SD Critical Mass

San Diego's Critical Mass is a love/hate thing for me.

i love the opportunity to ride the streets of sd with sdpolice escorting and with other cyclist.

but i also hate the other cyclist that do it and ruin it.

i am attending cm this month again and prolly always when i have the chance too. But i woul like to know about your thoughts on it.

I may join you on this one paul

I'm down. Perhaps we could start a small subgroup in there and refrain from running lights and whatnot.

I don't like that critical masses break the traffic rules - if we want people to realize that we are traffic, and not in the way of traffic, we need to show them that we not only have the same rights as cars, but follow the same rules as well.

In San Luis Obispo (just graduated from Cal Poly), we have a "bike night" once a month that's kind of like a critical mass, only we do laps around a few blocks downtown, and the Bank of America parking lot becomes a circle where people ride and hang out. The cops come out in full force and ticket people who don't have lights, don't obey the traffic laws, or are just plain too drunk to be out there, and its great.

Each time had a theme, and there were sometimes outrageous costumes and all sorts of funny super tall giraffe bikes, people pulling tailers with kegs or couches or dogs...

Do people do any kind of dressing up or is there any kind of theme in the critical mass here?

mattamatta wrote:

... and ticket people who don't have lights, don't obey the traffic laws, or are just plain too drunk to be out there, and its great.

Each time had a theme, and there were sometimes outrageous costumes and all sorts of funny super tall giraffe bikes, people pulling tailers with kegs or couches or dogs...

Do people do any kind of dressing up or is there any kind of theme in the critical mass here?

we have plenty of everything from the good to the bad. we get good positive vibes, we get drunks and tokers who create problems with motorists. we have the escorts police who block all traffics (intersection too), but we have motorist who try to hurt the mass.

some people dress up every mass, but halloween almost everyone is dressed. we have unicycles, bmx, tall bikes, tall unicycles, recumbents, tandems, most.

as for the group ride, i like that idea. even the stopping at light part, unless we have guidance of the police of coarse.

This ride will make up for my fun friday. I have work the next morning but so be it. I am stoked!

Ive done CM's in Vegas when i was in college - and they were a hot mess. 1000's of bikes. 100's of jackasses actin a'fool doing god knows what and making trouble. there were fights with cars, pedestrians, other riders. Drunken a-holes doing dumb stuff, tweekers, loadies - and regualr old folks all grab-assing, it was so frustrating but entertaining none the less....

I heard from a LBS i was in there there are 2 major ones in SD. One is the legit rule following ride and one is the drunken clown-shoes ride.

What date / time is the next upcoming CM and where? I would like to hit one up here in SD and see what its all about.

punkbrad wrote:

.....

I heard from a LBS i was in there there are 2 major ones in SD. One is the legit rule following ride and one is the drunken clown-shoes ride.

What date / time is the next upcoming CM and where? I would like to hit one up here in SD and see what its all about.

I miss Critical Manners, the one where the traffic laws are followed.

critical mass is every last firday of every month. meet up is at balboa fountain. mass starts growing around 7ish and leave brfore 8s

paulmitchel wrote:

critical mass is every last firday of every month. meet up is at balboa fountain. mass starts growing around 7ish and leave brfore 8s

Thanks G.

I'd like to hit one up - maybe we start our own sub-group as suggested. we would wear an armband or somethign to set up apart - it woudl raise awareness for those who like to follow the rules and jsut ride and have fun. not that wreaking havoc isnt fun, but thats best done in small groups!

i forgot too Add critical manners use to be done on the first monday of every month

Why did it stop? Let's bring it back.

Good Call - If this forum brought it back, we could get noticed more too - maybe we can all agree to some "Manners Rules" or something and hand them out at ride time? maybe something to let the foolios know what is and is not tolerated...

Sounds good to me. Down to ride anytime

Anyone going tomorrow?

this guy!


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Ill try to get there asap after work if it starts at 8:00

i might have to pay a visit to me mum, if not, then im there as well -

Aw darn, I'm going up to my parents tonight to get together for my birthday (next wed the 31st). How bout a critical manners ride on the first Monday in April? Anybody know more about why it's no longer around and who was key in it's instituion and promotion before?

Bring it back!

Finished around 8 and was too full to move. More like lazy... Next month I promise

Finished mass. Had a blast. First time I lead it so we went to fasshion valley mall and everything in between. Now off to in and out.

Last night's Critical Mass was the funnest one I've ever done (been doing them since july 2009). The route was fresh and met a lot of good people out there.

Here is a map of the route we did for Critical Mass 3/26/10

[url=http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/ca/san-diego/502126971743072815]Critical Mass SD 3/26/10[/url]

The group pretty much split near the end so this is the route that I personally took with the group I was with, probably not exact but you get the idea. Enjoy

Anyone hitting up the mass tonight? Or at least just riding or tricking on there own?

Yeah, Me, Ray, Team Eli, Paul Mitchel, and James are riding tonight

Mandrew wrote:

Yeah, Me, Ray, Team Eli, Paul Mitchel, and James are riding tonight

Sweet!! Me and my buddies are meeting up at the carousel and will probably be there until the mass almost starts.

edit; wrong thread.

im in tonight. brad bring those straps if youre going

sorry paul - didnt go - but i was at uni & 30th when the pack left - got some phone-cam video of the dude ridin' out - im in for the next one.