Critical Mass Assholes

I went to my first Critical Mass Bike Ride last Friday and was so appalled by what I saw, I bailed early.

As an experience, it was rather exciting. Roughly 200 cyclists gathered at the corner of Spadina and Bloor, and once everyone is ready, we set out down Bloor heading East. However, I realised early on that this thing wasn't organised at all. The mob was being guided by whomever happened to be at the front and more often than not, people in the front didn't know this. The result was a slow moving blob rolling through the city.

Now in most cases, I wouldn't consider this a big problem. If we can have Sunday Drivers, I don't see a problem with Meandering Friday Cyclists. However, the mob also made a point of expressly not obeying street signals. And when we reached Yonge & College, a large group of them decided that it'd be appropriate to just stop right in the intersection, blocking a long line of traffic including a street car. It was at this point that some stupid woman next to me started shouting gleefully: "Block that streetcar! Block that streetcar!". I took my bike off the road, waited for the spectacle to finish (complete with one asshat stopping to play a trumpet in the middle of the road) and then headed home.

It's important to note here that I'm a fan of street parties. Hell, New Mind Space's "Flight of Fancy" was one of my favourite events last year. But cycling is very different. Cyclists in this country work very hard to be respected on the road. We're constantly claiming that we should have the same respect as other vehicles and in exchange for that respect, we agree to follow the same rules other vehicles do. Actions like this will only serve to give non-cyclists ammunition against us and that's something we don't need.

Blocking a few cars maybe, but a whole street car with 100 people on it? That's assholish.