Vancouver Critical Mass
I had tons of fun at the latest critical mass (which is always the last friday of every month here in Vancouver). I think there were about 300 people in attendance, which seems like a fairly good turn out. The BIG ONE always happens in June, though, because June is “Bike Month” here. Last year i think the count was about 1300 cyclists…just bloody huge.
For those who don’t know, Critical Mass is basically just a big bike ride where everyone’s invited. In most cities it happens once a month, but i suppose we could do it more often. When cycling, there’s safety in numbers, and critical mass is sorta like that idea taken to the extreme. We get as many cyclists (and rollerbladers, unicyclists, skateboarders, etc) as we can and go for a ride wherever we want. The meaning is different for different people, but i like the idea of taking up our rightful space as ethical users of the roads. We’re non-polluting and non-threatening, so we should have priority on all roads. I personally believe that the polluting and life-threatening 3000lb monstrosities that normally control our roads should be phased out and abolished. Other people just like coming for a nice bike ride, though ;)
The next ride is on June 30th, 2006. I think we’re going to far exceed last year’s ride…perhaps break the 2000 cyclist barrier :). We meet at the Vancouver Art Gallery at about 5:30pm for some socializing, and then the ride leaves around 6pm. There’s no set route; we go wherever we feel like at the time and there are no leaders.
There are also quite a few other cycling events this june. Go to the B.E.S.T. web site if you’d like to see the entire calendar. Highlights include the World Naked Bike Ride on June 10th, Unicycle hockey at the sapperton bike fest on June 17th, numerous other local bike festivals in places like surrey, cloverdale, stanley park, etc, and of course the Commercial Drive Car-free festival.
Ride hard, ride free
June 1st, 2006 at 22:01 pm
nice pictures! hope you don’t mind my borrowing
June 1st, 2006 at 22:20 pm
Your blog is so refreshing!
July 3rd, 2006 at 10:22 am
I was attacked Friday night by a group of thugs. In public, on a main street, in front of hundreds of people. And no one did anything about it.
This group, who apparently rallies and meets on the last Friday of every month, is, say’s their web site, “a monthly bicycle ride to celebrate cycling and to assert cyclists’ right to the road.”
I heard about a bike rally gathering outside the Art Gallery Friday night on CBC radio, an amused mention on the afternoon show about how the traffic might be affected. Hmm I thought, I think I will skip that last errand of the day and avoid downtown.
As I later came off the Cambie Street Bridge on my way home, in front of me, as far as the eye could see, were bicycles. Some riders dressed in shorts and helmets, others in costume. They were riding east down 6th Avenue blocking all traffic behind them. Fine I thought, a peaceful protest of some kind, I wonder what they are protesting? No rallying cries, no signs of protest, and no messages on placards - just hundreds of bike riders. Then I realized that there were unmoving groups with bikes blocking all the intersections and I thought that’s strange, where are the police to stop this? Surely they can’t block the intersections? It shouldn’t be allowed! It’s inconvenient. It’s upsetting. It’s dangerous! How I thought would people get home to sick kids? Dogs that need to get to the Vet? Ferry’s that need to be caught? Dinner arrangements that needed to be met? Night shifts that needed to be started? Surely they will part when asked?
I turned on my indicator. I rolled down the window and asked them to let me through. They answered by screaming profanity at me. Shocked I tooted my horn and asked how dare they? They kicked my car. I lay on my horn. They reached into my car through my open window trying to grab at me. They surrounded the car, starting to kick it, grinding their bikes up against the now chipping paint. I screamed! I said what would happen if I had a sick child at home? One struck his face into mine and said “what would you be doing leaving a sick kid at home you awful Mother?” They jumped on the hood of my car, I screamed in terror. I was told to reverse and leave but they surrounded me. I couldn’t reverse, I couldn’t turn, I tried. They threw themselves in front of my car every time I tried to move in any direction, a scenario apparently designed for the benefit of a photographer who was now on the scene. I began to think I was going to get dragged out of my car, I was terrified and quite rightly so said the police later.
