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| NYC had a great Critical Mass bike ride last night. I heard an estimate of one thousand riders. That sounds about right to me. It rivaled the size of a CM I rode in San Francisco in 2000. The above photo is in Manhattan's Union Square Park (the gathering place) around 7:30 PM. Critical Mass happens around the world on the last Friday of the Month. |
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| Handing out flyers, pre-ride. |
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| Bicycling - A quiet statement against oil wars - Committee for Full Enjoyment |
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| Mini Bikes. |
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| Heading into the sunset, on 14th Street. |
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This was a very mellow, jovial crowd of bikers. Most of the pedestrian/spectators, who indicated anything, seemed to enjoy the spectacle. Even most of the cars appeared either supportive or at least tolerant. I did talk to one older woman who told me that you "can't go back five hundred years." But mostly they smiled and cheered. I did witness a couple of incidents where SUV owners tried to break through the bicycles. In one instance I saw contact made between a Jeep bumper and a starting to squish bike tire. But a quick surround by a large numbers of bikers pointedly cajoled them into relaxing their foot from their pedals, while we fairly quickly passed, and no damage was done. I think the idea is to have the streets to ourselves for once, but to not linger obnoxiously. |
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| The "More Gardens" mobile, I think it has two sets of pedals. I don't know what kind of load they were carrying, but I did talk to a guy wheeling the 200 pound mobile sound system. He said he got some help being pushed and pulled by other bikers to get up slopes. |
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| This guy looks like he's heading off to a joust. Those are two PVC pipes padded at the ends. Hope he has a better helmet than shown. Bike jousting must be something to see, though I didn't see it. |
2003 Michael Natale
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