CRITICAL MASS

Critical Mass (CM) is a worldwide cycling phenomena, usually happening on the last Friday of the month around 5pm local time.

The Ottawa meeting occurs at 5:15pm at Confederation Park (at Elgin and Laurier, across from the new city hall).

Dozens of cyclists (and rollerbladers, skateboarders, scooter riders) take to the streets and ride around in a big pack.

There is no official purpose to the ride, but it feels pretty good to be the dominant force on the road for a change.

CM has no organization, officials, or leaders. Technically, it's just a bunch of people riding around together. In practice we block quite a bit of traffic and from time to time cause a bit of a jam.

We pride ourselves on riding around in a slow and peaceful manner, although it might not seem so peaceful to an observer (what with all the car drivers honking and yelling).

Come out for the next CM ride!

The Origin of Critical Mass

The first Critical Mass ride was in September 1992 in San Francisco. There were 48 people. The ride increased in size by about 75% each month so that by the time 1993 came about, Critical Mass had almost 500 riders and was becoming well known among bicyclers in the city -- although city officials still hadn't registered its existence. A couple months after that people in other cities started noticing and began other Masses. Also in 1993, San Francisco police and Mayor Frank Jordan noticed us and struggled with how to deal with us. It took until June 1997, when Critical Mass was almost 5 years old, for the "new" mayor Willie Brown to make any special note of us: He proved he had no idea what we were about when he made comments that motivated the big July 1997 ride and police riot.

-- by Joel Pomerantz, 10-31-98

The Story Behind the Name

The name "Critical Mass" is taken from Ted White's documentary film about bicycling, Return of the Scorcher. Part of the film shows this phenomenon: In China, cyclists often cannot cross intersections because there is automobile cross-trafic and no traffic lights. Slowly, more and more cyclists amass waiting to cross the road, and when there is a sufficient number -- a critical mass -- they are able to all move together with the force of their numbers to make cross traffic yield while they cross the road.

Stuff to Keep in Mind

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.

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 provincial governments for bike lanes and other roadway improvements to benefit cyclists. If all you and your cohorts do is ride your bikes around once a month, don't be surprised when nothing changes.

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.)

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.

Learn the traffic laws
If your ride draws any appreciable number of riders, you can expect attention from the police. Get a copy of your local traffic laws from your provincial and city websites, so you know what they're looking for. Most places requires cyclists to obey all the same rules as cars (e.g. stop signs & red lights). Ontario regulations required you to have a bell, white and red reflective strips on the front and back forks respectively, and a headlight after dark. As well it requires cyclists under 18 years old wear helmets.) 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).

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 otherroad users -- especially when they go out of their way to do so by taking up multiple lanes.

How many lanes should you take? I generally suggest leaving 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, may be fun, 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 everyone on the ride -- 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. Of course, if a LOT of cyclists stray, then that's the kind of ride they want, and that's the kind of ride that will happen.

Confrontation with motorists
Harassing motorists doesn't help anyone. You can assert your right to the road without being a jerk 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.

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. (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.

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.

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

More Critical Mass sites

critical mass ottawa
auto free ottawa
worldwide CM hub
another world CM site
CM FAQ from Melboune

Happy Riding!

most of the info was adapted from worldwide CM hub
the graphic was adapted from one from a Melbourne CM flyer