What do saturated fat and automobile traffic have in common? In steady doses, and without preventative measures, both lead to severely clogged arteries.
This was highly apparent at last Friday’s celebratory Critical Mass ride, the two-year anniversary for Santa Monica Critical Mass and the official BIKEWINTER 2007 launch. Over 300 cyclists gathered at the Santa Monica pier to celebrate the fossil-fuel free fiesta….
….while grueling gridlock brought LA traffic to a screeching halt.
As if planned to underscore the event’s message, an accident on the dreaded 405 freeway spawned a fustercluck of epic proportions, clogging arterial routes, trapping motorists in their metal boxes, and sending the collective blood pressure through the roof.
Many a motorist shouted words of encouragement, envy, and annoyance as we pedaled freely through the tension – a fairly typical range of reactions towards bike commuters. The challenge, as well as one of the “driving” forces behind Critical Mass, is to remind the public that “WE ARE TRAFFIC” -- and as such, deserve a safe space on the roads.
Friday’s fiesta rolled along to a thumping bike-towed soundtrack, stopping periodically for entertainment and mingling. A few highlights:
- Bicycle Piñata gathering at Venice Beach – the photo says all;
- The afterparty;
- Wise words from local organizer Zack Beatty.
In just two years, Beatty has taken Santa Monica’s ride from six to 300, and growing. Last week’s ride drew many newbies, spurred by an increasing discontent with our current collision course.
As Zack describes: "people are ready for a different type of entertainment, one that's more centered around community interaction, and less around consuming digital media fed to us by corporations."
"Critical Mass is about recreating the town square, even in such a vast, sprawling city as Los Angeles. My generation has been raised in an environment where we are atomized from each other: we live in large homes, buffered from our neighbors with fenced-in yards; we drive alone in cars; and we entertain ourselves alone in front of our own private televisions and computers. As you can see from the rise of "virtual" social networks on the internet, such as MySpace, we're starting to recreate the social interactions that we lack in life. Critical Mass is about stepping away from the keyboard and the Tivo and getting to know our community."
If the above resonates with your vision of community, experience it yourself through BIKEWINTER 2007.
