Critical Mass Friday
Yep, it's that time of the month.
Nashville Critical Mass takes place on the last Friday of every month, meaning it's on this Friday, January 27! Friday will mark the 9th time the event has been held in Nashville since it began in May 2005.
The meeting place is Dragon Park in the Hillsboro Village area. Riders begin arriving around 5 PM at the picnic pavilion, but the ride doesn't take off until 5:30 PM. They don't wait around for stragglers.
I participated in and reported about two previous Nashville Critical Mass rides. My experience both times was very positive and more fun than I anticipated. Go to the photo gallery section of NashvilleCyclist.com to read my reports and see pictures. I would recommend anyone to check this out and provide support, but since sunset is 5:08 PM I suggest mounting lights on your bike for safety reasons.
Nashville Critical Mass takes place on the last Friday of every month, meaning it's on this Friday, January 27! Friday will mark the 9th time the event has been held in Nashville since it began in May 2005.
The meeting place is Dragon Park in the Hillsboro Village area. Riders begin arriving around 5 PM at the picnic pavilion, but the ride doesn't take off until 5:30 PM. They don't wait around for stragglers.
I participated in and reported about two previous Nashville Critical Mass rides. My experience both times was very positive and more fun than I anticipated. Go to the photo gallery section of NashvilleCyclist.com to read my reports and see pictures. I would recommend anyone to check this out and provide support, but since sunset is 5:08 PM I suggest mounting lights on your bike for safety reasons.
posted by NashvilleCyclist.com at 1/26/2006 07:48:00 PM
6 Comments:
I don't think a bunch of jackasses riding without helmets in the middle of the street does much to promote cycling in a positive light, nor do I think you should be encouraging such behavior.
This event will even be in the dark. What a powerful statement their little lights (if they even have them) will make to all the mean cars. Safety? Who cares? Let your freak flag fly!
A couple of weeks ago, you wrote about the importance of riding to the right, not obstructing traffic, and in general being considerate about drivers because rule #1 is that "every one of us gets home safely. ... Let's not give drivers any reason to get so angry they stop and yell out their frustrations."
Now you say good things about Critical Mass, who ride all over the road and otherwise deliberately violate all the sensible rules of conduct you recommend for BToGS and other group rides.
Ok, I'll take the bait.
Yes, you are correct on both points. Yet....BToGS and Critical Mass are two completely different events with only one commonality, the bicycle. NashvilleCyclist.com is not part of the equation, but only a conduit of information.
In my first Critical Mass report I made the distinction that I am not condoning event, but simply reporting what I "participated" in as someone reporting news about bicycling. I report about BToGS as well, but I do not claim ownership of something that's shared responsibility within the bicycling community. Safety is a concern during both events, and if you were to witness Critical Mass you would see concern for safety.
Other observations are: during Critical Mass all the riders are moving along peacefully within the normal lanes of traffic, and not riding in circles within traffic or against the flow of traffic. During BToGS it's common for riders during a regrouping to be on both sides of the road, jamming up intersections and creating confusion for drivers coming from all directions. Often times there is less order within BToGS than there is at Critical Mass.
Critical Mass was a unique experience and something I suggest every bicyclist to see at least once. Everyone has a different idea on what is the best way to promote cycling. However, remember that Critical Mass is less about cycling for fitness and more about alternative transportation methods, raising awareness for bicyclers and the lifestyle a bicycle connotes.
In the end it's an apples to oranges comparison.
Thanks for responding. I didn't intend my comments as "bait" for a flame-fest, but an honest criticism where I felt you were too uncritical of CM bad behavior. I'm sorry if it came off combative.
I haven't participated in Nashville CM because past experience with CM events in other cities gave me a bad taste: cyclists occupying all lanes and obstructing the flow of traffic, thus pissing off drivers and making cyclists look bad to the noncycling public.
Since you have the experience and I don't, I'm happy for you to set me straight about Nashville CM. I don't think it's apples and oranges to compare a training ride like BToGS to CM: Whether I'm commuting, training, riding around the block with my kid, or using a bike as an environmentally preferable alternative to a car, the bottom line is the same: obey the traffic laws and get home safely. I stand corrected, though, because you tell me that by these criteria CM passes the test and BToGS does not.
Thanks for setting me straight.
Both events really don't "pass the test" in regards to safety, but Critical Mass in Nashville has a reputation with some as an event filled with lunacy. That's simply not the case. Certainly the crowd at a training ride is polar opposite from the Critical Mass crowd, but they are by no means destructive or obscene. This is what surprised me the most, and why I encourage others to go and see for themselves. These types of assumptions without investigation are mentally destructive.
I have read at length about other cities where it does get out of hand, but Nashville's CM is still in the infancy stage and without the drama.
The two things CM do which are peeves are most don't wear a helmet, and they do take up all the lanes of traffic. To be honest though, taking up all the lanes is actually safer under the circumstances. They usually take so many turns on their route that the traffic effect on cars behind is negligible.
I'll never forget one comment made by a rider at CM when someone said they were blocking traffic.
His response, "We are traffic!"
Hence, the apples to oranges comparison because the mindset is completely different between the two groups of people.
Lastly, I do appreciate the constructive criticism.
Did I just miss April?
If so I'll definitely be there in May
Post a Comment
<< Home