Mass-Mess |
| September Dumb-Mass (S27, 2004)
I haven't gotten down to too many Masses this year. Brief visits and no pictures. As everybody knows, September is the warmest month in SF, so me & a friend decided to join this month's ride. Sadly, I forgot my camera. This Mass had a lof of cool images. It also had a lot of uncool images. So, I have no pix to offer, but instead, I got opinion. I think we should keep in mind that Mass is about the street. That is where we assert ourselves when we ride together. In the street, we have a right to assert ourselves and demonstrate our power for a few moments. Mass is about the street--our habitat. It's not about the off-street. Off-street is off-topic. By off-street, I'm talking about attempts to access the Central Freeway & the Bay Bridge (not attempted-this month), the upper deck of the Transbay Terminal, Yerba Buena Center, hell even Zeum (yes, these three places were part of this month's ride). Not only were these side-shows off-topic, we coulda all been stoppered by CHP on the upper deck of the Transbay Terminal. So my question is: What's the point? (I admit that at the moment, it was fun to crash the Terminal and escape from the CHP, but after swarming Yerba Buena Center, by the time we got to Zeum, I was starting to think this ride was kinda dumb.) After all the diversions, the ride changed and we continued in "conventional" fashion to many our usual destinations: Union Square, the Stockton Tunnel, Chinatown, the Broadway Tunnel, Polk Street, The Mish. Finally, we called it quits at Dolores Park. But wait, there's more: There were also a coupla ugly confrontations with guys on crotch-rockets. One on Howard & 4th (the guy coulda easily taken another route, but chose to charge thru the Mass) another at Mission & 18th (same thing: coulda gone around, chose to go thru). Those dudes were f***ed up, but that's no reason to confront them. Let it go. Let's have fun. |
| November Mini-Mass (N29, 2003)
I had another 'holiday observance' to attend that evening, but I did hang with this ride for about 45 minutes. This Mass was so sparsely attended, we lost our critical mass not long after exiting Market on Geary for a tour of Union Square. Traffic was already stopped and we ended up getting a little spaced out before regrouping at Kearney and Columbus. That's when I headed off in my own direction. December's mass on the 26th should be a lot more fun. |
| October Mass slide show (O31, 2003) |
| Wow! October's Mass was THE Halloween Party in SF, this year. Forget the Castro -- it's officially done with since the grown-ups ruined it. No problem, though. We just made another, better scene in lots of other neighborhoods. Because we can!
Anyway, the costumes were incredible. My guess is well over 80% of the riders were in alternative attire. Or whatever. Some bikes came in costume as well. We hit all of the high spots: Union Square, the Mission, the Broadway Tunnel, Polk Street, Civic Center. We took over the Broadway Tunnel and made a big, echoing disco out of it for about 15 minutes or so. Since the city was pretty much in party mode, we were well-received by the people. Motorists were mostly cool, as well. As usual, some just can't or won't deal with it. You know the ones with the tunnel-like focus on their hood ornament: 'Can't. Change. Course. Now. -- Must. Get. Through. -- Yourbasearebelongtous.' Who knows how long it all lasted? I rode until nearly 9pm when I peeled off for a taco and another Halloween party. Happy Birthday, Sis. I love you. |
| September Mass slide show (S26, 2003) |
