May Critical Mass

It's coming up on that time a year again! May Critical Mass! I aka Ms. Red lead the May Critical Mass last year with the help of some amazing individuals back to The Kedzie Stop; an old warehouse building turned artists studios, for a after mass dance party! And I would love to do it again this year! With experience under my belt and more people to help keep the mass together, I would love to get things started with ideas & comments on how to make it even better than last year.

**Attempting to go with last years idea of a spring parade/costume ride

**Talks about a musical performance as well in the back alley

Please share your thoughts & ideas and lend any help you can!

Ciao a tutti!!

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Permalink Reply by Davo on June 2, 2014 at 8:15am

With respect to the "Extremists" who presented the unsolicited responses in the polls, the figure that attacked, without prompting, Bike Lanes was TWENTY EIGHT percent. God help us all if the virulent anti-bicycle haters have gotten to 28%. What that 28%, in fact, tells us, is that the "anti-bicycle" feeling is wider and deeper than we had thought.

Where do you get 28% from? Was that the sun times article? The way I read that was that of 511 participants 19 offered unsolicited responses about bike lanes. Even with the 4-1 factor that the article suggests, that makes 19 = 76. Divide that from 511 and you get about 14% of likely voters who have it out for bicycling infra structure. Ill worry more when they have an advocacy group or spokes person, who isn't Kass.

CM is a little like a heart patient eating a piece of red meat larded with fat or a lung cancer patient enjoying a smoke. Its the one change that we can easily make as a bicycling community that will result in the greatest help.

I guess that I would call CM more of a skin tag. Sure its annoying, and might be a little ugly cosmetically, but has no real effect on the community at large.

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Permalink Reply by Kevin C Dormant on June 2, 2014 at 8:16am

The first Critical Mass was in San Francisco in 1992. The first Chicago Critical Mass was September 5, 1997. In the ensuing 16+ years, there has been growth in cycling in Chicago and across the nation. Political inertia has developed for the construction of infrastructure even though cycling remains a small minority of mode share. More people riding bikes is a good thing. Commute, race, do errands, socialize, wear lycra, wear nothing, wear street clothes, wear a helmet, don't wear a helmet, participate in Critical Mass or don't-it's all good.

Whether the growth in cycling and political attention has occurred because of critical mass, in spite of critical mass or is merely a coincidence, is unknown. I personally believe some of the local political will is coming from the fact that it's politically expedient to support bikes and bike infrastructure and that Chicago doesn't want to be left behind.

People participate in critical mass for different reasons. There are good and bad aspects to critical mass. I participate a few times per year. I do not think it's a coincidence that many of the people I know and respect in local bicycle advocacy are past or current critical mass participants.