Gay Pride combines forces with Critical Mass

As we rode over to Woodruff Park for Critical Mass, we picked up other riders headed in the same direction. Our pilgrimage to the holy land of cycling was made more exciting as we picked up numbers. Riding along the Freedom Park Trail, I heard "On your left" just before a guy in a green dress shoots past us riding a fixie. Everyone knows who wears the green dress and I called out "Angel", but it wasn't Angel. For Halloween, guys were dressing up as the most familiar green dress in Atlanta Intown.

Of course, this weekend being Gay Pride, I should have guessed there would be several guys wearing green dresses.

Ride Summary

Round Trip Distance: 11.6
Number of Cyclists seen: hundreds
Number of Green Dresses: 5
Weather: Not the best: mild, but drizzly with a few drops

Atlanta version of Courteous Mass

I understand Atlanta's Courteous Mass has felt like the baby sister to the older and more established Critical Mass, but when we joined the ride this evening at Woodruff Park, it appeared this sister was growing up. The ride was well-represented by the usual variety of bikes and ages of riders. Although my photos disproportionately represent the families, this does make a good family ride and it does nothing to undermine the respect of motorists.

As with most rides around town, it was a pleasure to run into both familiar faces and new faces. These rides are always a good chance to meet new people and to catch up with those you've ridden with on other rides.

Now that I've ridden both Critical Mass and Courteous Mass, I can make a fair comparison. Both are nice in that you're surrounded by cyclists and riding along with traffic. Both feel very safe and I would argue both are safe. It's a great way to introduce new cyclists to group riding in an urban setting, although Courteous Mass sets a much better example.

Both feel like a rolling celebration, but certainly more so for Critical Mass. Yes, there's the whooping and hollering, bell-ringing and horn-tooting, but Critical Mass does have more energy and a lot more "Happy Fridays!" being shouted out, perhaps because of its size. Both masses get attention, but taking over an intersection does get more attention. It's just not quite the attention we should be getting ;-).

The trend might be away from Critical Mass and more toward the alternative rides. That is probably a good thing if we can increase and multiply the energy of Critical Mass.

 

Is Critical Mass a Family Ride?

 

If I gave my short answer, this wouldn't be a very interesting post, so let me explain how I've come to my conclusion about my first Critical Mass. I had concerns about riding with the group but decided to see for myself what it was all about.

First, let me say it is a lot of fun. That many people riding bikes together is automatic fun. The fun started before we reached the start. As we rode through Inman Park, we started joining other riders headed over to Woodruff Park. Even if you didn't know anything about Critical Mass, you would suspect something was up because all the cyclists were headed the same direction.



The gathering crowd was quiet. I didn't see many families at first, but there were a few. This is mostly a 20-something crowd. I was concerned about how quiet it was, and then the calls went up to head out. This is when it started to feel like an event.

The reception on the streets was something to behold. Even though we were completely clogging up the streets, everyone treated us like we were a parade. Groups of people came to the curb and stopped to watch. Hooping and Hollering went back and forth. Everyone was yelling "Happy Friday!" The party had begun.

After coming through Underground and past the Five Points MARTA station, we turned onto Marietta Street toward Centennial Park. At that point, the police were enforcing the stop light at the intersection with Centennial Park Drive. The mass stopped and then was broken up into pieces by the police, but it was able to reassemble into a mass for a trip up Peachtree Street.

So many people were out this evening. Peachtree Street is where you felt you were part of something really big. This continued all the way up to 10th Street in Midtown where we broke for Piedmont Park. Again, I was impressed by how well received we were. People in their cars were honking happy horns instead of angry horns.

We made our way across the park over to Virginia Highland where we received another warm welcome. I was looking for angry motorists and only found one lady who was justifiably bothered by some cyclists who were in her oncoming lane. She was trying to get us to move over by waving her arms inside her car. Fortunately, most people simply took up the lanes going in the correct direction.

So, is this a family ride? I would say "Yes", but it is a slightly qualified yes. Let me list out the points:

• The pace is suitable for nearly all riders. We don't move fast and we stop or slow down frequently. There are many beginning riders.
  
• I was concerned about safety. This is probably an 8 or 9 out of 10 on the safety scale. The main drawback keeping this from being a 10 is there are a good number of riders who are inexperienced in riding in a group and sometimes they operate their bikes in spaces that are smaller than they are capable of riding within. I saw a few people bump into each other, but nothing to cause an injury.
  
• On this ride, there were people getting arrested. They weren't doing what the police officers asked them to do. They broke laws and the officers responded. I have no problem with that. It is part of how we educate proper road etiquette. Other rides educate also, but do a better job at avoiding arrests.
  
• The overall impression is one of fun. There wasn't any rowdiness or recklessness beyond the occasional rider taking over the sidewalk for a brief stretch. Except for those learning the hard way to obey traffic laws, there weren't any confrontations.
  

Final Grade: "A" - I would be happy to bring any family on this ride.

Atlanta Critical Mass Last Night

Although I did not attend, I received links to a pair of short videos and some photos. We plan to ride next month, Friday April 27.

Matthew, who took these shots, is looking for hosting space.