Blog is back

Ok...so Sammy and everyone else gives me crap for having a blog...but it's an easy way to communicate with everyone who has decided to up and move to ANOTHER country!! Or to Cali, which is pretty much another world from here anyways...

I've been reading a lot of buzz about people who have decided that Critical Masses are cool again...well guess what...they still aren't. The best way to raise awareness about bicycle safety and advocacy is to do it in a responsible way. All critical masses do are clog roadways and make drivers even more pissed. Not to mention it usually results in an injury or two. Join a bicycle advocacy group in your area, or even better yet, start one...but don't ride around like an idiot.

The only time I will make an exception to the rule is the Halloween and St. Patty's Day rides in Marquette...these aren't done in the name of advocacy, and since people are dressed up, they obviously are doing it for another purpose.

A letter to the editor in a Winnipeg newspaper states all this much more precisely than I ever could...

Dear Lindor,

Thank you for your article today on Critical Mass. I am an avid cyclist who puts on a 1000 km+ per year riding with a group of friends who feel that Critical Mass is an embarrassment to cycling. It is hard enough to get respect on the road as a cyclist and we have all had close calls from drivers intentionally or unintentionally trying to bump us from the road. I stopped commuting to work on a bike because I felt it was not worth the risk.

A friend in the group rides year round and attended critical mass rides in the beginning. He advocates for cycling paths and lanes. He thought he could assist in guiding the group to support this worthy cause, to no avail. The organizers are not interested for the greater good, they are interested in doing what they do ÔøΩ riding in rush hour traffic to stir things up, and thatÔøΩs all.

It is a great disappointment to see how many cyclists are joining these rides. Please tell your readers NOT to support this. It will only make it more difficult to be heard when rallying for causes that could benefit the public/cyclists like road lanes, or the MS Ride, etcÔøΩ.

If what you say comes to pass (police are attending critical mass instead of a real emergency), and someone dies as a result, these critical mass cyclists should be charged. I hope it rains hard on critical mass today.

Sincerely,
Anti-Critical-Mass Cyclist