Critical Mass (cycling)
Critical Mass is a form of direct action in which people travel as a group on bicycles at a set location and time.
The idea is for people to group together to make it safe for each other to ride bicycles through their streets, based on the old adage: there's safety in numbers.
[5][6] This stance allows Critical Mass to argue a legal position that its events can occur without advance notification of local police.
At that time, the event was known as Commute Clot and was composed of a couple of dozen cyclists who had received flyers on Market Street.
In that film, American human-powered vehicle and pedicab designer George Bliss noted that, in China, both motorists and bicyclists had an "understood" method of negotiating intersections without signals.
The disorganized nature of the event allows it to largely escape clampdown by authorities who may view the rides as forms of parades or organized protest.
In order for the event to function, the only requirement is a sufficient turn-out to create a "critical mass" of riders dense enough to occupy a piece of road to the exclusion of drivers of motorized vehicles.
For example, many small cities have monthly Critical Mass rides with fewer than twenty riders which offer safety in numbers[14] to cyclists in those locales, while on the opposite extreme, in what have been the largest events using the name Critical Mass, cyclists in Budapest, Hungary hold only two rides each year on April 22 (Earth Day) and September 22 (International Car Free Day).
[21] The extensive news coverage of San Francisco's July 1997 ride spawned an international celebration of bicycling, called Bike Summer.
[23] The movement gained momentum in North America and Europe and set a record in September 2019, when 1100 riders took part in Dortmund, Germany.
The Tweed Run (along with various other vintage bike rides) is a well dressed mass which takes place annually in a number of cities across the world.
Since there is no permit for the ride, riders are asked to follow three rules: have fun, respect the community, and obey all traffic laws.
Critical Manners rides through the city on the second Friday of the month, with riders encouraged to obey all traffic laws such as stopping at red lights and signaling.
Rides start on 2nd Thursday of every month, meeting at Woodruff Park in downtown Atlanta and a focus on promoting local small business and cycling for commuting, social and civic engagement.
[50] Some bicycling advocacy groups have expressed concern that the nature of Critical Mass and altercations with motorists could weaken public support for cyclists.
