How to Start a Critical
Mass Ride
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. If your city doesn't have a
CM, that's what you'll do. You don't need anyone to
authorize your ride. You 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. Decide on a recurring time,
day, & starting location.
- Your CM needs to happen at a
consistent time and place each month so that people
always know where and when it is. The last Friday of the
month is traditional, but many groups have chosen other
recurring days. 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. (Don't try to have two times, one for months with
daylight savings time and one for months without. Here in
Austin we used to have the split two-time format, but
even after we tried to standardize on 5:00 year-round,
years later people are still confused as to whether it's
4:30, 5:00, or 5:30.) A landmark on a university campus
is a typical starting point, but consider using another
public place to indicate that CM isn't just for college
kids.
4. Don't get a
permit.
- When local police learn of your
ride, they may insist that you get a permit, perhaps a
parade permit. Don't do it. 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. They may threaten to arrest you if you ride
without a permit. At that point you'll need to consider
whether you're willing to get arrested to make your
point. If you're not, and you choose not to ride or
choose to get the permit, then you've allowed them to put
cyclists in their place. It's not an easy choice for
some. (Austin CM was told it needed a permit, refused to
get one, and then suffered arrests of riders. CM'ers went
to court and either won their cases, or had them thrown
out of court. Riders in other cities, such as NYC,
suffered similar harassment but ultimate victory.)
(more on why you shouldn't
get a permit)
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. Of
course, you can set a route if you want to, but don't
think that you have to.
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
websites. 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.
CM'ers are fond of saying "We're not blocking traffic, we
ARE traffic!" While that's a cute phrase, it's
obviously pretty silly. It's like a murderer saying, "I
didn't kill that human, I *am* a human!" 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.
Leave at least one lane
open for cars. (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. Confrontation with
motorists.
- Harassing motorists doesn't
help anyone. You can assert your right to the road
without being a dick about it. Many CM'ers make it a
point to be friendly to motorists, such as smiling and
waving -- even smiling and waving back when motorists are
honking and cursing at them. 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. If your city has local bike media (like
newsletters), don't forget to inform them as well. Set up
a simple website, and let
me know about your ride so I
can add it to the Hub.
10. Be prepared for police
intervention.
- The police may or may not show
up at your ride. (But if you consistently take every
single traffic lane or harass motorists, then they almost
certainly will.) If they show up, they may harass you for
breaking traffic laws, or they may harass you even if
you're not breaking any laws. Your best defense against
unreasonable police action is a video camera. (Though in
some cases, police have improperly confiscated cameras
and tapes.) One Austin CM'er mounted a camera to her
helmet. Check out some advice about what
to do if you're stopped or
arrested.
11. Get creative.
- CM can be festive. Many riders
wear costumes or decorate their bikes extravagantly. Use
your imagination. It make the rides more fun.
Happy Riding!
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