I had the pleasure of riding in the Big Critical Mass in Rome, Italy, in 2008. William Laviano made a great 20-minute documentary that really captures the deep pleasure of those days… check it out!
Ciemmona 2008: The Eternal Mass
Ciemmona 2008: The Eternal Mass from William Laviano on Vimeo.
I’ve been posting short video clips to our Facebook & Twitter accounts. In case you missed them, here are some of the best!
I didn’t think it possible, but Streetfilms has topped themselves with this latest installment. Their subject is the fantastic Randy “The Ethicist” Cohen, who has this to say on the subject of running red lights:
This is not a ‘law and order’ argument, it’s a consequentialist argument. What are the effects of your actions on others. I’ll deny this in a court of law, but I almost never stop at red lights — except when I might endanger another person or myself. But if I’m driving along, and there are no pedestrians who want to cross the road, and there’s no car traffic to endanger me I slow down, look both ways and go through the light. What are we, Germans?
Here’s the original Tweed Ride, from a British Rail film board movie from 1955:
Cycling, like all good exercise, uses up energy. And unless you’re experienced, you can go on pushing them around until you bring on a touch of the bonk — which, being interpreted, means that you feel distressingly fatigued.
Right, better have a pint then! Tally ho!
What’s amazing about this video of ordinary traffic in Utrecht, the Netherlands, is that everyone seems to be moving so quickly. Look how fast they zip around! That must be the result of the excellent bike traffic infrastructure they enjoy.
Tucson is a lovely desert town with a seriously sprawl problem. Happily, there is a movement afoot to bring more people into the streets on bikes: Tucson Bike Beautiful. Yes, beautiful indeed!
This is a beautiful new film about the Scraper Bike scene in Oakland, featuring Baybe Champ, The Scraper Bike King. You should watch it now!
“Scrapper bikes is definitely a process, and that process is definitely for the kids so they can get their mind off of what’s really goin’ on on these streets and get them at least that hour, or two hours, to fix on their bikes, you know that hour and two hours of a life change, you feel me? Or a life saved, cuz Scraper Bikes is definitely saving a lot of these kids’ lives.”
Scrapertown from California is a place. on Vimeo.
Hit that “full screen” option. This film is so gorgeous, it should be viewed big as possible.
Art by Mona Caron
This week I have taken what I consider the 6 best and most common arguments against Critical Mass, and given them each a fair answer — one per day. This is the last in the series!
Thanks for reading and commenting!
An argument I have heard from left and right, from motorists and bicyclists and pedestrians, is that Critical Mass doesn’t create meaningful change. I touched on this a bit with my first post in this series, in which I recounted a conversation I had 17 years ago with a prominent bike activist who warned me that Critical Mass would spark a backlash.
As I said before, that backlash never materialized. Instead, we have seen the following awesome changes since the early ’90s, when Critical Mass began:
Did Critical Mass play a significant role in propelling these changes? As a participant and observer of the changes in this city over the last two decades, I can tell you that it certainly did. Many, many of the people who became involved in various forms of bike activism, from rejuvenating SFBC to organizing bike messengers to bike cultural events like Cyclecide and dozens of other initiatives were all riding in Critical Mass. Often, the very thing that inspired individuals to get involved in bike activism was their experience on Critical Mass. People came to our monthly bike ride and got a taste of what was possible, and that propelled them into a life of activism and social change around human-powered transit.
Take the case of local blogger and filmmaker Adam Greenfield, who recently decided to try a year of car-free living which he documented on his blog. What was it that inspired Adam to make this change?
In 2004, Greenfield came to San Francisco to get his master’s degree and discovered Critical Mass. He had never imagined a peloton of like-minded political cyclists, reclaiming the city streets in a show of force.
“That first Critical Mass ride, I saw the bike as a vision of the future,” he said.
That is only one person’s relatively recent account, but it is hardly unusual. Over the years that Critical Mass has been riding, hundreds if not thousands of people have been inspired in just the same way that Adam was. What I have seen happen again and again is that people ride with us and their view of the world is changed, their view of what is possible is expanded. They see change that they themselves are making in the world, and they like what they see. They are inspired by the vision of a different kind of city that they can create — even if only for a few hours, one day a month. And that draws them in.
People are drawn into friendship circles of others who ride. People are drawn into advocacy groups like the SFBC and Livable Cities and Walk Oakland Bike Oakland. People are drawn into a street culture that values sociability and public space, and they find their social networks and political ideas expanding. People are drawn into a new understanding of the city, and how easy it is the change the city with enough people and enough enthusiasm.
We have brought people out to flood the streets with bikes every month for over 17 years, and our model has spread to over 300 cities around the world. We have already changed the world, even if that change is subtle, difficult to document, and remains controversial. Give it time. Over the coming years and decades, San Francisco will continue to become a more bike-friendly town. One day it may even rival Copenhagen and Amsterdam as a capital of forward-thinking planning around human-powered transport. When and if that happens, the people of the future will look back at Critical Mass, and they’ll know that what we did helped shift the balance in the right direction.
Why don’t you join us on your bike, and see for yourself? Who knows, you might end up getting inspired to change your life and change your city!
Here’s the rest of the series:
Argument 6: You Don’t Stop for Red Lights
Argument 5: You’ll Spark a Backlash!
Argument 4: Delaying Others is Rude!
Argument 3: You’re Angry!
Argument 2: I Saw An Incident!
Argument 1: Critical Mass Doesn’t Change Anything!