Many called the police it seems, not just by me. The police who came to take my statement and note the damage to my car told me a women called who had a sick child in her car and was unable to get through the intersection that lead to the hospital. She begged, her child clearly in distress, the police had to intervene. There were a lot of calls tonight said the police. I was told that last year this group chose Oak Street on a sunny Friday night and blocked the intersections to Children’s Hospital.
Was this a gang of thugs? No, they are a group called Critical Mass. A somewhat organized (http://critical-mass.info/international.html#canada) group of bike supporters. A group that pretends to take pleasant, quiet protest rides through the city that seems to actually support an agenda that includes terror and intimidation.
Although their web site says, “Remember that CM is supposed to be a celebration of cycling, not your opportunity to see how much inconvenience you can cause to others. It’s about asserting our right to the road, not denying others their right to the road”, it seemed the Vancouver group was trying the best to cause as much inconvenience as possible.
I was left with thousands of dollars worth of vandalism to my car. Huge dents in the hood, side panels, doors, rear panel even the roof show the car was surrounded by vandals. I had a bruised hand from wrestling the steering wheel to try and get away, a broken blood vessel in my eye, an unhappy group that I cancelled on due to waiting for the police to arrive to take my report, and a long weekend ruined by a few radical, aggressive goons who attached themselves to this group.
The Police say they didn’t know about the “rally” because the groups, as organized as they are, do not apply for permits to protest, nor do they have police escorts to ensure safety measures are taken and intersections aren’t blocked. Their web site encourages them not to get permits. The officers I spoke to suggested I write City Hall…
Laughably the name “Critical Mass” is taken from Ted White’s 1992 documentary film about bicycling, “Return of the Scorcher” In the film, George Bliss describes a typical scene in China, where cyclists often cannot cross intersections because there is automobile cross-traffic and no traffic lights. Slowly, more and more cyclists amass waiting to cross the road, and when there is a sufficient number of them — a critical mass, as Bliss called it — they are able to all move together with the force of their numbers to make cross traffic yield while they cross the road. Can you imagine a scenario further from reality here on the Lower Mainland?
Here in Vancouver we have hundreds of miles of bike paths and trails. Dedicated bike lanes throughout downtown, bikes routes carefully marked throughout the lower mainland and bike lockups in every community area. We have an entire month dedicated to riding your bike to work, City Hall spends thousands on bike programs, and their own City Councilors are known to ride their bikes to work. Gosh, the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island must be one of the best places in the world to ride your bike so just what are they protesting?
I avoid using my car as often as I can; I am actively involved in anti-pollution, anti-global warming and recycling programs. I have participated in peace marches and volunteered hundreds of hours to help various charities, often helping homeless people. Normally I would have thought this gathering charming and so very Vancouver. I would have been impressed by the size of the group that gathered to ride through the streets. However I was not impressed by the civil disobedience that attracted thugs and goons. I was not impressed at the total lack of responsibilty in your groups failure to control to behavior of these goons and I was not impressed with your group lack of preparedness in dealing with emergencies.
How dare you endanger the lives of sick children? How dare you endanger the lives of animals? How dare you prevent people from getting to their flights, ferry’s, needy loved ones. How dare you vandalize cards and terrorize people with threats of physical violence.
I hope that the Vancouver Police Department prevents you from ever having one of these rides again, and if they do you will have only yourselves to blame!
Oh and the traffic? All those vehicles sat in the traffic jam for hours longer then they would have spewing out their carbon dioxide. Air conditioning was cranked up, cars grew overheated. Hours later people wondering why they were still sitting in traffic when rush hour was long gone.
July 5th, 2006 at 08:04 am
You should come out to next month’s Critical Mass!
July 5th, 2006 at 08:40 am
Twice a day I’m attacked by a group of thugs. In public, on main streets, in front of hundreds of other people. And on one did anything about it.
This group, who apparently rallies and meets twice a day, seems to have no purpose other than to transport thousands of pounds of steel between two points. The second meeting of the day is to get back to where the steel started.
I hear about this rallying everyday on news. Every morning they discuss where the rally is the worst, and how fast it is flowing.
