Critical Mass Panic

You often hear disparaging remarks about Critical Mass, and indeed, NYC CM is pretty dead these days. Between the 5+ years of police repression of the ride on the last Friday of the month, the current NYPD "crackdown", and the icy, slushy, filthy, freezy streets, its no wonder you get more bodies showing up for a WNBR meeting than cyclists for a CM! But Critical Mass is not dead! If you have been paying any attention this week, you have witnessed its power. Egyptians of all walks of life have gathered together for days and days in public space, self-organized as equals to get a message out and build empowered community. Admittedly, it is not "Down with Cars!", but rather "Down with Mubarak!" Able to hold the space through the sheer power of their numbers alone, participants of this critical mass have begun to pay dearly with life, limb and liberty. I hope you all will join me in standing, sitting, walking, talking, and riding in solidarity with the people...

Two riders chatting in the heavily-misted Grand Army Plaza failed to attract the attention of the two other bicyclists who happened to pass through around 7pm. Police tripled their vehicle presence from last month, with two unmarked cars and a van. The apparent lack of interest led one rider to depart. The other made a phone call, then proceeded to make his way out to the street. The driver of an undercover vehicle asked the rider if anyone else was going to show up. The rider answered in the negative, and then invited the officers to escort him down Flatbush Avenue. Though the banter between the lone wet cyclist and the three or four officers packed into the sedan was cordial, the NYPD declined the opportunity to fulfill its duty to police Critical Mass to the fullest extent of the law, and beyond. I'd really like to know if there is any standard police protocol for how many cyclists constitute a Critical Mass. As we saw last month, four cyclists constituted a "Critical Mass...

two wheels cut paths slow submission to quiet cold bright joyful streets

Perhaps it is an addictive personality that drives a bicyclist to ride on days with terrible weather. Meteorological chaos disrupts the overly-oiled machine of that is New York City's motor infrastructure. The snow on the streets at the massive quantities seen recently changes the whole game of riding. A sinking feeling as the swiftly falling flurries become the sediment upon which your wheel rests and spins when you give the pedal the usual push, yet traction is evasive in the front as well you soon discover through the reduced visibility in the street that now leaves both wheels flopping about like so many fish-tales, swimming through the new medium. Everyone who is not in a car has a smile as the small challenges presented to bi-pedal mobility are off-set by the beauty and the playful feelings surrounding all the potential snowballs in a softer world.