The Chainlink

“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 bryan on September 23, 2011 at 10:04am

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 11:17am
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.
Permalink Reply by Jason W on September 23, 2011 at 11:20am
Oh, and only spot read a sentence or two of Scott's drivel, but I can certainly infer that at some point a hipster stole his girlfriend.
Permalink Reply by Tiberculosis on September 23, 2011 at 11:45am

I checked out his book,what a crock.

In his little introduction, he talks about riding in traffic and some guy rides up next to him at a stop sign with earbuds, flip flops and no helmet. He writes "I immediately hope natural selection weeds him out today". What the fuck dude? ESPN's Michael Smith has an army folks and they've infiltrated Chiacgo. Look out folks!

Permalink Reply by Spencer "Thunderball" Thayer! on September 23, 2011 at 12:01pm
Tomorrow around 9:50 AM (Chicago time) I MAY JUST MAYBE will be "interviewing" Scott Rowan on 89.3FM on This Is Hell! We'll see if his publisher doesn't Google my name first.
Permalink Reply by bryan on September 23, 2011 at 12:10pm
that is awful

Tiberculosis said:

I checked out his book,what a crock.

In his little introduction, he talks about riding in traffic and some guy rides up next to him at a stop sign with earbuds, flip flops and no helmet. He writes "I immediately hope natural selection weeds him out today". What the fuck dude? ESPN's Michael Smith has an army folks and they've infiltrated Chiacgo. Look out folks!

Permalink Reply by Kevin C Dormant on September 23, 2011 at 12:39pm

"The Urban Cyclist's Survival Guide"

 

Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #747,190 in Books.

 

Published by Triumph Books in August 2011. The same Triumph Books at which Scott Rowan served as Acquisition and Product Development Manager from June 2008-August 2011.

Permalink Reply by h' Zerocats on September 23, 2011 at 12:50pm

The inevitable "Mass his House" must follow . . . but per quick research I don't think we'll find a lot of buy-in to taking the mass to South Bend IN.

Interesting that Portland's Jonathan Maus comes out not-so-keen on this book even though he sold them some of the photos they used:

http://bikeportland.org/2011/08/31/new-book-is-a-survival-guide-for...

Permalink Reply by Tiberculosis on September 23, 2011 at 1:21pm

Might have to save that for a BIKE PARTY!

Threehonk said:

The inevitable "Mass his House" must follow . . . but per quick research I don't think we'll find a lot of buy-in to taking the mass to South Bend IN.

Permalink Reply by Liz on September 23, 2011 at 1:24pm

OMG. I want the 20 minutes of my life that I just spent reading the amazon preview back.  

 

In his section on how to carry your belongings, he starts of writing that you rent a van when you change jobs and need to move the cardboard box of office papers around.  I imagine he has to do this quite often since he is such a poor writer and working in the publishing industry. 

Permalink Reply by Kevin C Dormant on September 23, 2011 at 1:29pm
My research puts him in the 500 block of West Cornelia. 

Tiberculosis said:

Might have to save that for a BIKE PARTY!

Threehonk said:

The inevitable "Mass his House" must follow . . . but per quick research I don't think we'll find a lot of buy-in to taking the mass to South Bend IN.

Permalink Reply by Spencer "Thunderball" Thayer! on September 23, 2011 at 1:55pm
So should I interview him? Any interest? If you have a question or comment you want me to play on the air leave a cogent and concise message and we'll play it live, 773-828-9682

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