As I later came down the UBC hill on my way home, in front of me, as far as the eye could see, were cars. Some cars were blue and small, others huge and silver. They were driving down west broadyway blocking all traffic behind them. Fine I thought, a peaceful protest of some kind, I wonder what they are protesting? No rallying cries, no signs of protest, and no messages on placards - just hundreds of singly occupied cars. Then I realized that there were unmoving groups of cars, blocking entire lanes on the side of the road, blocking intersections in attempt to beat the red light, and I thought that’s strange, where are the police to stop this? Surely they can’t block the intersections? It shouldn’t be allowed! It’s inconvenient. It’s upsetting. It’s dangerous! How I thought would people get home to sick kids? Dogs that need to get to the Vet? Ferry’s that need to be caught? Dinner arrangements that needed to be met? Night shifts that needed to be started? Surely they will part when asked?
I rolled up to the window of one and asked them to let me through. They answered by screaming profanity at me and honking their horn violently. Shocked, I asked how dare they? They reved their engine and made like they would run me over. Suddenly I was surrounded by them. They were honking, and making right turns in front of me after narrowly hitting me with their mirrors as they passed. They revved their engines behind me and screwed for me to get off the road. They rolled through stop signs, barely avoiding collions with me and the others. Their exhaust was choking me and their noise blocked out all else. I was terrified.
Many call the police it seems. Although, whenever the police come to take their statements, their investigation attempts to reveal why the driver was not at fault; even though they are told that this group routinely blocks access, twice a day, to the hospital downtown.
Was this a gang of thugs? No, they are a group called “the Rush Hour.” A somewhat organized group of steel transporters. A group that pretends to take pleasant, quiet rides through the city that seems to actually support an angenda that includes terror and intimidation, including 45 thousand deaths and hundreds of thousands more injuries, per year in North America.
Follow cyclists have been left with hundreds of dollars worth of damage to their bikes after encounters with this group, those were the lucky ones. The others left with thousands of dollars of medical bills, not to mention months of rehabillitation. Those were lucky ones too.
The Police say they didn’t know about the “rally” because the groups, as organized as they are, do not apply for permits to protest, nor do they have police escorts to ensure safety measures are taken and intersections aren’t blocked.
How dare you endanger the lives of sick children, adults, seniors, animals, and the environment? How dare you prevent people from getting to their flights, ferry’s, needy loved ones. How dare you vandalize and terrorize people with deadly threats of physical violence, air and noise pollution, disobeying traffic controls, and driving impaired with alcohol and cell phone conversations?
I hope that the Vancouver Police Department prevents you from ever having one of these drives again, and if they do you will have only yourselves to blame.
Oh damn, looks like they are oveloaded giving out no-helmet tickets to cyclists during bike month.
July 5th, 2006 at 22:44 pm
Yep, always two sides to every story!
August 26th, 2006 at 09:53 am
Several people I talked to describe an incident that happened on sixth avenue near Cambie quite differently than “C. Ann”
A driver was making a left turn at an intersection during the June Critical Mass ride. Instead of waiting for traffic to pass she started driving into cyclists that were proceeding east bound. The driver hit several cyclists. One cyclist I spoke with was visibly shaken by an incident where a driver seemed to show no concern for the safety of cyclists.
I arrived on the scene late, after things had calmed down, but the driver was still trying to force her way through traffic. Clearly the behavior of some cyclists is inexcusable but that does not excuse a driver who provoked an incident by behaving in a dangerous manner.
I have no doubt that the car was damaged. But was it damaged by cyclists hitting a car or a car hitting cyclists? Did the police refuse to press charges because they had several statements contradicting “C. Ann”? Is the incident I observed the same one “C. Ann” described? Several of the details in blog post match the incident I observed.
April 17th, 2007 at 13:53 pm
Gas right now is 1.20 a litre. A lot of that is tax. If I am paying the road tax, I have the right of way on the road. Interestingly I see cyclists who can go into their bike lanes on the bridge who just ignore it and ride on the car. Cyclists in Vancouver are like little children who feel rebellious. Somebody forgot to pass them the memo that wearing spandex automatically disqualifies you from being tough, as they all seem to think they are.
