SF Crit Mass story
 

Not sure if this is the right forum but I thought I would post this article about a recent SF critical mass. Truly shameful and pathetic.....

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cg...GF7P12RN23.DTL

It's a shame that critical mass has decended to this level. It seems that for some people involved, it's a way to cause mayhem without the risk of being punished for it.

friggin' idiots.

I've never viewed critical mass positively, but this is by far the worst I've heard. It's like promoting vehicle rights by driving on the sidewalks and running over pedestrians. Ridiculous.

That really sucks, as the Mayor said in the article - it goes against the grain of what CM is all about really. Dumbasses.

I'm looking to go along to the local CM this month, I've not been before but am curious to see what the crowd is like. I'm no activist, but definitely would like to promote cycling if I can.

Yeah, and I'm sure the lady wasn't honking, calling them **** or intentionally hitting anyone. (oh sorry, I mean "tapping the wheel of one of the cyclists") We had a very similar incident on our last CM ride but none of us threw a bike through the rear window of any cars. I agree that the reaction of the cyclists in this case was over the top, but the driver of the minivan was certainly not as innocent as the artlicle would make her seem.

CM rule #1 for motorists: If you don't want your children exposed to an angry mob, don't "tap the wheel" of any of them.

CM rule #1 for cyclists: Calm the **** down.

One thing to note: the article doesn't provide any accounts from CM participants. I've sent the two reporters who wrote the piece an email asking if they attempted to interview anyone, and they haven't responded.

Even if the vehicle was reacting more aggressively than described in the piece, that doesn't rationalize striking it and breaking a windshield, but it's also clear the piece offers no rider perspective on how the incident played out.

Does your CM group obey traffic laws or are you above the law like these a-holes? I reserve judgment on who's fault it is, but the reaction is uncalled for and gives us law abiding cyclists a black eye.

What a worthless piece of writing

Not exactly fair and balanced reporting.
I would be very interested in knowing what really happened to set off the mob.

Regardless, nothing short of hit and run, leaving a person in the road to die would call for the kind of treatment these people received by this mob. These tactics are the kind that will further enlarge the gulf between the cycling community and the rest of the world.

No, for the most part we stop for red lights, stick to one lane, ignore the cars, etc... There are always a couple people looking for a confrontation but they don't instigate, they escalate.

Another way to look at it: you wouldn't honk and "tap the wheel" of a motorcycle in a gang of hundreds of hells angels would you? If you did, would you expect anything less from the biker gang? I bet that's the last time she ****s with a group of cyclists or even an individual cyclist. I for one wouldn't mind if cyclists earned a reputation like the Hells Angles. :D

And in this episode of Anonymous Online Bravado we feature the story of...

Hi All-

That would entail having a geometric relationship with motorists, pedestrians, and other cyclists.

~ Blue Jays ~

The only thing missing are Brownshirt jerseys and clipless Jackboots. Sometimes, it doesn't take anything to set off a mob. Morons who so deeply profess such a cause are already pre-disposed to radical action. It is the very root and core of Fascism. A fascist act, by definition, is to "hit with the stick" those who do not go along.

To suggest that this mother, with kids, did anything to provoke this attack is ludicrous.

The members of that group are anarchist bullies. Decent, honorable, and law-abiding cyclists should reject their illegal actions.

I am going to paint with a broad brush here...Critical Mass = A bunch of Tools: in any state, anywhere at anytime. Pissing off the people you are trying to "educate" generally is not very effective. Especially when the percieved problem is not that great a problem to begin with. Let's all be clear, most motorists could careless about cycling. And more than that, likely never will care about it. Stopping them from going about thier lives just creates greater annimosity.



Cycle safe, and work to change the laws that need to be changed.

To suggest that she didn't do *anything at all* to provoke it is equally ludicrous. I've seen mothers with kids do all kids of crazy **** that I would never do with my kids in the car. I would really like to hear from someone who was there, I can almost guarantee there is more to this story than the writer of the article would have you believe. Again, this doesn't justify the behavior of the cyclists but I don't think the motorist was completely innocent here.

I agree in general that CM is counter productive and there are alot of idiots involved. I also believe that there was an extra high level of stupidity going on in this particular case. Luckily around here things are pretty low key and it's just a bunch of people out riding bikes and having some beers. If it ever gets nutty around here I'll stop going.

Check out the comments posted regarding the article. Arguments for both sides. Some good, some downright stupid.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/...entry_id=15025

EDIT: reading this is making me more disturbed at how ignorant people are. I am talking drivers AND bicyclists.

As someone who once was unfortunate enough to be driving where a mob (not CM or anything cycling related) got out of hand, I can say that this is VERY scary. She certainly handled this situation much better than many people would. Had she panicked and gunned the engine, this could have been a real tragedy.

Years ago, I was making a delivery in an area and suddenly found myself surrounded by hundreds of people. I tried to go through slowly, but they surrounded and tried to stop me. When I was down to less than 5mph and realized how things were deteriorating, I gradually started accelerating and I wasn't going to stop for anything. Fortunately, people were jumping out of my way, but I would have considered it self defense since it was obvious they intended to do something with me. When I returned to my business, the manager was in a panic because I was late and reports of other cars that had been burned and rolled had come through.

I had done absolutely nothing to provoke these people -- it was a simple matter of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Riots and any form of random violence are absolutely terrifying for the simple reason that you don't have to do anything to get into real trouble.

Hi kemmer-

My prediction is decent and law-abiding cyclists would have a more enjoyable time having beers with people who aren't looking for confrontation in some shape, matter, or form. It is simply guilt by association. If one is pushed through a stoplight by 2999 other participants, one is still guilty of breaking the law should the police issue a ticket. I don't think nearby Critical Mass riders would reach into their wallets to shove $20.00 bills into the pockets of the individual who was ticketed.

~ Blue Jays ~

We don't run lights. As I said, there are generally only a couple individuals interested in confrontation and the attitude is not well received.

I support happy rides, and that doesn't look to be CM.

So it's 3000 cyclists riding about and all obeying common traffic rules? Nobody blocks any intersections or otherwise impedes the flow of vehicular traffic from observations you've made?

Just curious,the comments mentioned articles on blogs about the woman hitting a cyclist. Anyone have links to any of these blogs?

I still think the cyclists overreacted,but I'd like to hear the story from both sides.

CM rule #2 for cyclists: If you don't want people treating you with disdain and hatred, quit corking intersections (and taking 2 lanes, or otherwise not following the laws.) You don't have a parade permit, so follow the rules of the road.

/edit - Didn't see Kemmer's 11:37 post. Above rule may not be currently applicable, since your group seems to already obey traffic rules. But in the case of the dinguses (dingii?) in the article, it applies.