First Annual Courteous Mass Ride

Probably will generate just as much angst as the critical mass ride…But who knows. From DotBike. I will be interested to see if the Herald, and other assy Newspapers pick this up.

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You may have heard of Critical Mass, a regular ride from Copley Square on the last Friday of each month.  That ride (which is usually quite a large group) often generates controversy since on many rides the group blocks traffic in a way that gets negative responses and press.

As an alternative, a group of bike advocates and enthusiasts has organized Courteous Mass, a ride that obeys all traffic laws and asks participants to pledge to ride with courtesy and respect for all other road users.  Join the inaugural ride!

Courteous Mass – Boston September 2011 ride!
Time: Friday, September 9, 2011 · 6:30pm – 8:30pm
Location: (starts and ends at) Boston Common Gazebo
More Info:
6:30pm: meet at Boston Common Gazebo to introduce ourselves, review guidelines/pledges, and for a quick bike/gear safety check
7-8pm: ride (we will leave promptly at 7pm)
8pm: exchange feedback/information and then “after party” at location TBD
The facebook event can be found at: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=244412858923962

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Courteous Mass? Critical Mass?

So as of late there has been a bit of a stink a brewin’ on various bicycle related message boards about town. Let me boil it down for you:

Side one: Critical Mass is stupid and horrible
Side two: Critical Mass is great and awesome

If you are not familiar with Critical Mass, let me attempt to sum it up (its rather hard to summarize a group with no stated goal, no leader, and no actual group organization). Critical mass is the last Friday of every month, people meet at Copley square and then ride around town. It is usually a really fun and light time that you should check out at least once if you live in Boston. They do not follow traffic laws, but the ride is usually orderly, and usually gets around places with a minimum of hassle. Car drivers are often pissed because it is Friday night and they just want to get home, but as often they enjoy the parade like atmosphere of it all. Like I said it’s hard to summarize.

Now I am not really sure what side I come down on, as I can see it from both points of view, the main contention seems to be people getting pissed that traffic is slowed, and laws are broken. The whole NYPD cop shoving a kid off his bike and then lying about it thing during this last critical mass didn’t help either, not to mention the crazy people in Seattle that tore a car apart after someone hit a biker.

Tension is high, and both sides are making good points. So it could have ended there but Jon (whoever he may be) is trying to organize a “Courteous Mass” or a Critical Mass that follows the law. I will be interested to see how this goes. Here is the email I got below.

So if you are a normal Critical Masser and want to see what it’s like to stop at those red lights give it a go, if you are a normal roady that wants a small taste of what a Critical Mass ride is about go for it. I will let you debate the merits/drawbacks of Critical Mass in the comments.

Courteous Mass
Friday August 8th – 5:30pm – Copley Square

Just like Critical Mass, only this ride will obey traffic laws 

Spread the word. (or in this case, email)

– Jon

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