“Critical massholes” by Scott Rowan (a.k.a. The Urban Cyclist)

Here.

And my comment: 

I’ve ridden a few times with the Chicago Critical Mass, and have to agree: there was a number of rather unattractive (drunk or stoned, or both) characters each time. I’ve seen few arguments with drivers stuck in the middle of the Mass. But I’ve also seen smiles on drivers’ faces and answering calls of “Happy Friday!” Come on, it’s just once a month. It happens all over the world (I saw an announcement about the Critical Mass few weeks ago in Nuremberg; I wish I had a chance to ride there, to compare it with CCM). For the majority of those who participate in the Mass, it’s a way to turn their city or town into an Amsterdam, if only for a few hours. (Do they have Critical Mass in Amsterdam? Probably not. What for? THEIR critical mass had been reached long time ago.)
. . . Anyway, as much as I respect the cycling achievements of the author of this article and the co-author of the “Survival Guide,” I think he might have found a better way to promote his book.
By the way, cyclists pay taxes, too.


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Permalink Reply by Davo on September 22, 2011 at 7:40am
Is it that time again. I havn't seen one of these "articles" in a while. In my 5+ years of doing CCM, I have seen (IMO) the animosity between CCMrs and cars deminish. I guess this guy needed to promote his book and came across a journal entry from a few years back. Unfortunatly I don't want to post to this guys post because that would be another thing on the web that I have to log into or let facebook know what I like.
Permalink Reply by Mike Zumwalt on September 22, 2011 at 7:46am

We've already had people bust through the crowd in cars, along Mi. Ave, North ave.

 

I'm for the tallbikes, bmx'rs trick bike riding wheelies along the raised bed planters in the median...the problem is always the ones that ride in the oncoming lane and drivers justifiably get angry.

 

Now this guy writing the article comparing cyclist to Jihad!? Nut case. But he's a PROFESSIONAL cyclist, yeah I know him the one that packs his bikes into an SUV and drives to ride his bike being self righteous about the laws of cycling.

Permalink Reply by Rowbike Mike on September 22, 2011 at 7:49am

 

"Critical Massholes are to fundamentalist terrorists what Islam is to cycling."

 

Not only did he butcher the analogy, but comparing what Critical Mass does to killing innocent people is a tell-tale sign that this guy is frothing way too much onto his keyboard.

Permalink Reply by Gort 12-mile Pinklegneep on September 22, 2011 at 8:53am

Critical Massholes are to fundamentalist terrorists what islam is to cycling: totally unrelated. Unless there's some relationship between islam and cycling I'm unaware of.

 

Yeah this is a silly white noise troll, notable only for his conceit that he's a True Cyclist and the thousands of people on bicycles aren't cyclists, plus the "there will be blood on your hands" is adorable.

Permalink Reply by Gort 12-mile Pinklegneep on September 22, 2011 at 8:55am
blah blah motorist taxpayers vs cycling... non... taxpayers presumably blah blah this is ultimately worse for cyclists blah blah which is why cycling in chicago has gotten so much worse as mass has grown
Permalink Reply by Davo on September 22, 2011 at 9:03am

In his responce to someone correcting what his picture was of:

The image is what is what is vital - motorists have no patience for cyclists. Cycling "tourists" like you who don't live on a bike will not understand. To you "it's only a day" and that's my point - it's not a day. It's a negative attitude you have instilled in motorists. And then you've gone back to your car or bus. But for daily cyclists like myself you have caused us problems you don't ever know about because you're only in our world "for a day" but we live on bikes. You clearly are missing the entire point of the discussion. Please go spend you time avoiding work elsewhere. The adults here are busy.

 

 

Im confused, is he trying to promote a more positive image for cyclists or is it something that only the elite can do. What a douche

Permalink Reply by Gort 12-mile Pinklegneep on September 22, 2011 at 9:04am

Cycling: it's His World!

Permalink Reply by Gort 12-mile Pinklegneep on September 22, 2011 at 9:12am

Scott Rowan (aka The Urban Cyclist) began commuting daily via bicycle from his Lakeview condo to his office in the South Loop in 2004. Scott doesn't "do centuries" or weekend races and you won't find one expensive piece of cycling-specific clothing in his closet. Nearly 100% of his cycling is done on city streets as his daily mode of transportation.
His bike: a $450 Trek FX.
His clothes: $10 shorts/shirt.
His daily commute: 12 miles round trip.
His odometer: 15,000+ miles since 2004.

 

Whoa... whoa... his cycling levels are... are so high, so high, he is truly The Cyclist.

Permalink Reply by Davo on September 22, 2011 at 11:40am

The best part is the poster that "happens" to have "the urban cyclist's" real name that writes in the same ignorant style just for the opposite side.

 

This is real lazy trolling. I thought that died out a while ago.

