Critical Mass Comes to Tampa | Bike Commuters

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Critical Mass Comes to Tampa

Jul 21st 2008

By: Jack "Ghost Rider" Sweeney

32 comments

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The folks from the Tampa Bicycle Co-op have got things cooking here…they announced a Critical Mass ride starting on the last Friday of this month:

“Psst… Critical Mass in Tampa this Friday (7/25). This first of a monthly ride will meet in Lowry Park at 6:30pm, leaving at 7 (lights and helmets encouraged). This event is open to riders of all skill level and demographic–and the ride will reflect this. The atmosphere is meant to be welcoming, casual, and assertive (not aggressively taking back the streets–animosity to cars is discouraged). Please come with all of your friends to show support for the cycling community!

p.s. festiveness is encouraged!”

As far as I know, Tampa has never had a Critical Mass ride…at least as long as I’ve lived here. St. Petersburg, our sister city on the other side of Tampa Bay, has had a Critical Mass ride for a year or two and it is sporadically attended. Who knows? This thing might really take off here…and it sounds like the organizers have the right idea about how to behave!

I’ve got mixed feelings about Critical Mass in general. While it can be a great way to get the “share the road” message out in a visible and passionate way, these rides can tend to attract (and even encourage) hooliganism. I’m hoping this kind of confrontational and hostile behavior won’t be tolerated by the crew that attends this one.

So, if you’re in the area, be sure to come on out and roll with the group. It’ll be interesting, no doubt!

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- Donald
  
  July 21st, 2008 at 20:38
  
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  Awesome!! I’ve been hoping someone would organize one here… A bike to St. Pete to do the one over there has always seemed too intimidating. The only thing I’m a little worried about is the police presence. I’ve heard horror stories from elsewhere in the US, so I’m hoping that they’ll be there and friendly. I’d hate to get fined for being in an “unregistered parade” or some other B.S. like that.
- James
  
  July 22nd, 2008 at 00:19
  
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  We’ve had one for a couple months now in Charlotte. Good luck with the one in Tampa!
- Ted
  
  July 22nd, 2008 at 02:00
  
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  “hooliganism”
- Palm Beach Bike Tours
  
  July 22nd, 2008 at 05:59
  
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  Hooliganism? Hmmm… That is almost enough of a hook to get me to come over from the east coast. {grin}
  
  Those of you with multiple bikes: Do you ever have more trouble figuring out which bike to ride to such an event than figuring out what to wear?
  
  —Matt
- Iron Man
  
  July 22nd, 2008 at 08:53
  
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  Good luck. YouTube is full of the worst of the worst in Critical Mass confrontations. I hope your experience is a good one. I’m pretty mixed on the idea too. Then again even the MS150 can turn into an impromptu Critical Mass as the cyclists outnumber the motorists and block traffic.
- Dominic Dougherty
  
  July 22nd, 2008 at 09:29
  
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  I am a critical mass everytime I practice vehicular.
- MarkR
  
  July 22nd, 2008 at 10:08
  
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  There goes the neighborhood. If they want to be heard, they should act like adults and get in front of city council, Planning department and Planning and zoning every single week. That would certainly be more productive, than pissing people off during Friday rush hour. I hope the cops crack down on them. C-Massers make all cyclists look bad.
  
  Cyclist Against Critical Mass
- Dominic Dougherty
  
  July 22nd, 2008 at 10:55
  
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  /cycling.
  
  How did that get cut off?
- Ted
  
  July 22nd, 2008 at 10:58
  
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  Re: MarkR
  
  You’re probably one of those sunday club dipshits who try stuff out at the LBS then order online.
- Ted
  
  July 22nd, 2008 at 10:59
  
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  You probably also snub the local advocacy groups, who are the ones going to city council, etc.
- MarkR
  
  July 22nd, 2008 at 11:56
  
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  Ted,
  
  You couldn’t be more off. Why would I be here if I were a so called “sunday club *&^%.”
  In fact its rare for me to ride on weekends most of my bike time comes during the week. only weekend miles are runs to the store or cruising the bike trails with my children. You see Ted, I commute to work 9mi each way 3-4 days a week on city suburb streets. and on Mondays I don’t commute because I organize a weekday social bike ride at Lake Pflugerville, in Pflugerville, Tx.
  I’m a member of L.A.B. and support their cause. While on occasion I buy online, most of the time I buy from the LBS, Nelos in Austin is my favorite, second is Bicycle Sports Shop. But you cant bet Nelos for maintenance. And unfortunately my Burb doesn’t have a bike shop or I’d buy there.
  
