarily 'remembering us', but it can add fuel to their assholeness.
road rage does some stupid shit to people
Davo said:I really don't think aggrivated drivers are remembering how pissed off they were (at that one mass they got stuck in) when they drive like assholes.
That being said, Mass does piss people off. IMO that is something that they have to deal with one day a month.
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Permalink Reply by Mark Kenseth on
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the cbs reporter is not interested in bicycling, or reporting. if he wanted to find out what is really going on at critical mass, he would have gone gonzo and got on a bike. (he probably doesn't know what gonzo is in the history of reporting.)
i was watching that reporter while i was waiting for friends. he was walking out of the middle of the plaza and a bicyclist asked if he could get a picture, and the reporter said, "i have something to do, i'll be back." i wonder if he ever made it back. i only saw him hanging out on the edge with the police for 20 minutes shaking hands and talking. he just seem like such a macho p!*&k. he didn't seem interested in being there at all or talking to bicyclists. you can see by the video that he wanted just one angle from interviewing bicyclists and drivers: the confrontation of "taking over the streets." people are afraid of what they don't know, and this reporter showed me that he didn't know anything about critical mass or living in the city. i wonder where he lives.
i always see a lot of happy drivers. and if anything, drivers should be happy to see all the bikers. promoting biking though critical mass may get more bikes on the road and less cars, possibly allowing drivers who "just wanna get home" actually get home faster.
also, the bike share program seems like it's more for tourists and metra riders from the suburbs.
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I think that most road ragers wake up in the morning and down 40oz of asshole fuel to start their day, after all they are more important than anyone else.
Ragers are more likley reacting to what has "happend" to them that day, hour, minute.
I think you and I are just splitting hairs, but thats Ok.
iggi said:no, its not necessarily 'remembering us', but it can add fuel to their assholeness.
road rage does some stupid shit to people
Davo said:I really don't think aggrivated drivers are remembering how pissed off they were (at that one mass they got stuck in) when they drive like assholes.
That being said, Mass does piss people off. IMO that is something that they have to deal with one day a month.
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Permalink Reply by Joel on
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I think Critical Mass is one of the dumbest things the cycling community can do to gain respect in the city. The massers might think they are promoting "share the road", but the message comes across as "fuck drivers". It emphasizes everything drivers complain about in regard to cyclists: they are unsafe, break all the traffic laws, no regard for others, etc. To those inconvenienced by the mass it looks like a bunch of drunken assholes who just want to party and piss people off.
What do you think those people (a.k.a. voters) think about when bike-friendly stuff comes up? The thousands of good cyclists every day, or the night they missed a play because they couldn't turn left for 15 minutes because people were off their bikes standing in the intersection?
Before cycling significantly or knowing what CM was, I got stuck in the mess in a car and a bus. All it did was piss me off. I saw an ambulance, with lights and sirens going, stuck on Roosevelt by a bridge because people didn't seem to care to let it through. There was no "share the road" message.
If you want to say "share the road", get a mass that shares the road. Get everyone to ride in the right lane and bike lanes. Signal turns. Stop at lights. Don't cork. Don't ride drunk. That might actually show people that there are a lot of cyclists in the city, and in fact they can be good citizens and therefore maybe we should consider building facilities to accommodate them.
It might be a fun ride, but it isn't helping any cause; so don't be surprised when the news portrays it negatively.
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Permalink Reply by Zomboogz on
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Errr... Sorry about that. I did a quick search to make sure it hadn't been posted before but I guess I missed it. (Search string of "Critical Mass")
H3N3 said:
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You know Joel, I have to agree with you. I enjoyed the ride but it was really about sharing the road like the site and other massers say it is. It really does seem to be a "fu*k you" to cars and drivers. It seems more like a, "I'm gonna get in your face, cut you off, box you out, and affect your ride home like you do to me the other 30 or so days of the month." I dont know that I agree with ALL of it but I really wanted to experience it at least once.
Most drivers I saw were pretty cool with it though, honking their horns and going for hi-fives from passing riders.
I get the idea of the fight though, I just dont think it should misrepresent itself as a joy-of-sharing-the-road ride. I went there fully understanding that if anything highly illegal broke out I could get in trouble. I would not have complained, well too much :p. Some riders believe, and in many ways I agree with them, that causing disruptions to show drivers how we honestly feel everyday were "sharing" the road with them would serve to get the citys ass in motion on upgrading the cities streets to more cycle friendly areas. Hell I popped off the trail by buckingham fountain and rode to daley plaza and I almost got hit 4-5 times with my bud while obeying ALL of the rules of the road. Sometimes its like they just dont see us, or care to I suppose. Would I have slowed them down? They would have been 15 seconds late to their engagement but I wonder if they care when taxi cabs cut us off and almost ram us off the road. Im not too sure.