 

Still some what fun to follow that "discussion"

Permalink Reply by April on September 22, 2011 at 7:17pm

Considering how many people participate in CM, isn't he insulting a good portion of the potential audience for his book?  Seems like a very poor marketing strategy to me. I'm definitely in the WILL NOT BUY category after reading the rant.  I've ridden in about a dozen masses and although I've seen some honking and minor arguments, they have been drops in a very large bucket of positive "Happy Friday" vibes.  Also, I am truly offended by his off-color religious and racial derogatory analogies, and gross generalizations lacking any sort of factual backing. I think this sort of negative partisan "us and them" communication is counterproductive to the twin goals of getting more people to cycle and making cities more cycling-accessible.  I hope that we can overwhelm the presses with more positive publications to make up for disingenuous inflammatory BS such as this.

 

I think CM is an extraordinary social statement with a positive ambiance and a critical mission. The commenter Draynd on the Chicago Now blog said it like this:

"Strive to reduce traffic; don't consider it an unchanging force to be accepted and accommodated. Strive to increase safety and infrastructure so more feel comfortable on a bike; don't shake your fists at those brazen enough to take potholes and bike lane gaps in stride"   

 

"Be the change you wish to see in the world" -Mahatma Gandhi

Permalink Reply by bryan on September 23, 2011 at 4:04am

damn, this Scott Rowan is an amazing troll. according to him, everyone that rides Mass is a hipster-idiot? Awesome.

 

How is critical mass different from automotive traffic? Does he get pissed when there is a traffic jam on the Kennedy inbound Friday evening, taking you 2 hrs in from Ohare? Is everyone causing the traffic jam a hipster moron? or are they just regular morons, giving up precious moments of their lives so they can be stuck inside a metal box for hours at a time? Who is the real moron here?

 

Critical Mass provides people with an alternate view of how things could be. And what frightens people more than anything? Change. Critical Mass shows people that things could change one day, that BIKES will rule the streets and not PRECIOUS PRECIOUS cars.

 

His arguments are so stupid: baseball balls, chin saw fans? Fine, dude! DO IT THEN! If you think you can get a group of "baseball bat fans" to meet up and wave around baseball bats in the name of ???? then GO FOR IT. Don't be jealous because CCM has a following and you're too much of a thick-skulled prick to understand what it actually means.

 

People get mad at critical mass because they think the cyclists (real or fake) aren't that important or 'real'. and thats what CM tries to change. if people get mad, so be it.

 

"CRITICAL MASSHOLES ARE NOT CYCLISTS"

Yea, suck my "hipster balls", Scott Rowan. I'll out-ride you any day, any time. Take your shitty Trek FX, probably loaded with a bunch of dumb "REAL CYCLIST" gear and ride it into a cornfield, since you like to ride "wherever the crowds aren't". Maybe you should be out on the Des Plaines River trails or something, not riding thru the heart of one of the country's biggest cities. DURRRRRRRRRRRRRR.

 

Oh, and don't forget to buy his book! (Yea right)

Permalink Reply by Jason W on September 23, 2011 at 5:17am
Exactly howard. The truth is that the vast majority of people who see CCM are positive or indifferent. Nearly every cyclist I've talked to who is anti CM starts out there reasoning the exact same way... "I've never been on a critical mass ride, but"...

Threehonk said:

This very closely echoes my own expectations and biases about Critical Mass before I observed one first hand, and subsequently began to participate.  I actually called and ranted at Chicagoland Bicycle Federation staff more than once for appearing to promote the event in their monthly news mailing (mostly positive writeups by Steve Buchtel.)


I was wrong on almost every count-- glad I was open-minded enough to give it a chance.


kiltedcelt said:

I'm not saying I agree with the writer's vitriol, but I do see his point. There's a lot of talk on this forum about getting the same respect and rights as automobiles. I see lots of discussions regarding blowing stop signs or lights and is it okay to do so, etc. I've never been on a critical mass ride, but it seems to me like by their very nature they would have the effect of pissing off pretty much every auto driver who is inconvenienced by a CM ride, thus making them dislike "pesky" cyclists even more. Just my take, but isn't there some better way to call attention to cyclists' rights? Now correct me if I'm wrong here. Does a typical CM ride take over an entire street both directions of traffic flow as it goes where ever it's headed? If it does I can see that causing a lot of ire. From when I first read about CM rides years ago, I remember they were intended to completely immobilize vehicular traffic in order to make a point. Of course you can still argue then versus now whether you do any good for your cause by pissing people off. I could see a CM ride being a little less inflammatory if it stuck to flowing the proper way of traffic and did not impede other vehicular traffic too much. Again, just my opinion and like I said before I'm not agreeing 100 percent with the original poster, I'm just saying I kinda see where he's coming from.

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