BUY A MOTORCYCLE, IT CAN KEEP UP WITH TRAFFIC! I respect motorcycles, motored scooters, etc.
Cyclists run stop signs, red lights, etc. I realize that their momentum is crutial to an efficient commute, but if you can’t obey the law then get on the bus or get a vehicle.
And cyclists in traffic have detrimental effects on the envioroment. Anybody who is aware of how a transmission works will tell you this.
Cars that are driving slow in low gears burn so much more gas and pollute much more than they need to. Therefor cyclists who constrain traffic have a more drastic effect on the enviroment as opposed to just smooth-travelling cars.
I cannot stress this enough; cars pay for the road with the gas tax. Freeloading cyclists who feel they have a reason to bitch are of the same level of arrogance as a spoiled 12 year old girl who feels entitled to a pony for her birthday.
April 28th, 2007 at 18:58 pm
In a group of hundreds of protesting cyclists, there will always be radicals. Everyone has their own reasons for riding, but an important point of a protest, peaceful or not, is to be noticed, and if drivers are angry we’re making a point. Although 95% of riders are not out there with the intention to annoy, angry drivers is a reality. Here are the reasons I ride in Critical Mass:
It’s a fantastic feeling to be able to enjoy the streets of Vancouver on my bike during the day.
To raise some more environmental awareness. If someone doesn’t believe climate change is affecting us as a human race I would think it’s safe to say they’re nothing short of a complete MORON, yes you may argue this statement, good luck.
To get some drivers to consider riding bikes more often. With the number of drivers on the road I’m sure there are some that are driving when not completely necessary. Think about how biking could solve North America’s obesity problem.
Some commuters may decide to leave their car at home on Critical Mass days, hey at least its some improvement.
Or perhaps some commuters may think Critical Mass looks like fun and will choose to join the ride every month, which may then lead to more cycling in the future. Yes, it is fun.
These are personal reasons. I don’t ride to get into fights with drivers, and I’m certain most every Critical Mass rider would agree.
You may be paying your own money to drive your own car, but you’re destroying everyone’s environment. When there are other commuting options that will put you into better health and improve the quality of life for you and everyone around you, maybe it’s time to take biking into serious consideration.
If we are blocking cars from getting to appointments, or to the hospital it’s unfortunate, but it means we’re getting noticed. Next time you’re caught up in traffic because of Critical Mass, just think about how much better it would be to be riding a bike.
April 30th, 2007 at 11:32 am
Ok my name’s not really pork chop but I am a cyclist and I eat pork. It just strikes me as nuts that driver’s will willingly wait in car traffic to get where they’re going but if it’s a cyclist holding them up for a few seconds at an intersection some get this great sense of entitlement and drive their vehicle like it’s a weapon, screaming at the poor cyclist about sharing. And this isn’t Critical Mass I’m describing, just a simple everyday commute.
Thanks for inviting comments and letting me vent!
June 29th, 2007 at 19:53 pm
I can see both sides of this argument and, sadly, can come down on neither side. There are times when I find myself in the car, mad at a pedestrian for crossing an intersection so slowly that I miss my turning opportunity and then other times I’m mad because I am the pedestrian being menaced by a car waiting to turn.
I have a kid, I’ve been on a drive to the hospital with him, terrified out of my wits when we get stuck in traffic because, although he’s not fatally injured or anything, his upset and my inability to comfort him add to the tension of needing to get there. I’ve also lived in cities and developed asthma due to the large number of cars filling the air with pollution.
I’m completely on the side of people who want to promote greater environmentalism, the world needs to be taken in hand, it’s very true, we’ve wasted too much time already. The hard part though is the fact that the world has changed, we’ve made it smaller with our ability to communicate in seconds and travel faster than we ever thought we were meant to. You can’t have an emergency hospital on every street, it’s not possible, you need to be able to get there in minutes at times, no bike on earth, even with no cars, can make that possible. You can put someone injured in a bike trailer and bike it as fast as you like but that hospital an hour away is still going to take you too long to reach.
