June29 Critical Massive!

Be sure to tell your friends
about the big Critical Mass ride!

And share this basic information about
keeping the ride peaceful with inexperienced riders:

• Corking and 'Rules'

Hooray, it's the end of June Bike Month
the last friday of every month is of course the
{you and you're friends and family are invited to the}
JUNE CRITICAL MASSIVE
an especially big and festive Critical Mass
in the city of Vancouver, meet 530, leave 6pm
from the Vancouver Art Gallery Downtown
on the side with all the people with bikes and costumes
bikes are freedom in motion!

You don't want to miss it. It will be the ride of the year. There is nothing like it. For a little while - as many bikes as possible, a better world is possible - is the reality and the streets are taken over by happy cyclists, skaters, joggers, skippers, talkers, tricyclists, unicyclers, wheelchairistas, pedalling gardens, music, costumes etc. And it is all rolling along nicely.

Posters and handouts that you can print and distribute in your neighborhood!

hacked quarter sheet variety TIFF velolove.bc.ca/cmas_2007wheel.pdf velolove.bc.ca/cmas_2007wheel_4up.pdf velolove.bc.ca/cmas_2007wheel_pole_2up.pdf velolove.bc.ca/cmas_2007wheel_pole_4up.pdf flickr.com/groups/vancriticalmassposters/

In keeping with my very low energy blogging this month, I'm going to direct you to last years' info on this blog. There you will find many more posters, a corking flyer, all of which you can modify or make your own relevant to this year.

• June 2006 Corking and 'Rules' to Recycle for 2007
• June 2006 3000 Wheels Ride Posters to Recycle for 2007

[these all need to be -at least- changed to June 29, 2007]

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One of the biggest ride and rolls of the year, on the First Nations' National Day of (In)Action, and possibly the largest ever bike ride to hit the streets of Vancouver, the June Critical Mass Ride closes out this year's Bike Month.

Join fellow bicyclists, skaters, and bladers for this leisurely and spirited ride and roll through the streets of Vancouver. Meet at the Vancouver Art Gallery on the Georgia Street side between 5:00 and 5:30 p.m. -- and roll and ride at 6:00 p.m. The ride is on rain or shine. Decorated bicycles, trailers, costumes, signs, flags, noisemakers, gettoblasters, sound systems, drums, and wildly modified bicycles are all highly encouraged.

After the ride is a party starting 9:00 p.m. at the ANZA Club, 3 West 8th at the Ontario Bike Route.

Pre-rides riding to the Critical Mass:

• UBC riders meet at the UBC Bike Hub, on the north east end of the Student Union Building, at 4:30 p.m. for a group ride to the Vancouver Art Gallery. Phone 604-822-BIKE for details.
• 
  
• East Van riders meet after 4:00 pm, leaving 5pm, from Grandview Park, 1200-block Commercial Drive, for a group ride to the Vancouver Art Gallery.
• 
  Blessing of the Bicycles and Bicyclists. 5pm Come, bells ringing, to the steps of the Cathedral to receive a blessing. Christ Church Cathedral, Burrard and West Georgia, 604-684-6306 x 227
  
• 
  
• Others? Post it here, or here.

Celebrated around the world, Critical Mass is a grassroots reclamation of public space -- on the last Friday of the month -- which allows cyclists and other self-propelled people to move safely and comfortably through city streets in a car-free space. Non-polluting forms of transportation are promoted.

For more information:
velolove@velolove.bc.ca
Upload/View Photos: flickr.com/groups/vancriticalmass/

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So this is the big one. Last year (2006) we advertised it as the 3000 wheels ride. Last year we beat that number by a lot. It will likely be larger this year. There has not been a lot of ride publicity this year, but a lot of it is word of mouth anyways. Each rider brings another next month/year... and it just keeps growing.

It is so big that sometimes we create traffic problems for ourselves and have trouble BEING the Traffic, so to speak. For instance, many have said that narrow streets of one or 2 lanes are just too small to handle the volume of bikes in a reasonable amount of time. Last year I remember standing still for a while and not riding because there was some delay of this sort. Also with the delays people sometimes get frustrated. It is very important that we all try to avoid negative conflicts and keep people together on the same side. Explaining the ideas in the Corking/Rules Flyer is important for new riders to understand this situation. Many responses to the larger ride have been suggested: such as planned routes, split multiple masses, parade float directions, radio communication, rules about avoiding less than 6 lane roads, schemes for instructing people to make friends with stopped car drivers... I am not aware of concensus or widespread planning for any of it, so I will assume that Friday will be a somewhat cohesive somewhat chaotic event. If you want to get in on last minute thinking about this topic then plan with those you know who will be attending or try the velolove discussions.

Let's all remember to have fun on Friday. This is a very serious topics: Cars, the environment, bicycles, public space, safety... all topics too serious to approach without a sense of humour. Smile and wave and talk to the people stuck in cars, nicely encourage them to cut the engine [idling laws, hey] maybe turn up the stereo, party in the streets! It will be gone before you know it, Critical Mass is a beautiful long term moment about preparing for the present using the cycles that we all share.

PS: Tell all drivers to avoid driving downtown Friday Afternoon/evening. Avoid the Lions Gate too. Avoid the downtown bridges and maybe even Broadway. Leave the car at home Friday. Take a bike if you can. It will be faster and funner. Don't think of it as a curtailment. Realise that it is a temporary respite from confinement - a special time when we can step out of the car and feel safe in the street, sharing the city with all of us who love it.