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Citywide bike ride may end in autumn
Ten-year Critical Mass ride sees rebirth via groups that are smaller
BY CELESTE BUSK
Chicago Sun Times | 13-Jul-2007

A victim of its own success, come this autumn, Chicago Critical
Mass' 10th anniversary bike ride on Sept. 28 might be the last
time the cycling group officially pedals en masse, some
participants say.

Longtime critical mass participant Michael Burton said that
"as the rides have grown [to as many as 2,000 bikers], some
feel that it has strayed from its original altruistic roots
and has become just another big bike-a-thon. Others have been
offended by public drunkenness, nudity, noisy sound systems
and ill manners that now are all too common on many mass
rides." Still others have complained the large group rides
create traffic jams.

Even so, Burton said that in the past decade, the rides have
fostered friendships, brought communities closer together,
and have spawned programs to help the city such as the
Campaign for Free and Clear, which put basic bike facilities
on the lakefront.

"This [September] should be the last ride -- a grand finale to
commemorate the original values on which the rides were based:
civility, self-reliance, fresh air and fellowship," said Burton,
who has been biking with Critical Mass for 10 years.

For the uninitiated, Chicago Critical Mass is not an
organization, but a group ride that has been leaving at
5:30 p.m. on the last Friday of the month from the Daley Center
Plaza in the Loop for the past 10 years. It has no leaders, but
is autonomous. Before each ride, participants submit maps of
proposed routes and the group takes a vote (via bullhorn).
Most of the routes have a destination neighborhood.

Part of a national movement, Chicago Critical Mass began in
1997 with about 200 cyclists and has grown to include as many
as 2,000 riders, as in June's ride. The group's Web site --
www.chicagocriticalmass.org -- says Critical Mass bike
riders believe strongly that the city and country are too
car-dependent, that cars devour too many resources, occupy too
much space, and do too much damage to the environment.

Bikes, they say, are a partial solution to car-glut.

Although some longtime participants predict a September swan
song, Burton is quick to point out that the citywide ride has
spawned smaller, more manageable, group bike rides in
neighborhoods throughout the city and suburbs.

"There are rides now in Pilsen, Evanston and Oak Park, and I've
been hearing that there is talk of having rides in Humboldt Park
and Hyde Park," Burton said.

"Having a bunch of rides throughout the Chicago area is easier
to deal with than having one central ride," Burton
said. "Personally, when our huge group rides stop traffic and
CTA buses, it misses the point. Public transportation is
sustainable, and we shouldn't be stopping buses."