So what do we do ? I can support everyone who takes part in Critical Mass, I believe that more people should bike it to work or for pleasure without the worry of cars, people drive short distances too often, it’s ridiculous. But when someone says Well, at least we’re getting noticed in response to someone whose kid was sick and needed to get to hospital I can only have one reply, humans survive because we look out for each other as a group, as the Critical Mass riders look out for each other as a group. You want to make a statement, well that’s great, good for you, glad you’re thinking pro-actively but just remember, you’re doing this supposedly for the right of the individual, for the health of the planet and the enjoyment of life if I’m understanding this right but don’t forget the rights of other individuals, the health of other individuals and their lives because we all have our own perceptions, and not all of us are your enemy and no one person should ever suffer for you to make a point
Cities are too clogged, undeniable fact. It’s not safe to walk about or bike about in cities these days, another undeniable fact. Besides increased bike paths what exactly has been achieved by Critical Mass ? Could there possibly be another way ? I haven’t yet seen Critical Mass although I would love to see hundreds of bikes riding over Burrard Bridge but surely there’s something else, another approach rather than just being yet another inconveniencing type of traffic on the road, it’s like cutting your nose off to spite your face. But if I do see you guys when I’m in my car one day I won’t be knocking anyone down to get through if my kid is sick, I’ll grab him and run through any gaps because I’d hope that thoughtful people would make way for someone in a genuine emergency. What do you think ?
July 1st, 2007 at 11:35 am
What if you were taking your kid to the hospital and there was a bad car accident along your route that caused a horrible traffic jam?
The mass is always moving at least, and besides, it only happens once per month. I wouldn’t consider it as big of an inconvenience as many car accidents, which could happen any day of then week.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want anyone to get hurt, but your engine exhaust is making me ill. I’m trying to save my own ass as well.
Cars are a perfectly reasonable method of transportation for moving heavy stuff, or for emergencies. I have no problem with that at all. We would all be “thoughtful people”. I wish too that we could stop only the casual drivers. But for now I can’t think of how we could do that. We must take the good with the bad.
October 26th, 2007 at 18:35 pm
Interesting to see that these CM demonstrations never happen in heavy rain or in cities where in winter time the temperature is often around minus 40 Celsius degree.
“We’re non-polluting and non-threatening, so we should have priority on all roads. I personally believe that the polluting and life-threatening 3000lb monstrosities that normally control our roads should be phased out and abolished.”
The majority of tax money to build the same roads that you bicyclists ride are payed by motor vehicle drivers through gasoline excise tax. You bicyclists do not pay a dime for these roads so how can these roads be prioritized for you?
But you know what if you think that you are right than do not be surprised if you get injured in an accident there will be no ambulance vehicles for you to help but some paramedics with bicycles since you phased out all the motor vehicles.
I know that the main idea “not to pollute” is noble and a good thing but this is not the way to reach this goal. Do not go against your fellow neighbors! They are not your enemy. Politicians and corporate powers are your enemy!
November 13th, 2007 at 13:15 pm
“Interesting to see that these CM demonstrations never happen in heavy rain or in cities where in winter time the temperature is often around minus 40 Celsius degree.”
Not true. There is a CM every month, though during the cold months the turn out is much smaller.
“The majority of tax money to build the same roads that you bicyclists ride are payed by motor vehicle drivers through gasoline excise tax. You bicyclists do not pay a dime for these roads so how can these roads be prioritized for you?”
most everyone pays taxes, even cyclists. Your claim is false. Furthermore, doesn’t it make sense that the most dangerous, most damaging users pay the most? Who pays for public roads is a separate issue to priority.
“But you know what if you think that you are right than do not be surprised if you get injured in an accident there will be no ambulance vehicles for you to help but some paramedics with bicycles since you phased out all the motor vehicles.”
Now you’re just being silly. It’s the private motor vehicle that ought to be phased out, not combustion engines.
