4 ms·

Reminds me of Masa Crítica in Buenos Aires, a monthly event where lots (probably around a hundred, maybe two?) of bikers would pedal from the city center to the

Reminds me of Masa Crítica in Buenos Aires, a monthly event where lots (probably around a hundred, maybe two?) of bikers would pedal from the city center to the outskirts, to show support for the rights of people using bicycles.

pjc50 5y ago
Similarly "critical mass" protests in London, which were in endless trouble with the police. https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2008/nov/26/critical-mass-london-police https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2008/nov/26/critical-mass-lon... Having children do it does decrease the chance of being broken up for obstructing cars.
- Fargren 5y ago
  Oh, same name so these are almost certainly related. I didn't know about that.
  - timeon 5y ago
    "critical mass" is monthly event in many cities.
throwawaysea 5y ago
Critical mass events are incredibly disruptive and are an offensively aggressive act to those who are just trying to go about their day and use the infrastructure for its funded intent - which is to say, cars and other motorized vehicles that move at higher speeds. It’s one thing to advocate for changes through proper political channels. It’s another thing entirely to hijack infrastructure, clog intersections by circling up, and violently harass drivers (what I’ve seen in SF). That’s not a protest, but a riot, and participants should be arrested and charged.
- seattle_spring 5y ago
  The OP has nothing to do with "critical mass" events, so your comment seems like nothing more than a non sequitur.
- pedalpete 5y ago
  This is why I stopped attending, and I think it harmed the effectiveness of the movement. In Vancouver, we were having a great ride through the city. We may have been delaying traffic a bit, but that's fine. Then they decided to ride up the Lions Gate Bridge (the main artery in and out of the city) and stop all traffic going in both directions for about 10-15 minutes. The friends I was with all agreed we wouldn't participate again because of those actions.
- carapace 5y ago
  You're being little hyperbolic (in re: SF Critical Mass) but not by much. I live in SF, don't drive, and I used to commute by bike, but IMO the advocacy here can get a little, um, intense.
- SkeuomorphicBee 5y ago
  That is a very clueless take. Cars disruptively and offensively aggressively hijack that infrastructure every single day, then cyclists claim back one single road for only two hours a month and you claim they are the disruptive ones? They are not clogging intersections, they are using them. The intent of the infrastructure is to move people, cars and other motorized vehicles hijacked it and excluded other users. And to claim that cyclists are violent towards drivers is the pinnacle of absurdity. Drivers using their 2 tonne heavy machinery as a weapon, driving towards people, and then you blame the victims for tapping on the bonnet of the aggressors weapon.
  - jjav 5y ago
    > Cars disruptively and offensively aggressively hijack that infrastructure every single day If roads were built for those cars, one can't claim they hijack it when that's what it's for. We can argue it shouldn't have been built that way, but given that it was (in the US anyway), there's no hijacking involved in using it as designed.
- frereubu 5y ago
  I participated in London, and saw mostly the opposite. Most of the ride was well-behaved and didn't hold people up much, and there were drivers constantly behaving in really dangerous ways, like trying to drive into the mass. Like you and someone else who replied to you, I was uncomfortable with the deliberate blocking of intersections, but "participants should be arrested and charged" is way over the top for what used to happen in London - perhaps SF had a different vibe.
  - ardit33 5y ago
    Yeah, it started devolving into vandalism / hatred towards cars: Critical Mass cyclist attacks car with U-lock in San Francisco https://www.kron4.com/news/critical-mass-cyclist-attacks-car-with-u-lock-in-san-francisco/ https://www.kron4.com/news/critical-mass-cyclist-attacks-car... Minivan's rude introduction to Critical Smash https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/matier-ross/article/Minivan-s-rude-introduction-to-Critical-Smash-2566505.php https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/matier-ross/article/Minivan-s... A Toyota mini van sits in a repair shop in Mountain View with a broken back window and numerous scratches to the body. The van was attacked by critical mass riders last friday. At the time of the attack a woman and five kids were in the car.
    - lostdog 5y ago
      You found one event from 2007 where the driver didn't exercise control of their vehicle "According to police, Ferrando had allegedly tapped one of the cyclists' tires." And one from 2015 where the driver endangered the cyclists "then a driver of a Zipcar moves toward the cyclists."
bodo11 5y ago
In Europe (mainly Germany ATM) there has been a wordplay on this for a few years, the "kidical mass" movement: https://kinderaufsrad.org/ https://kinderaufsrad.org/
SkeuomorphicBee 5y ago
It also reminded me of Massa Critica here in Porto Alegre (Brazil). Unfortunately it also reminded me of the time a driver here purposefully plowed thru the whole peloton of cyclists, injuring dozens.

pjc50 5y ago

Similarly "critical mass" protests in London, which were in endless trouble with the police. https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2008/nov/26/critical-mass-london-police https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2008/nov/26/critical-mass-lon... Having children do it does decrease the chance of being broken up for obstructing cars.