  In addition not only do I support advocacy I also sit on a city council appointed economic development board and use my voice to defend cyclists and promote cycling events in my community. So Ted just because I don’t support Critical mass and the crap it causes, don’t assume that I don’t support cyclists and don’t assume I am not a cycling advocate in my own right.
  
  I also don’t believe C-mass is cycling advocacy, but rather a hindrance to advocacy. when I fight for cycling the first thing I get is “your not one of those are you?” (those refering to: c-massers) because it always comes up and if you want to turn someone off to cycling just mention how you love to participate in an illegal parade, on Fridays during rush hour, break as many traffic laws as possible just to rub car commuters in your non exhaust. That turns the average non cyclist off faster than LNDD can leak a unconfirmed doping positive.
  
  Critical mass should only be used when all other avenues of political pressure have been exhausted. Instead it is abused, and over used and causes more problems than it solves. Critical mass is a problem not a problem solver.
  
  A Cyclist Against Critical Mass
- Dominic Dougherty
  
  July 22nd, 2008 at 12:21
  
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  I think that maybe Ted is the organizer of his local CM and get’s a little touchy when anybody questions his narrow view of advocacy.
  
  It takes all kinds in this world… wouldn’t it be nice if all of those “kinds” could band together?
  Cyclists have such a soft voice as it is and often times it is wasted flaming other “kinds” of cyclists. Hipster kids on fixies, Sunday club riders, that girl on the beach path with her little dog in the front basket… we’re all cyclists.
- Palm Beach Bike Tours
  
  July 22nd, 2008 at 12:54
  
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  I’ve never done a Critical Mass ride and don’t know much about the event. In all seriousness, if Critical Mass is anything like the Ride of Silience, I’m probably going to end up in MarkR’s camp.
  
  The on-road advocacy efforts that come out of the bike community tend to be counter-productive. Pissing-off motorists rarely inspires positive sentiment or action on our behalf. Further, when one cyclist is a jerk, a motorist can write it off as a single person being a jerk and move on. When you have an entire peloton of riders being technically correct but practically jerkish, well, that is harder to write off as a spurious anomaly.
  
  (Yes, it is possible to obey all traffic laws and still be a jerk.)
  
  On the other hand, the commuter profiles on this web site and the people actually putting in the daily miles are helping the cause. Rolling up to work on a bike is far more effective a medium and message than holding up traffic on a Friday afternoon.
  
  —Matt
- MarkR
  
  July 22nd, 2008 at 13:05
  
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  I agree Dominic I’d love to just get a long. And i’m Positive Ted and I would probably agree many cycling related discussions and issues.
  
  But when it comes to an organized effort that is most notably known for flagrant disregard for traffic safety and puts people in danger. Well thats something I can not ever support, or even stay silent about.
  Now a Courteous Mass which is most notably known as polar opposite of a critical mass. Thats something I might be able to support.
- Ted
  
  July 22nd, 2008 at 13:22
  
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  I’m really glad I was wrong, but Critical Mass was one of the first forms of bicycle advocacy and to simply write it off as childish and impotent struck a raw chord with me. The myriad differences between a sun belt suburb and a rust belt city necessarily entail different problems.
- Ted
  
  July 22nd, 2008 at 13:26
  
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  Err one of the first to reach that level of popularity/exposure. I wish there was an edit function.
- RL
  
  July 22nd, 2008 at 13:39
  
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  “You’re probably one of those sunday club dipshits who try stuff out at the LBS then order online.”
  