“I know that the main idea “not to pollute†is noble and a good thing but this is not the way to reach this goal. Do not go against your fellow neighbors! They are not your enemy. Politicians and corporate powers are your enemy!”
And so long as there are people driving SUVs they will continue to build cars and supply gasoline. Afterall, supply follows demand. If less people demand suvs, freeways, and gas then the corporate powers shrivel up and start building bicycles.
November 13th, 2007 at 17:53 pm
thanks for the response sabetts. i just want to highlight one thing you said, in particular. You’re right when you say that “eliminating cars” actually means “eliminating the private motor vehicle”. We’re talking here in terms of social institutions.
There are two separate institutions here (private motor vehicles vs. ambulance transport of injured people). These both serve different functions in society and have different effects. IIRC, private motor vehicles cause 44% of our pollution in canada (with industry still causing the lion’s share of the rest). We should eliminate the institution of private motor vehicles because this institution causes massive death from pollution and accidents. car accidents are a leading cause of death, and in fact they are the number one cause of death for people under 30. both car accidents and pollution affect many more people than just the drivers, so they are not simply individual choices.
Meanwhile, using internal combustion engines to quickly transport injured people is not that controversial. The number of trips is extremely low (way way less than a fraction of 1% of our private motor vehicle trips) so the pollution is negligible. The loud noise of the sirens and the flashing lights are great safety precautions for an infrequent event. Plus the drivers are more highly trained. All of this adds up to tell us that this institution is much different, and (i think) not really problematic.
when analyzing these things we have to look at when they happen and why, and also who is affected / how many people are affected. Private motor vehicles are part of our highly individualistic consumer-oriented society. They are a demonstration of selfishness and disregard for others, and they reflect the priority of personal comfort and privilege.
Per passenger mile an automobile is 25 times more likely to lead to death than a bus. this is a pretty easy argument for mass transit and riding bikes. No need to bring up ambulances at all.
May 17th, 2008 at 19:07 pm
“Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want anyone to get hurt, but your engine exhaust is making me ill. I’m trying to save my own ass as well.”
Ok, I don’t get it, blocking traffic causes cars to run longer than they normally would, so it pollutes the environment more. How is that helping the environment? Years and years of causing hundreds of cars to expel more fumes than they normally would, all adds up. I live close to one of the intersections you go through, and somtimes it takes 20 minutes straight to get all the bikes through - sounds crazy, but it’s true. The fumes from the cars waiting certainly isn’t negliable. I’ve seen riders covering their mouths and coughing from the fumes.
Pissing people off too, doesn’t make them sympathetic to your cause, how does blocking traffic help them to change their ways? (if that is what you’re trying to do)
Yes, “we are the traffic”, but then you violate traffic laws. Why do you need to be criminals to spread the good word about bike riding and so on?
I don’t drive, I take the bus and walk and ride a bike, but when I see you guys, you just come across as punks who like to show off that you can ride bikes (look ma, no hands), piss people off, and cause more pollution from the cars they are trying to reduce. What does CM actually achieve? Like, actually really achieve?
I’m asking this seriously, and not just posting this to accuse and name call (like being called “silly”).
Maybe there’s information I don’t have. Maybe more fumes in the air helps the world, and mad people decide that maybe they’ve been wrong all along.
Again, I’m asking serious logical questions.
How about some signs that say “Go Green”, or something, and letting cars get to where they’re going and pollute the world less, and *still* be able to spread the good word! It *can* be done, can’t it?
Or a finish the sentence type thing..
“CM doesn’t cause cars to expel more fumes than normal because…”
“We run red lights because…”
“We don’t use signs to convey our message because…”
“Just as we block other people, if they block us, we don’t get mad because…”
“We don’t use the many bike lanes the city has because…”
December 11th, 2008 at 10:13 am
The Associated Press PORTLAND — A judge has ruled that you can, indeed,
August 1st, 2009 at 08:54 am
I love the way that people with authoritarian thinking call themselves anarchists.
“I’m an anarchist, but I think that cars and trucks should eventually be illegal” … you idiots, do you even know what anarchism means?