Fargren 5y ago
Oh, same name so these are almost certainly related. I didn't know about that.
- timeon 5y ago
  "critical mass" is monthly event in many cities.

throwawaysea 5y ago

Critical mass events are incredibly disruptive and are an offensively aggressive act to those who are just trying to go about their day and use the infrastructure for its funded intent - which is to say, cars and other motorized vehicles that move at higher speeds. It’s one thing to advocate for changes through proper political channels. It’s another thing entirely to hijack infrastructure, clog intersections by circling up, and violently harass drivers (what I’ve seen in SF). That’s not a protest, but a riot, and participants should be arrested and charged.

seattle_spring 5y ago
The OP has nothing to do with "critical mass" events, so your comment seems like nothing more than a non sequitur.
pedalpete 5y ago
This is why I stopped attending, and I think it harmed the effectiveness of the movement. In Vancouver, we were having a great ride through the city. We may have been delaying traffic a bit, but that's fine. Then they decided to ride up the Lions Gate Bridge (the main artery in and out of the city) and stop all traffic going in both directions for about 10-15 minutes. The friends I was with all agreed we wouldn't participate again because of those actions.
carapace 5y ago
You're being little hyperbolic (in re: SF Critical Mass) but not by much. I live in SF, don't drive, and I used to commute by bike, but IMO the advocacy here can get a little, um, intense.
SkeuomorphicBee 5y ago
That is a very clueless take. Cars disruptively and offensively aggressively hijack that infrastructure every single day, then cyclists claim back one single road for only two hours a month and you claim they are the disruptive ones? They are not clogging intersections, they are using them. The intent of the infrastructure is to move people, cars and other motorized vehicles hijacked it and excluded other users. And to claim that cyclists are violent towards drivers is the pinnacle of absurdity. Drivers using their 2 tonne heavy machinery as a weapon, driving towards people, and then you blame the victims for tapping on the bonnet of the aggressors weapon.
- jjav 5y ago
  > Cars disruptively and offensively aggressively hijack that infrastructure every single day If roads were built for those cars, one can't claim they hijack it when that's what it's for. We can argue it shouldn't have been built that way, but given that it was (in the US anyway), there's no hijacking involved in using it as designed.
frereubu 5y ago
I participated in London, and saw mostly the opposite. Most of the ride was well-behaved and didn't hold people up much, and there were drivers constantly behaving in really dangerous ways, like trying to drive into the mass. Like you and someone else who replied to you, I was uncomfortable with the deliberate blocking of intersections, but "participants should be arrested and charged" is way over the top for what used to happen in London - perhaps SF had a different vibe.
- ardit33 5y ago
  Yeah, it started devolving into vandalism / hatred towards cars: Critical Mass cyclist attacks car with U-lock in San Francisco https://www.kron4.com/news/critical-mass-cyclist-attacks-car-with-u-lock-in-san-francisco/ https://www.kron4.com/news/critical-mass-cyclist-attacks-car... Minivan's rude introduction to Critical Smash https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/matier-ross/article/Minivan-s-rude-introduction-to-Critical-Smash-2566505.php https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/matier-ross/article/Minivan-s... A Toyota mini van sits in a repair shop in Mountain View with a broken back window and numerous scratches to the body. The van was attacked by critical mass riders last friday. At the time of the attack a woman and five kids were in the car.
  - lostdog 5y ago
    You found one event from 2007 where the driver didn't exercise control of their vehicle "According to police, Ferrando had allegedly tapped one of the cyclists' tires." And one from 2015 where the driver endangered the cyclists "then a driver of a Zipcar moves toward the cyclists."

bodo11 5y ago

In Europe (mainly Germany ATM) there has been a wordplay on this for a few years, the "kidical mass" movement: https://kinderaufsrad.org/ https://kinderaufsrad.org/

SkeuomorphicBee 5y ago

It also reminded me of Massa Critica here in Porto Alegre (Brazil). Unfortunately it also reminded me of the time a driver here purposefully plowed thru the whole peloton of cyclists, injuring dozens.