| This well-attended Mass had it all. First and foremost, it was a joyous occasion: the 11th anniversary of the Mass and it was at the start of the Jewish New Year. The route was classic -- right through the F.D., N Beach. Chinatown, Union Square, Civic Center, The Mish. It was a foggy, cool evening. A few riders trailered some worthy sounds. We encountered lots of friendly folks and a few hostile people. More than I've seen in some time. People are funny. They could sit for hours in freeway conjestion and shrug, but if they're held up for a few minutes by a huge group of cyclists ...a few minutes, really it only takes 10 minutes for the Mass to pass... it's an 'inconvenience' that can provoke assault. They're the kinda "I've-seen-it-all-before" jaded city dwellers that I wish would just leave town. On the other hand, there are many who were delighted, amazed, and amused. Many were tourists, some locals. How can anyone not be amazed by hundreds of people having fun and making noise in a real, spontaneous situation that is so different from the drudge of every minute 24-hour-a day traffic? Street life, street theater and sponteous cultures are what make city life rich. It's why many San Franciscans live here and why the city has so many visitors. Another funny thing is how, even after 11 years, 130-something Mass rides since 1992, Critical Mass seems to completely take the city by surprise. Month after month. Year after year. I guess powermedia can't warn the public of something it won't acknowledge. Unless CM pisses off the right people and it becomes a news story after the fact, there is no mention. NEWSFLASH: There WAS a picture of a Parisian Mass Ride in Thursday's SF Exhumer! Close, but I think they're actually trying to make an anti-France statement. |
| August Mass slide show (Au29, 2003) |
| This Mass was very mellow and pretty well-attended considering the holiday weekend usually drains this town. Plus, I hear somebody's burning some man in the stinkin' desert and lots of people are lost in Nevada trying to find it. The cops were, mostly, not present unless we passed close to a freeway entrance. We were pretty low-impact, low-disruption, actually. Our route left the downtown zone nearly immediately and never went back.
There were no major confrontations. Offensive four-wheeled offenders were quickly swarmed into compliance. We started down Market, as usual, but headed south at Second St, through SoMa to South Beach. Past PacBell Park, over the drawbridge and down the shore of San Francisco Bay as far as India Basin. There, we turned around and headed to the Mission via Chavez, up Mission, 24th, Guerrero and back to Market & Gough where we made a big circle before continuing on to the Lower Haight, the Upper Haight and I don't know where else, it was time for me to bail. A 'nice' neighborhood tour. *Thanks* to the dude with the sound system! Those album-oriented hits from the 70s took me back. |
| Scheduling conflict mess, miss Mass (Jy25, 2003)
My bad. I woke up last Friday and realized it was time to Mass. OMG, I had arranged an after-work-ride in the Marin Headlands with my friend & couldn't bail! It was a frigid Siberian fog day (typical July) and Dirt beckoned. We did a worthy 30-miler including the ride up and back home over the GGB. I didn't bring my camera, fog conditions are not good for snapshots. See you in Aug. |
| Here's a slide show of June's Critical Mass in San Francisco (J27, 2003) |
| The SFPD was a no-show at June's Critical Mass. And, I might add, The City still stands. In fact, it was the grooviest ride ever. No cops, no citations, no ambushes, provocations, confrontations, noise contests. Just lots of happy cyclists and, get this(!), very few angry motorists. I saw lots of happy faces in cars and drivers merrily honking their horns to add to the din. It must be the warm weather. There were a few cyclists who got a little carried away with their taunts at impatient (and sometimes unsafe) drivers, but there were many more civil exchanges.
