T - 10 days 'till CRITICAL MASS!!!

Ten days away and counting the seconds... until...

CRITICAL MASS!

Meet at 5pm on the UT West Mall, Friday the 26th for the biggest, baddest, sweatiest, craziest, longest-running monthly ride in Austin. We've been getting 200+ people to show up for these rides and now that the weather is cooler and the students are back and in the swing of things they're only going to be getting bigger.

Does bigger = better? It does if we make it so. There have been lots of new, relatively inexperienced bikers showing up for the monthly rides and as excited as I am to see all their smiling faces, we've gotta show 'em a better way of riding. Behaving like an ass when you're on your own is one thing, since it doesn't get anyone hurt but you. Behaving like an ass with a crowd around is dangerous and stupid. I've seen people clip wheels (and have had it happen to me), stop abruptly (usually a skid-stop) in front of other cyclists, swerve around cars and cyclists causing near-misses, spit on cars, blocking/slowing traffic when they don't have to, all sorts of shit like that. C'mon y'all, save the stunting for your parking lot sessions and the aggression for the after-ride bicycle demolition derby. Ok maybe that last part only exists in my dreams, but it'd be hella fun nonetheless.

I love these rides, they've been life changing for me and for a lot of the people I consider my friends. I'm just frustrated at what I see as a lack of discretion amongst some of my fellow bikers. I don't like cars. I've been injured by them, I've had them break my bikes. I just know that they're bigger than me and that antagonizing them will only end in pain. I may get a good swipe in but in the end, the car can (and has) run me down without even trying. I don't blame the person inside the car, since it seems that outside of the thing they're perfectly reasonable people. It's just when they turn their brains off and allow the car to take over that they become that thing we hate: THE CAGER. Cut them some slack. They're not necessarily evil, just weak-willed and soft-minded, bowing to the whims of their vehicle. Take the high ground, don't stoop to the car's level.

Jesus Christ, I'm sounding like a crotchety old dude. Ignore what I have to say, ride however you want. Just means the cops'll have bigger fish to fry than the tattooed guy smiling and waving at the asshole cars when they come down on us because of this shit.

P.S. I'm not innocent, but I'm trying to be better. There's an after-party already planned for this ride. Try to bring a few bucks so we can get a keg together quickly. Hell, how about channeling that ride aggression into kicking all the keg-hopping hipsters that didn't ride Critical Mass and don't like my music the hell out of the party this month. Talk about a soul-sucking void. I think I heard an audible "pop" when they finally left last time.