Monday, June 9, 2014

Critical Mass rides in South Florida leave motorists angry, police concerned. - Sun Sentinel

The bicycle Critical Mass rides are getting a new moniker in some circles. Click title for link to the Sun-Sentinel article. The ride here in Lake Worth takes place on the first Friday of the month, leaving at Bryant Park around 7 p.m. Behavior of the cyclists varies from group to group, or event within the group. From the article:
A monthly ritual in cities throughout South Florida, Critical Mass rides are loosely organized and largely unsupervised. Often taking place near sunset on public roadways, the rides can draw anywhere from a few dozen to several thousand cyclists, many of them good-natured people in search of light recreation and heavy socializing. The group's putative goals are to encourage cycling in metropolitan areas, engender a sense of community among cyclists and motorists, and champion cyclists' rights. Even Miami Heat stars LeBron James and Dwyane Wade have joined in.
But as the number of Critical Mass participants has increased, and as more cities promote cycling as an environmentally friendly alternative to commuting by automobile, the relationship between cyclists and drivers has only gotten more hostile, as the rides tend to clog traffic and uncork aggression.
An April 25 ride, for example, drew about 4,000 cyclists, all but shutting down the Venetian Causeway and parts of Miami Beach and Miami. Inconvenienced drivers and residents unleashed a flurry of complaints on social media about "Critical Massholes."