[*BCM*] Bostoncriticalmass Digest, Vol 85, Issue 3

[Rebecca Albrecht]

What I like about CM is that wonderful feeling of having the whole 
street for ourselves and being totally safe from cars so that I can chat 
with other people. That’s why I keep coming back. I also like the total 
acceptance of anybody regardless of whether they are wearing a helmet or 
not, are riding a “fixie”, a skate board, or more traditional bike. I’ve 
taken the opportunity to talk to all kinds of people that I ordinarily 
would not have met. I have always liked it that people take it upon 
themselves to cork the intersections. It keeps all of us on the ride 
safe & together as a mass. I have been on rides(not CM) without corking 
and found them disappointing because the group would tend to break up 
into small groups. On those kinds of rides there was always some mixing 
it up with cars which is not my idea of a relaxing ride. Thirty days a 
month my way is blocked by “road hog” smelly cars and rude drivers whose 
idea of sharing the road is that bicyclists should get out of their way. 
I have become an assertive, excellent rider who is not easily 
intimidated but once a month it ‘s nice to relax. I don’t do it to 
protest and many of the people on the ride don’t seem to either. In the 
Netherlands there is no CM. There is no need for it because 365 days a 
year they have pleasant wide cycle tracks and bicycle roads on which to 
ride side by side chatting with friends or ride with a young child 
bicyclist.

At all other times of the month I patiently wait at red lights, 
frequently earning my place at the center of the car lane by waiting 
behind the last car in the line. I ride in the center of the lane 
initially to make myself most visible to the cars. I like the following 
from the blog -Crap Cycling & Walking in Waltham Forest “For a cyclist, 
jumping a red light can sometimes be a lot safer (and quicker and more 
convenient). And it is pointless condemning such behavior when the road 
network is built for the convenience of drivers, without safe and 
convenient infrastructure for cycling, and where rules designed to 
protect cyclists are not enforced”.

My favorite CM rides to be on are when the rides go at a slow pace, we 
mass up, there is no riding in the oncoming lane, we wait at stop lights 
if it’s red when we approach it & wait behind the last car in line 
always keeping in mind that we want to stay together as a mass. As a 
mass we generally take only a minute or two to get through an 
intersection. The problem with CM rides in Boston is that some people 
leading the ride ignore the fact that they are leading a mass of riders 
and weave through cars waiting at the light in order to get ahead of the 
cars thus creating total chaos.  I’ve tried to make some changes by 
handing out some simple practices to follow & lots of people were 
receptive but ultimately it’s who ever is in the lead that determines 
how the ride proceeds. The history of the first CM rides in San 
Francisco were actually fairly organized with a planned route!

I think circling at the intersection of Comm. Ave.& Harvard Ave. is 
somewhat similar to going through the underpass at Harvard Square where 
it’s fun to hoot & holler as our voices echo in the underpass. I am 
uncomfortable with the circling at the intersection of Comm.Ave.& 
Harvard Street & I usually leave at that point since I am close to my 
home. It’s a big intersection that requires corking for about seven 
lanes of traffic so I understand the empowerment that is felt to have 
those streets for a short period of time. I found it interesting that 
the video clip of the corking at the July CM ride was 34 seconds long. 
My guess is that the bike riders were there at most for one minute. Not 
an awfully long time for cars to be held up except of course it was 
bicycles that were obstructing them. In general very few cars are 
affected by CM on the vast expanse of our city streets. There have been 
a few times when I had been in my car during CM & I had hoped that our 
paths would cross. Most people seem happy to see us and give us high 
fives or a friendly toot on their car horns. Car drivers need to chill 
out because CM passes fairly quickly but some car drivers are rude & hey 
they just ruin it for all of us more tolerant, fun-loving car drivers!

On 8/7/11 12:00 PM, bostoncriticalmass-request at bostoncriticalmass.org wrote:
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> Today's Topics:
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>     1. Re: A report from the front lines of last night's CM
>        (Matt Gilbert)
>     2. Re: A report from the front lines of last night's CM (Turil)
>     3. Re: A report from the front lines of last night's CM
>        (Matthew Gilbert)
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Sat, 6 Aug 2011 13:45:55 -0500
> From: Matt Gilbert<mpgchicago at gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [*BCM*] A report from the front lines of last night's CM
> To: Boston Critical Mass<list at bostoncriticalmass.org>
> Message-ID:
> 	<CAAzx2n_Xsc2tH-Tpev9x-t5URzuOfuOL1dPaXH+jGtiRC24tdw at mail.gmail.com>
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> Bikes are always a "part of traffic," but sometimes motorists don't seem to
> get that. Critical Mass is about asserting bicycles' right to the road. That
> is what the cyclists in that video appear to be doing. Yes, sometimes when
> people assert themselves, they can be annoying.
>
> On Mon, Aug 1, 2011 at 4:06 PM, Mars<martian at mit.edu>  wrote:
>
>> I didn't say it was excusable, but asserted that it was a none too
>> surprising response.
>>
>> If I were walking down the sidewalk and a large group of people took
>> over the sidewalk in order to dance for a few minutes while some of
>> their friends stood in my way to prevent me from walking through, I
>> would get pretty damn annoyed as well.
>>
>> On 8/1/2011 5:02 PM, john saylor wrote:
>>> hey
>>>
>>> On Mon, Aug 1, 2011 at 16:39, Mars<martian at mit.edu>   wrote:
>>>> Is it really a surprise that someone got mad enough to push their way
>>>> through that?
>>> i know that waiting is about the worst thing someone can do,
>>> especially when in an automobile; nonetheless, does being angry excuse
>>> violent behavior?
>>>
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