We ARE Traffic -- Critical Mass and bike riding

Today I ran into the critical mass bike ride. Pretty much literally. I was on the way home from school on the bus and the bus got stuck behind the cyclists. Since my bike was on the bus, I rang the bell, hopped off, and joined in.

About 10 years ago, I seem to remember a debate about critical mass -- some cyclists thought it was good -- others thought it just made drivers hate us. I'm not sure if this debate is still going on. What I do know is that I had a GREAT time, on the ride.

Basically, once a month a bunch of people meet on campus and then ride around town en masse. There doesn't seem to be a real organizer or a real plan. Maybe there is, but it doesn't seem like it. The people in front just decide where to go and the other people follow along. What is amazing is how great it feels to ride through the streets (during rush hour, mind you) and not be afraid. Because usually when I ride my bike in the city, I'm afraid. That's messed up.

So yes, critical mass does mess with traffic. But the people on the ride didn't seem too confrontational. They seemed pretty happy. And the people in cars can just chill out and wait for a few more minutes (because really that's all the delay we caused)... that seems fair considering the huge detours I make on my bike to avoid the busy streets that scare me.

This is supposed to be a "bike friendly" city, but it doesn't seem that way to me most of the time. The bike lanes are full of parked cars. How is that a bike lane? The bike lane on my road is probably 3 feet wide and full of cracks and holes and gravel. When I ride with the kids, I make them ride on the sidewalk because I don't feel like the bike lane on our street (which sees a lot of traffic going at least 35) is safe at all.

I think it's a bike friendly city in that there are lots of trails and there are a lot of people that ride recreationally. But not that many people ride for transportation. It seems like that number is increasing, but it's still a very small number.

Why don't more people ride for transportation? Here's some reasons:

• They can't get all sweaty before work.
• It's too far.
• They're out of shape.
• They think it will take too long.
• It's too scary.
• They have to carry a bunch of stuff.
• Bad weather.

There are answers to these excuses (and more!) here.
My main reasons to ride the bike (instead of driving) are:

• Parking is free and easy!
• Don't need to go to the gym.
• For short trips, it takes about the same amount of time.
• If you are riding along at a relaxed pace, you don't get too sweaty.
• People smile and wave and you can smile and wave back.
• Gives me a good excuse to eat more :)
  

Riding is especially fun if you bring your kids. Last summer we usually rode with the kids to the swimming pool. I would pull my son on a tag-a-long (tandem that attaches to my bike) and C would pull the girls in a trailer. People ALWAYS complimented us when we got to the pool -- "Oh, you're so fit... Oh, good for you." :) Sometimes I would take all the kids by myself, J on the tandem and then attach the trailer to that (bad for bike -- killed my gears) -- people were REALLY amazed by that. That was part of the fun. Then, because we didn't spend any money on gas or parking, we could justify a little treat like popsicles or something.