Cycling In Another Form.

Among the things I do on a daily basis, besides wake up and wonder where then heck I am, is check the KITV news feed on Yahoo!. KITV is one of the television stations in Hawai'i, and the only one, I guess, that has a connection to Yahoo!, so every few hours or so, they update with the latest stories.

Today's story was close to home(probably a bad turn of a phrase), because it was about the phenomenon known as "Critical Mass".

Here's the best description I could find of "Critical Mass". It's off one of the official/unofficial sites:

"Critical Mass is a monthly bicycle ride to celebrate cycling and to assert cyclists' right to the road. The idea started in San Francisco in September 1992 and quickly spread to cities all over the world.

Critical Mass has a different flavor from city to city -- there's a big variety in size, respect of traffic laws (or lack thereof), interaction with motorists, and intervention by police. So if you want to know more about Critical Mass, you'll really need to find out what your local ride is like.

Critical Mass has no leaders, and no central organization licenses rides. In every city that has a CM ride, some locals simply picked a date, time, and location for the ride and publicized it, and thus the ride was born.

CM is an idea and an event, not an organization.

Some CM riders try to tie up traffic as much as possible and be otherwise confrontational with motorists. Such riders are missing the point about Critical Mass. CM is a celebration of cycling, not a war against motorists. CM is about asserting our right to the road, not denying others their right to the road. Those who want to play juvenile games are encouraged to stay at home instead."

All that being said, I found it interesting that there is a Critical Mass ride in Honolulu. I discovered the joys of riding my bike when I was a lad in Kane'ohe, and found lots of people to ride with. Compared to many of the other places I've ridden, Hawai'i always seemed like a safe place.

But perhaps times have changed, or I've just been very naive. Maybe the pace in Hawai'i has picked up a bit and it's not the best place to ride a bike anymore.

I was in downtown L.A. once when a Critical Mass ride came through. Motorists were honking and shouting and some of the cyclist would shout back or give them the "one finger wave". I had torn feelings about it myself. While I do agree with the cyclists, that we should ban together and show that as a "critical mass", our voice should be heard and respected. What I don't agree with is returned aggression at motorists. Like the the quoted statement above says, "CM is a celebration of cycling, not a war against motorists. CM is about asserting our right to the road, not denying others their right to the road." I guess I'm very Gandhi about the whole thing, Civil disobedience is best.

As another aside to the story, it seems that a lot of civil disobedience things start in San Francisco. The anti war movement against Vietnam, and "Critical Mass" rides are two good examples. If you are a fan of the TV show South Park on Comedy Central, then you've probable seen the episode where Kyle's family moves to San Francisco to be with other people who are better than the rest because they drive hybrid cars. I don't know for sure, but I'm sure it's jab at San Fran for being ahead of the curve when it comes to global warming. If you haven't seen the episode, I think it's got a pretty good message.

But I digest...

So as a favor to me, if you ever come across a cyclist in the road, give them the space they deserve. We do have the right to the road same as you. And don't get mad if you get stuck in a "Critical Mass" ride, as long as there's no shouting and "one finger waving", they are just a rolling protest.