Your first assumption is just outright false, and if you had read any of the material on this blog, ridden in Critical Mass, or had any knowledge of the ride from a source other than the news media you would know that.

The second assumption I think is understandable, and a very common one. However, I believe it too is a flawed assumption. Here’s my case: during the 18 years that Critical Mass has existed, bicycling in San Francisco has gone from a dangerous fringe activity to a mainstream means of transport, with percentages of riders increasing yearly. We have more bike lanes, more bike parking, more funding for bike issues, and bike advocacy organizations have booming memberships.

Back in 1992, when Critical Mass began, none of that was true. The SFBC was a tiny organization with something like 5-10 active members, and it met in the back of a Chinese restaurant. After two years of Critical Mass, their membership exploded, and continued to expand to the present day. So did their political clout, and so did funding for bicycle transport in the city and in California.

During that entire time, Critical Mass was bringing cyclists into the streets, month after month. Some motorists were angered, others simply annoyed, while many others viewed us as simply another in a long line of odd public celebrations that periodically disrupt — and enhance — life in San Francisco.

So, at the very least, we can say that Critical Mass had no negative effect during the last 18 years on the bicycle cause. More likely, it had a positive effect, in that the many thousands of people who have taken part in our ride have been inspired to go out and join the Bike Coalition, write their representatives, show up at hearings, start newsletters and blogs, form organizations, and generally get on the with important task of changing the way life is organized in our city and beyond.

I think that positive feedback loop will continue into the future.

H.

and you aren’t the only people in the city. if you want to embrace diversity then you can’t just try to blot out everyone that doesn’t agree with you and write them off as closed minded assholes

the real world isn’t terrible, but it’s not all that friendly either, and if you make a point of disrupting motor and pedestrian traffic then you need to be prepared to take a few punches if nobody tags along to protect you

there’s also a lot of people who actually would chuck bottles at your bike rides. there’s even some people out there who might start shooting if you’re obnoxious enough

and since when has san francisco been your city?

Hitting a hipster in the head with a glass bottle! That’s a good one, Winagain! Thanks for leaving comments on our blog, you’ve really contributed to the democratic culture of our city.

and besides that i can say with pretty good authority that there are a lot of people who don’t really care whether or not the law says they can’t run down someone who’s pissing them off, but do care about doing it in front of the police

same goes for seeing if you can get a hipster in the head with a glass bottle

You’re right, though, that there are many drivers who would like to crack my skull open. Perhaps you are one of them. Did you know that using your car to swipe at a person on a bike is a crime? It is called “assault with a deadly weapon,” and it applies to everyone, even irate motorists. I am still waiting to see the police uphold this law during Critical Mass — though they often intervene to stop actual bloodshed, to their credit.