Are there better ways to show how to share the road? Yes. And I would attend one of those rides as well.
Joel said:I think Critical Mass is one of the dumbest things the cycling community can do to gain respect in the city. The massers might think they are promoting "share the road", but the message comes across as "fuck drivers". It emphasizes everything drivers complain about in regard to cyclists: they are unsafe, break all the traffic laws, no regard for others, etc. To those inconvenienced by the mass it looks like a bunch of drunken assholes who just want to party and piss people off.
What do you think those people (a.k.a. voters) think about when bike-friendly stuff comes up? The thousands of good cyclists every day, or the night they missed a play because they couldn't turn left for 15 minutes because people were off their bikes standing in the intersection?
Before cycling significantly or knowing what CM was, I got stuck in the mess in a car and a bus. All it did was piss me off. I saw an ambulance, with lights and sirens going, stuck on Roosevelt by a bridge because people didn't seem to care to let it through. There was no "share the road" message.
If you want to say "share the road", get a mass that shares the road. Get everyone to ride in the right lane and bike lanes. Signal turns. Stop at lights. Don't cork. Don't ride drunk. That might actually show people that there are a lot of cyclists in the city, and in fact they can be good citizens and therefore maybe we should consider building facilities to accommodate them.
It might be a fun ride, but it isn't helping any cause; so don't be surprised when the news portrays it negatively.
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Yeah, that report was rather biased. As a reporter, well an honest one, you cannot come out the gates with an opinion about it already in mind. Saavy listeners will see that one sided tilt from a mile away.
Mark Kenseth said:the cbs reporter is not interested in bicycling, or reporting. if he wanted to find out what is really going on at critical mass, he would have gone gonzo and got on a bike. (he probably doesn't know what gonzo is in the history of reporting.)
i was watching that reporter while i was waiting for friends. he was walking out of the middle of the plaza and a bicyclist asked if he could get a picture, and the reporter said, "i have something to do, i'll be back." i wonder if he ever made it back. i only saw him hanging out on the edge with the police for 20 minutes shaking hands and talking. he just seem like such a macho p!*&k. he didn't seem interested in being there at all or talking to bicyclists. you can see by the video that he wanted just one angle from interviewing bicyclists and drivers: the confrontation of "taking over the streets." people are afraid of what they don't know, and this reporter showed me that he didn't know anything about critical mass or living in the city. i wonder where he lives.
i always see a lot of happy drivers. and if anything, drivers should be happy to see all the bikers. promoting biking though critical mass may get more bikes on the road and less cars, possibly allowing drivers who "just wanna get home" actually get home faster.
also, the bike share program seems like it's more for tourists and metra riders from the suburbs.
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Permalink Reply by Jera Sue on
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This is from the Wikipedia entry on Critical Mass... seems like there isn't much of a market for a polite mass, unfortunately.
"In San Francisco, an event known as "Critical Manners" was created as a response to Critical Mass. Critical Manners rides through the city on the second Friday of the month, with riders encouraged to obey all traffic laws such as stopping at red lights and signaling.[26][27] Tucson, Arizona holds the Tuesday Night Community Bike Ride as their alternative to Critical Mass. The weekly ride encourages bicycle commuting and motor vehicle awareness in a peaceful and friendly way.[28]
"In 2007 there were conversations about starting Critical Manners in Portland, Oregon.[29] According to the Critical Mass book, a similar project known as Courteous Mass is described as 'an alternative to Critical Mass.' Courteous Mass was discontinued in late 2002 due to "lack of interest".[30]
"An alternative ride named RideCivil formed in Seattle in late 2007.[31] Rides are on the second Friday of every month, and focus on encouraging civility between motorists, pedestrians and cyclists.[32]
"On August 14, 2009 there was a Critical Manners ride in Vancouver, British Columbia.[33] The ride consisted of between 70-100 cyclists riding through the downtown core, making all attempts to follow the rules of the road (stopping at red lights / stop signs, using hand signals to turn, using the right-most lane or bike lane when applicable). The event generated some coverage in the local media[34] and was generally deemed a success by the participants, although there were some criticisms.[35] The ride, however, only survived one outing.[36]"
Joel said:If you want to say "share the road", get a mass that shares the road. Get everyone to ride in the right lane and bike lanes. Signal turns. Stop at lights. Don't cork. Don't ride drunk. That might actually show people that there are a lot of cyclists in the city, and in fact they can be good citizens and therefore maybe we should consider building facilities to accommodate them.
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Also, that Seattle RideCivil group, looking at their Facebook group... seems like they're struggling :(
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