Critical Mass Bike Ride, New York City, 5/28/04
Pg.3 - To the Bronx

Heading up Park Avenue, just north of Union Square. Someone is handing out flyers describing Critical Mass.

Mostly what I saw on the sidelines was cheering and amazed amusement, even from folks who had previously only been thinking about getting across the street. Of course there were a few honking petroleum-addicts mock-charging like rutting goats. But they were vastly in the minority.

 
One of the really cool things about doing a Critical Mass is getting to go into spaces that normally are too dangerous to bike, like these ramps and tunnels around Grand Central Terminal.
Looking uptown. Somewhere in the mid-fifties.
Looking back downtown from the same location.
Up into Upper East Side territory. We were up on a hill letting me see just how large the mass was. Bikes filled the street for several blocks behind me and about a block in front.
Bike Salute.

Someone nearby made the snarky remark that this is the part where the guys with the $600 bikes get to wave them over their heads. Funny, but not absolutely true, the weighty-biked poor and muscular also represent. I could probably raise my clunker, but I might tip over doing it. I didn't try.

After this we passed through Harlem and over the Madison Avenue Bridge to the Bronx. It was getting dark at this point. I put my camera away.

Someone said this was the first Bronx-bound Critical Mass. Our destination was community gardens endangered with destruction. The Sunshine and Courtland community Gardens 158th St and Courtland Ave, South Bronx. More info from More Gardens
Here's a photo by "Timmy." of the Madison Avenue Bridge. I grabbed it from the Times Up site.

Heather Lev singing 'If Cars Were Banned.' "When you buy a car, do you realize your money pays for things you probably despise" Mp3 available on her site. Heather tells me she wants to use this photo for her new CD.
Here's another photo from Timmy. On the street outside the garden, I think. According to this report on Indymedia, some of the neighbors threw lighbulbs and eggs at the cyclists hanging out on the streets. I left after a short tour of the garden before this happened, so I missed that thrill.

©2004 Michael Natale
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