  Ted, c’mon be nice.
- Dominic Dougherty
  
  July 22nd, 2008 at 14:01
  
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  “Critical Mass was one of the first forms of bicycle advocacy”
  
  You could not be more wrong.
  
  Regarding the League of American Bicyclists: “The League was founded as the League of American Wheelmen in 1880. Bicyclists, known then as “wheelmen”, were challenged by rutted roads of gravel and dirt and faced antagonism from horsemen, wagon drivers, and pedestrians.
  
  In an effort to improve riding conditions so they might better enjoy their newly discovered sport, more than 100,000 cyclists from across the United States joined the League to advocate for paved roads. The success of the League in its first advocacy efforts ultimately led to our national highway system.”
- Ghost Rider
  
  July 22nd, 2008 at 14:51
  
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  Hmmm…all this conversation is why I stated that I have mixed feelings about CM. MarkR and I have “discussed” this on another site, and I think we are more or less in agreement (my feeling being that CM could be a worthwhile event if participants are discouraged from acting like douchebags).
  
  And, CM is a “Johnny Come Lately” in terms of cycling advocacy. There are many more organizations and group events that precede CM rides by decades.
- MarkR
  
  July 22nd, 2008 at 15:28
  
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  Yeah, I had to stir the pot didn’t I Ghost Rider?
  
  I just think C-mass has so much negative to over come, its unable to be productive. You have to start something different such as the Courteous Mass to help the situation, once people realize you are following the rules you’ll get less flack. I’d be fine with it if they would follow the rules of the road but thats not the Critical mass way of doing things. again just to much negative to over come.
  
  If readers want to know about Critical mass, when it started and where. Here is the wikipedia link.
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Critical_Mass
  
  A lot of info and not very much puts the event in good light. Its a lot of conflict, very little resolution. I would love to see the day in the USA where there are hundreds of cyclist clogging the streets of major cities as they go to and from work, the store ect. in a NATURAL manner.
  But yes, I’ll admit I think Critical Mass comes across as immature and counter productive. Its existence is to disrupt peoples lives for shock value. Thats why its held at rush hour on Fridays. When I bike commute I have enough trouble navigating Green lawn blvd, the road that splits the Dell HQ campus at rush hour on Friday without getting hit. The last thing I would want is artificial congestion created by cyclists who want to “make a statement.” would it bother me if there were a couple hundred bike commuters with me? No because it would be natural. But it did piss me off the other day when I was at the light waiting for it to change when some bone head, pulls up on his bike, says hi then proceeds to blow through said red light. Its ok though, I caught and passed him with my loaded down panniers. I didn’t even have to go faster than usual to make my point that you don’t have to blow through red lights to get home in a timely manner.
  
  But in reality I think critical mass just exacerbates the problem and causes more road rage.
- Ghost Rider
  
  July 22nd, 2008 at 15:57
  
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  Well, I’m hoping this local CM is more courteous and respectful of the rules than I’ve heard about in other cities. This will be the VERY first CM ride here in Tampa, so perhaps if it starts off on a positive note, it will continue to operate as such. Let’s pray that the hooligans don’t descend upon the ride and act like dummies.
  
  You’re very right, Mark…CM in general has a LOT of negative press to overcome. It may be too late to change.
  
  Is there really a “Courteous Mass” movement going on, or did you come up with that name?
- MarkR
  
  July 22nd, 2008 at 16:38
  
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  There are a few, google it. at the bottom of the critical mass page it says the first one was actually here in Austin, Tx. in 2001 but further digging shows it was disbanded some time in 2002. They are noted to be like critical mass only that they usually are at peak traffic times but unlike CM they follow the local traffic laws. 2 abreast, stop at lights etc….
- MarkR
  
  July 22nd, 2008 at 16:40
  
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  Near the bottom of the wikipedia CM page that is.
- Nord
  
  July 23rd, 2008 at 14:13
  
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  I’ve done a couple CMs here in Houston. The first time, six riders, and the kid with the anarchy tatoo kept getting frustrated with stopping at red lights.
  
