[BCM] Courteous Mass!

Thu Jul 31 10:09:49 EDT 2008

Just for the record, it was not my idea... but I support it.
I will be at both masses also.

I always hear bicyclists say that they dont do Critical Mass because of the radicals... If this idea takes off, then we will be reaching a whole new (potentially huge) group of people riding around on bikes having a good time and directly / indirectly raising bicycle awareness by virtue of riding in an urban area.

Spread it around...

----- Original Message ----
From: Jon Ramos <jontramos at yahoo.com>
To: Boston Critical Mass <list at bostoncriticalmass.org>
Sent: Thursday, July 31, 2008 8:26:29 AM
Subject: Re: [*BCM*] Courteous Mass!

I think "Courteous Mass" is exactly the right name.  If it is called anything else, then people wont behave any differently than in Critical Mass.

I will be there.  I just posted the Courteous Mass ride info on my cycling group's message board (about 540 members in the greater boston area).

The ride will happen, I just hope we get a MASS-ive turnout.

Everyone that criticizes and/or complains about the behavior of the Critical Mass rides should feel compelled to attend the Courteous Mass ride.  
We finally have a chance to do more than just talk and complain...  unless you all just like to sit around an complain on the list serve... which would be sad.

Be there!

----- Original Message ----
From: "TSmith4918 at aol.com" <TSmith4918 at aol.com>
To: list at bostoncriticalmass.org
Sent: Thursday, July 31, 2008 7:59:28 AM
Subject: Re: [*BCM*] Open letter to the Cycling Community

sorry but I have to say that this is the attitude that repels people and does little to attract riders to any kind of active biking movement...people won't ride because they "should", they have to want to out of self interest (whether for global/green issues or local/health/economic/recreational reasons).  this viewpoint does not want to share the roads and why would someone want to scare drivers since it only puts the rider (and the rest of us) at terrible risk. "if everyone rode like us" sums it up: no room for compromise or other ways of seeing things.  

by definition all bikers experience the same terror on the road and live with the risk with dooring, cut-offs, verbal abuse-- not  a commute/ ride goes by without wondering if  I'm gonna make it to work/home safely--yet most of us keep biking because the risk is worth the benefits.  I doubt much is likely to change in terms of the car-bike relationship unless more people bike.  While a confrontational approach may be fun and stoke feelings of superiority (and i confess to such), it ain't gonna instruct or display to drivers why biking is a good, fun, smart, beneficial thing to do.  

I'm not young either, in fact quite old(50)and have been biking/commuting longer than some folks here have been alive.  Makes me no better in any regard except being able to say that I have had to share the road from the 60's thru the 00's, and it hasn't got any better due to the sheer increase in the number of cars on the road.  I think getting people to switch has to be based on their self interest:  one silver lining, perhaps, of the higher energy costs.  Other than that, we might be limited to showing  folks  the simple joy that most of us take in riding ( and leave the moral superiority with the car keys at home. )

the proposal for a courteous mass could be a good one: if it's safe, fun, and respectful of  fellow citizens  --most of them aren't monsters-- stuck in their cars (most of us feel that way in traffic), I think it may do more for winning  hearts/minds than the current approach.. (the word "courteous", however seems not quite right)

my 2 cents

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In a message dated 7/31/2008 3:42:54 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time, symboliceon at hotmail.com writes:
i think that i've decided to stop caring. there are just too many goddamn viewpoints on something so horribly simple that i don't really see the point. 

people are horrible. no shit. 

i'm gonna keep hauling ass through traffic because i know how to, because i can, because more of you should. 

there are others out there like me and if everyone rode like us these streets would be ours. shared properly. 

i'm not that young. i'm 27. i'll be scaring the shit out of drivers tomorrow on the way to work.. they should be on bikes anyway. 

ob-vi

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