April 27, 2007

The Critical Mass Morons rode into my neighborhood tonight. I had gone out for a walk at twilight and noticed news helicopters hovering over the panhandle. So I strolled over to Fell Street, getting there just in time to see the rear police echelon go by. Happy that I missed the main body, I crossed Fell and turned south along the Panhandle walk/bike path. There seemed to be a number of bicyclists on the path--maybe they were stragglers, maybe just the normal number out on a warm spring evening.

Nothing noteworthy happened until I turned north on Masonic to head home. In the block between Grove and Fulton, two riders whipped by--came up behind me, one on either side, going somewhere between 10 and 15 mph. The burst of window as they went by was enough to make my shirt feel like it was being sucked off momentarily. And if it's not obvious, I was on the sidewalk. The riders continued pedaling furiously and crossed Fulton against the red, naturally. They went part way up the hill towards McAllister before doubling back and stopping by the stairs that lead down to Albertsons.

They were still there when I crossed Fulton. And as I walked past I overheard them debating about whether to buy beer there or keep riding to the Mass's end and hook up with friends. So irritating that these jackasses could get away with treating the sidewalk like a race course.

Typical of Critical Mass mentality though.

Don't get me wrong. I'm sympathetic to the larger idea. I walk and ride frequently in the city. I have seen bad behavior from drivers first hand. But the monthly ride has degenerated into a stage for the fringe anti-social types to take out their aggression on unsuspecting people. Be they motorists, joggers, pedestrians or even other cyclists. These hooligans lash out with seeming invincibility because the police have inexplicably opted to ignore the law breaking.

It's time for Critical Mass to die.