great article in Pacific Magazine!

[mimitabby]

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/htm...cpcycle22.html

Wheeler Dealers

Paula Bock

CULTURAL CHANGE reveals itself in weird ways.

Like the week gas topped $3 a gallon and Zack Treisman, a mild-mannered mathematician and avid cyclist, was arrested by plainclothes King County Sheriff's deputies while pedaling through Belltown with 300 others during a monthly ride called Critical Mass.

You could look at the incident as isolated, a twilight confrontation between free-wheeling cyclists and zealous cops.

Or you could see our city at a cultural crossroads — the conflict, really, over how to deal with congested streets, global warming, an obesity epidemic.

Loose, leaderless, Critical Mass is more Idea than Political Movement. Part celebration, part demonstration, the semi-spontaneous bicycle rally meanders over urban asphalt (intentionally clogging streets) in about 100 cities around the world on the last Friday of every month. There's no membership roster, no pre-planned route, just a parade of pedals, clots of stalled motorists and a provocative motto: We're not blocking traffic. We ARE traffic.

[pll]

Thanks! That was well written and interesting.

[KnottedYet]

Thank you, Mimi! I don't get the paper, so I'm very grateful for the link!

I like that the author distinguishes the "normal" riders from the hardcore "trouble makers" and makes it sound like the vast majority of bicyclists here are just regular folks.

I find cars can be TOO polite to me around here. Yesterday I had one stopping for me when they had right-of-way, as though I were a pedestrian waiting to cross the street. That confused a car coming the other way. I'd rather have that than rudeness! But I do try to make it very clear whether I'm being a vehicle (so Mr. SUV, you have right of way cuz I have a stop sign here) or a pedestrian (I'm off my bike and waiting at the cross walk, so I should have right of way now).

And I always try to say "Thank you" and wave to the cars who see me.

One cyclist, trying to "be the change you want to see", can make an impression on drivers, wherever we are.

[HipGnosis6]

One cyclist, trying to "be the change you want to see", can make an impression on drivers, wherever we are.

Wholehearted AGREE here. I got my bike in part because I wanted to effect change and believe that one must be willing to sacrifice your own comforts first and live as an example before asking other people to change their ways. I'm all for alternate commuting over the single-occupancy commuter car model; I bus and bike everywhere, but I had to learn how to do it first. And learning to do it RIGHT and in a way that would be a positive experience not just for me but for the other people on the roads was very important to me. I spent as much time reading up about how to behave in traffic as I did researching what make of bike to buy. I wish everybody would.

I'm not the sort to correct other people though. The messengers drive me nuts because their antics are what get seen by drivers as opposed to my own careful "ride as part of traffic" style. IMO, a "good" urban cyclist will hardly even be noticed because they fit in with the flow of traffic.

[Quillfred]

I wrote Critical Mass a letter after seeing this article. I agree it was mostly very positive.

I was surprised and a bit troubled to see beer cans in the hands of a couple of Seattle CM riders. I mean riding with a can in your hand is bad enough, but under the influence of alcohol while making a political statement? I think that "dings" their credibility some.

Bicycle Alliance of Washington is having an auction Saturday November 4th at the Seattle Exhibition Hall.

http://www.bicyclealliance.org/

[mimitabby]

I wrote Critical Mass a letter after seeing this article. I agree it was mostly very positive.

I was surprised and a bit troubled to see beer cans in the hands of a couple of Seattle CM riders. I mean riding with a can in your hand is bad enough, but under the influence of alcohol while making a political statement? I think that "dings" their credibility some.

Bicycle Alliance of Washington is having an auction Saturday November 4th at the Seattle Exhibition Hall.

http://www.bicyclealliance.org/

I agree, what kind of image is that!!
And particularly Zack, the guy who was arrested this summer. HE's the one riding with the beer in his hand. Sure impressed me.. I wonder if he was brawling (with the sheriffs) because he was drinking? Nah, they would have checked his blood alcohol level for sure,..

[Kitsune06]

The messengers drive me nuts because their antics are what get seen by drivers as opposed to my own careful "ride as part of traffic" style. IMO, a "good" urban cyclist will hardly even be noticed because they fit in with the flow of traffic.

Argh. Those people are the reason I stopped posting to the Bikeportland.org forums. People who have to break the rules and try to justify it, etc etc. bug the **** out of me. =P

Be the change you want to see... and maybe people will follow suit. :P

[HipGnosis6]

I've noticed more and more messengers wearing helmets here in Seattle. A lot of them opt for skate style helmets, but that's OK. Apparently the agencies are starting to require it. About time...

Some of those justifications on rules-breaking are a little valid. Bikes really are subject to inertia. It isn't that cars aren't - that's a vehicle's most inefficient time, stopping and starting - it's just that the rules are set up for vehicles where the operator doesn't really notice. I'd bet you that if the percentages of driver vs. rider were flipflopped, then the laws would change too!

[Geonz]

Good article, especially in that it probed some of the complexities; didn't try to simplify CM as "good" or "bad" or "cute little miscreants" or whatever. (Gotta love online ... you can make articles LONG!)

Sigh, here we're jealous of any place willing to consider bike lanes... we basically haven't had any bike-specific action taken since the Boub case made it a "liability disincentive" to call anything a place where bikes are expected. However, Urbana has budgeted money for a Bike Plan ... on tahe third hand, I could too easily visualize them paying for the consulting and all the politicking... and then deciding there just wasn't enough money to actually *do* the right thing and everything getting tabled.