June 24 is the 2000+5 Wheels Ride!

Hey Everybody,
[velolove list is still not working!]

It's only a few more days until the Gigantic 2000+5 Wheels Critical Mass Bike Ride. The Grande Finale Street Party Rolling Celebration end of June Bike Month. The idea is to have about 1000 riders [x2 wheels per bike] or 667 tricyclists or 250 rollerbladers... or any combination thereof. Here is a few pictures from last year.

As usual the details are:
Last Friday of the Month, June 24th 2005
Meet at Vancouver Art Gallery anytime after 5pm
Departure around 6pm
Riding around the city for fun, and our future
Everybody welcomed, FREE

Bring a bike, skate, wheelchair, rollercouch, trike, unicycle... jog if you are energetic. Dress up and bring bells, whistles, music systems - everything to make it more FUN

Full details on the website.

This is probably the least pre-organised/promoted Giant June Critical Mass so far. The idea started in 2003 and back then it was called the 1000 wheels ride because we were hoping for 500 riders/skaters to show up. Before then the biggest monthly Vancouver Critical Mass ride was about 2-300 people. We totally surpassed that amount that year and about 800 people showed up. Last year we called it the 2000+4 Wheels Ride hoping for 1002 in attendance. It rained last year, and people being people, we didn't quite have 1000 people riding but it sure was fun anyway with 800 people again - in the RAIN! [and technically we counted 2004 wheels because of all the many wheeled skateboards and rollerskates].

So this year, can we do it? Can we get 1000 riders. If the weather co-operates then for sure! If you tell all your friends that it is not to be missed and they tell their friends. There is less promotion this year but then it is starting to have some momentum of its own. Critical Mass is the theory and the name. Word of mouth is the surest method of communication their is - slow and steady - we bypass the corporate controlled media to tell other cyclists who share this city one-on-one! No one is in charge so we are all in charge, lets take care of each other and make this happen.

One day we won't have to organise special rides because Critical Mass will be everyday and cycling for transportation and fun will be safe and comfortable in our city. Imagine such sanity!?! The only traffic jam is a pleasant chance to talk to your neighbour. A world without everyone boxed it. A sky which is thanking us. We can do it, we are strong in one another. We don't block traffic, because we are traffic: Every year it is more and more true. 'Tis the waning of the age of automobiles and the dawning of the age of human powered FREEDOM in the most real sense of the word.

XOXO take care and take the lane,
vancouver bicycle tricksters

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Please Post a Notice about the ride and be sure to show your friends:
There are 2 poster designs made so far.

#1 David has made a lovely poster which you can
Download from his website here.

#2 Bev has redone an old favourite poster in two formats,
a full 8.5x11 sheet, and a quarter sheet handbill layout.

#3 New posters by Rusl

Print and Propagate! Feel free to modify,
YOU are the Critical Mass organiser:

^^^Click on this image to link with a
printable PDF document. You need something like
Adobe Acrobat to view and print which you can download free.
download the Quarter Page Handbill version Here.

There are many many old posters on the CM website [the date is old, or the email address out of date] that you can cut and paste to make your own design, or draw your own. If you send them to us we will post them here for others to download and print. [please email before sending, create in PDF format ideally]

For more information email: spam@@ @@bikesexual.. ..org

-OR- bcanuel@@ @@shaw.. ..ca
(The extra "@" and "..." is to deter junkmail)