Critical mass bike ride philadelphia, may 2008

Critical Mass meets on the west side of Philadelphia City Hall at 6:00 on the last Friday of every month. CM is an opportunity to take the lane without any fear of being run over. For an hour and a half each months bicyclists are taking over the streets instead of putting our lives in the hands of motor vehicle operators. Weather was beautiful this month, but the ride was marred by a couple of wipeouts, one extremely serious. I'm not sure what happened to the rider, but I heard that a man was taken away unconscious in an ambulance after falling in the 5th Street tunnel. I hope he's OK Another guy wrecked in the first few minutes of the ride while riding a bike with no rear tyre. There's commitment! You can see him endo in one of the early shots after we take off. Later, you can see him walking home with the wrecked bike over his shoulder. As usual the ride attracted little attention from the police. A bike cop did join the ride on the second loop around City Hall. I was curious to see what would unfold, but actually the office was only interested in busting the BMX riders who you can see crossing the Critical Mass to go go do tricks around City Hall. The people in orange uniforms standing in the road near the start were demonstrating against the US base in Guantanamo Bay. Other landmarks this ride include Philly's avenue of the arts, the Kimmel Center, University of the Arts, and the Cirque du Soleil which is paying the city a visit with its show "Kooza." Other landmarks included the Italian Market, South Street, including a new mural on the fire station, the Constitution Center, and Logan circle. The latter was not part of the route, but I ended up there trying to get back to the ride after the accident on 5th. I rode for a while with a splinter group that met up with the main crew in Rittenhouse Square, which is probably my favorite CM locale. No tall bikes or other craziness this ride, but there were a couple of off the shelf cruisers, a tandem and a couple of folding bikes. Is Mass a perfect advocacy tool? Far from it, but CM does help us get a taste of what it's like to really have some power on the streets. Music is by Motorhead... probably not big cyclists judging by the name, even though the song "Silver Machine" is allegedly about a bicycle. See you next month.