We headed up Market, did a brief circle at Van Ness and continued to Octavia where we joined with a anti-"Gruesom"Newsom demo at the LGBT center. Then we continued to the Castro, 19th, Church and back to Market with another circle. Without the cops' prodding, we just hung for a few minutes and moved on. It IS a bike ride, after all. Not a sit-in. We traversed the Lower Haight and headed up Divis to Clay where we intersected with the 'trade route' through Laurel Heights to the Presidio and the GG Bridge. When we reached Arguello, before heading into the Presidio, we decided to take a spin in a posh cul de sac where Senator Feinstein lives. There were a few nudists in our midst, and a couple stood out in front of the Senator's house and posed for pictures. The butler could be seen phoning the Secret Service. After that silliness, it was off to the Golden Gate Bridge and points north, for some. I turned back at the South Tower. It was beautiful out there on the bridge, and a nice way (for me) to end the ride. The Park Service cops were prepared for the ride and rangers guided us onto the bridge. (Somebody tipped them off we were coming.) As I was turning back, I saw a CHP motorcycle cop heading northbound on the west walk after the remaining riders. Then, another CHP cop... on a mountain bike! Budget cutbacks, I guess. Next ride is on July 25! |
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Slide show of May's Critical Mass in San Francisco (M30, 2003)
Broadband (8.3MB quicktime) - 640x480 with soundtrack Not broadband (1MB quicktime) - 320x240 silent (you add the soundtrack) |
| Amazing what a little negative press can do to rally a great Mass ride. May's Mass was every bit as large as March's tour of freeway on-ramps. May's Tour of Great Neighborhoods was big, slow and noisy. And long! A tribute to the Power Of The Press. The twists and turns were too numerous to list. Briefly, we visited Chinatown, both tunnels, Van Ness, the Tenderloin, Market & Van Ness (& a noisy standoff with the cops who were trying to break up a circle there), the Lower & Upper Haight, GGPark, the Sunset, the Richmond, and finally, a perfectly-timed arrival at Ocean beach for a beautiful sunset. Of course, our protectors, the SFPD were there with their ticket books -- picking the low-hanging fruit of non-violent bike hooligans. The police are beyond accountability. Their lack of leadership is evident. They're overweight, they have smelly motorcycles and they don't even live here in SF. What's to like? There were the usual angry confrontations, started always by motorists. I even saw one motorist screaming at another to just make a left turn into the Mass so traffic could go. The other motorist refused and said it wasn't safe. Lots of poker-faced people out there refusing to acknowledge. But lots of support from the streets, the buildings and motorists as well. It sure feels good to get waves and honks and the thumb-up instead of the finger. Who DOESN'T love a parade? Grumps, that's who! Message to the mainstream: CM is an assertion of our (urban cyclists') presence. It is not phony. It is a real and spontaneous movement of urban-dwellers toward a more liveable city. Every day, every month. It is not a protest. Anger from the motoring public will not deter it and the police cannot discredit it with their violence. See you next month, June 27! Critical Mass every day! |
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Slide show of April's Critical Mass (A25, 2003)
Broadband (9.2MB quicktime) - 640x480 with soundtrack Not broadband (1MB quicktime) - 320x240 silent (you add the soundtrack) |
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April's Critical Mass was smaller than the massive Mass of March (4.5MB quicktime). But it wasn't a mini-Mass, either. I'd estimate 500-700 happy riders.
We started out Market to Geary and did a lap around Union Square, then continued on Geary out to Polk Gulch. At Larkin, we headed north to Sutter and then west into the beautiful sunset. The weather was warm and calm, much like last month, but now we had an extra hour of sun. Continuing on over Cathedral Heights, we dropped down into Hayes Valley and out to Steiner. Then south to McAllister, where we headed west up a fairly steep hill. We were moving kinda slow for our motorized (read: 'FAT COP') escort. It was here that I witnessed a SFPD M/C cop try to get to the front of the ride (and succeeded) by charging up a narrow sidewalk, between trees and people's front steps, rousting kids playing and other folks from the neighborhood who were watching the parade so he could get through. The cops try hard to make this a drag. Don't let them win. Anyway, we headed out to the Haight via Divisadero, Fell and Masonic then back downtown on Oak Street. The Ride visited the Lower Haight and then dropped down to the Market/Guerrero/Laguna/Hermann where we circled the intersection for a few moments of joy. The cops had Guerrero stoppered, so we shrugged and headed up Market to Valencia and marvelled at the new vista created by the demolition of the Central Freeway which had just occurred that week. From Market, there's only one way to go on Valencia: south to the Mission. By this time, it was close to 8pm and no food in my pocket. After realizing I was in the Mish, two words popped into mind: 'Taco Wagon.' I peeled off at Clarion. See you next month - May 30! BTW, I saw a few drivers lose their cool, but I also saw a LOT of support and smiles. Some people even thanked the riders (mostly pedestrians and onlookers). |