  The second time, about 50 riders, and before we take off, some dude (leader?) gets up and asks the crowd “how many of you want to follow traffic laws, use hand signals, stop at stop lights, etc.” Only my hand goes up (I’m a lawyer, after all)
  
  Then he asks, how many of you want to shut the city down and blow through stop lights, etc., and all the others start hooting and hollering.
  
  I half expected him to feed off the furor and lead the charge, but instead he dressed everyone down, gave them a little lecture about the purpose of CM, and then asked if their preferred method was really the best face to put on bike advocacy. Commence a lot of aw-shucks, looking down, kicking ground, hands in pockets.
  
  We stopped at lights that night.
- critical mass rider
  
  July 25th, 2008 at 13:00
  
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  Being nice and making friends isn’t the only way to create change, you know. Sometimes, in the process of creating change, some people will get pissed off about it. Sometimes some people will be inconvenienced by the way you go about creating change.
  
  And there will always be a faction within the people who theoretically support change who say “wait a minute, when we talked about making change, I thought you meant only in a friendly, gentlemanly way. This kind of stuff is going to upset people!”
  
  These people are idealists of another stripe. They tend to believe that if we’re calm and proper enough, go through the established channels and fill out the right forms, everyone will appreciate that so much that they’ll come to support our logically superior position. They feel that therefore, any activity which draws lots of attention to the cause (some of which will inevitably be negative attention) is counter-productive, because although it raises awareness of our issues, it also makes some people angry.
  
  This type of idealist focuses on the angry people, and sees every one of them as someone who would have otherwise been a supporter – now turned into an opponent. Sometimes they ignore the people who have become supporters as a result of increased attention to the issues, and other times they claim credit themselves for those new supporters, ignoring the role that “divisive” activities played in gaining their support.
  
  Some would say these people are a drag on any movement for change, but not me. They’re good, because they’re idealists, and we need that. They do an excellent job at a particular kind of activism – namely the kind where you make friends and be civil – and we need that too. The only problem comes when they try to tell everyone else how to act, that their way is the only way.
  
  There’s a simple solution to this problem: Support them when they need support, appreciate them when they accomplish great things, and ignore them when they try to tell you what to do.
- Ghost Rider
  
  July 25th, 2008 at 13:50
  
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  Hmm…I like that! Good points, Critical Mass Rider. Sometimes change is an ugly, confrontational process.
- Big Matt
  
  July 25th, 2008 at 20:46
  
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  Just got back from the first Tampa Critical Mass, and from my perspective, it was a great success. We turned some heads, and got quite a bit of positive reaction from the motorists we came in contact with. No one who attended was in any way confrontational, and there was a real sense of community among the participating cyclists.
  
  This CM has definitely started out on the right foot, and I have great hopes that this thing will grow while maintaining the sense of respect and camaraderie we experienced today.
- Ghost Rider
  
  July 25th, 2008 at 20:50
  
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  My experiences EXACTLY — a friendly group and a lot of cheering and honk from motorists. I hope to God we can keep this up.
  
  I had to cut short on the ride, though, so I missed quite a bit…nevertheless, I’m pleased and I look forward to the next month’s ride.
  
  Any photos? I got a couple crappy ones from the back…
- Drew
  
  August 1st, 2008 at 11:39
  
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  When is the next one???
- Ghost Rider
  
  August 1st, 2008 at 12:51
  
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  The last Friday of August…at 6:30PM. Same place, same Bat Channel. At least that’s what they tell me…
- chris
  
  July 22nd, 2009 at 07:26
  
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  Im so excited about this.
  
  good outcome or bad, riding is becoming a passion fast, I ride everyday of the week,
  the moment I saddle up im happy. Any events to bring bikers together sounds good to me, just like any other event that brings people of the same interest together.
- ProEdgeBiker.com
  
  November 28th, 2010 at 22:02
  
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  Hope it comes back!
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