The Last Friday Each Month at 5:30pm
Community Bike Ride
...a convivial event for cyclists of all ages and abilities

Riding a bike is illustrative of how one chooses to live in this world, treat the earth, and is one of the greatest symbols of respecting your body, and all of the individuals around you. Cycling is smart, intelligent, and respectful!

1. Understand the structure of Critical Mass.

CM has no leaders. It's an event, not an organization. There is no national group that licenses local rides. In every city that has a CM, one or more cyclists just picked a day and time and started handing out fliers. It just happens. You don't need anyone to authorize your ride. Just do it.

2. Put it into perspective.

Critical Mass can be fun, but in and of itself, Critical Mass doesn't change anything. CM is effective only when combined with real advocacy -- such as lobbying local and state governments for bike lanes and progressive legislation. If all you and your cohorts do is ride your bikes around once a month, don't be surprised when nothing changes.

3. Ride at a recurring time, day, & use a consistent starting location.

The last Friday of the month at 5:30pm is a good time for CM, because it gives people who work until 5:00 a chance to get there, while leaving enough daylight in most months for a decent ride.

4. No permit required or desired.

When local police learn of your ride, they may insist that you get a permit, perhaps a parade permit. The point of Critical Mass is that biking is a right, not a privilege. Cars don't need permits to ride on the streets, and neither should cyclists.

5. What route to take.

Most CM rides don't have a set route -- they go through the central city randomly, with whoever happens to be in front leading the way.

6. Learn the traffic laws.

If your ride draws any appreciable number of riders, you can expect attention from the police. Riders may or may not choose to follow the law, but you still need to know what the law is so you know whether or not you're breaking it. Get a copy of your local traffic laws from your state and city web sites. Most states requires cyclists to obey all the same rules as cars (e.g., Stop signs & red lights). You'll probably also be required to have a headlight after dark, and there may be limits to how many bikes abreast (side by side) you can ride. Some riders ignore laws that have no safety consequences (e.g., riding 3-abreast instead of 2-abreast).

7. Will you block traffic?

The most controversial aspect of CM is the extent to which it blocks traffic. Just because bikes are legitimate road users doesn't mean they don't slow down other road users -- especially when they go out of their way to do so by taking up multiple lanes. Remember that CM is supposed to be a celebration of cycling, not your opportunity to see how much inconvenience you can cause to others. It's about asserting our right to the road, not denying others their right to the road.

Please leave at least one lane open for cars whenever possible. (So if you're on a 4-lane road, take no more than 3 lanes. Except if you're on a one-lane road, obviously you will take the whole lane.) Taking all the lanes, all the time, might be fun for you, but it certainly brings the police down on you quicker. Motorists will ring 911 off the wall with their cell phones if you block them 100%. It also doesn't win you any friends. Are you doing CM to show motorists how much fun biking can be, or are you just trying to piss them off because it makes you feel good? Only CM riders can answer these questions for themselves. Also remember that your local laws may have a say about that (though some riders choose to ignore them).

Even if you decide that you don't want to go overboard with taking lanes, understand that you can't control the riders -- some riders may want to take all the lanes all the time. If this is not the flavor you want for your ride, then make that clear in the fliers you make for the ride, and get other cyclists to apply gentle peer pressure when a few cyclists stray. Unfortunately if two people out of 200 decide to be jerks then your CM's reputation will come from them rather than from the other 198. But since CM has no leaders, you can't order anyone to ride the way you want, you can only try to encourage them.

8. Meeting and Greeting motorists.

Many CM'ers make it a point to be friendly to motorists, such as smiling and waving. Some go even farther, handing out flowers, holding signs saying "Sorry for the delay", or passing out fliers apologizing for the minimal once-a-month delay, and explaining why we ride. If you want to avoid confrontation with motorists, put something to that effect in the fliers you use to promote the rides.

9. Make fliers and promote the ride.

The best advertising is fliers placed directly on bicycles -- you know a cyclist is going to see it. Make several strips per page to save paper. Here's an example. (You can attach the fliers to the bike in many ways -- such as squeezing the brake lever to open it, slipping in the flier, then releasing the brake lever. Or you can thread the flier between the brake & gearing cables on the top tube.)

 

Also put up fliers at local bike shops Here's an example.

10. Get creative.

CM can be festive. Many riders wear costumes or decorate their bikes extravagantly. Use your imagination. It make the rides more fun.