Vancouver Critical Mass

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Yes, we ride the last Friday of every month!

29.8.08

August 29th Critical Mass - Wedding theme!!!

Event Details:

August 29th Critical Mass Ride - Wedding theme!!!

5pm gather, 6pm ride - Vancouver Art Gallery (usual place, usual time)

August is the month of weddings! When you see newlyweds driving around honking with kleenex flowers on their cars and tin cans behind, don't you wish they were on bicycles? Don't you wish YOU were in a seafoam green bridesmaid dress riding along?? I know I sure do! I'm hoping my wish can come true, and lots of people will dress up themselves and their bicycles in wonderful wedding regalia for the next critical mass. Come feel the summer love!

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7 Comments:

  • At 10:56 pm, August 21, 2008, Blogger VanCM Blogger said…

    Could you post a higher-resolution version of the image or link to it? Thanks!

     
  • At 9:50 am, August 22, 2008, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    VeloFusion at the ANZA is a "Beach Party" theme.
    The combination should be interesting...

     
  • At 4:19 pm, September 01, 2008, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    all i can say is that i'm cheesed about this most recent ride.
    we unnecessarily idled for a good 35minutes waiting to get through stanley park, then turned around and had to drive all the way back through van to the ironworkers memorial bridge to rip across the upper levels to make a costly ferry reservation. that was awesome. we wasted gas sitting and idling while the massive ride took over the causeway, and then we burned twice as much by driving all the way back across town. sooo green.

     
  • At 7:33 pm, September 01, 2008, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

     
  • At 7:41 pm, September 01, 2008, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Cmon, play nice...
    I don't know, guys. I've ridden in a number of Critical Masses, but choose not to do so anymore. While I agree with the intent, and continue to participate in other bike-related demonstrations, I find the attitude of too many CMists frustrating and counter-productive. I wonder if it isn't the "unplanned and organic" nature of CM that leads to the "self-righteous" mood of riders. I admit to feeling self-congratulatory when I commute home at rush hour, quickly passing all those suckers trapped in their cards, but the "mass" in critical mass too often seems to create a mob-like us-vs-them attitude.
    I can only assume that the same us-vs-them attitude probably strikes drivers, who must feel trapped and overwhelmed by such a large demonstration. Driving makes almost everyone irritable anyway; to some degree, CM is messing with a monster with a headache.

     
  • At 3:07 pm, September 05, 2008, Blogger VanCM Blogger said…

    Anonymous who drives for ferry reservations: There is a tacit assumption you are making. You think you have a "right" to be driving to your ferry, that that driving is inevitable, and that our delaying or inconveniencing of the inevitable makes CM counter-productive.

    Your assumptions are false. Driving is neither a right nor inevitable. You cannot offload blame for your wasteful behavior (driving a car over one or two bridges) on cyclists.

    Cyclists have a right to be there. Cyclists are pushed to the margins (actually the literal gutter) by all this fatalistic ("inevitable") car driving.

    You have a choice. Right now, by driving anywhere and everywhere - you are choosing to ristrict the mobility of others everyday and to be reckless towards our collective environment and public social space. When you choose so disrespectfully - don't expect others (specifically cyclists or pedestrians) to bend over backwards and accomodate you. Just because the other 29 days of the month you get such preferential treatment (car-only road environment and subsidy) and get allowed to ride roughshod over anyone choosing to be responsible and respectful --- don't get use to it. The days of such inequality are drawing to a close. The era or the private automobile is unsustainable and antiquated.

    Self righteousness is indeed a poisonous mentality. However, cycling is a collectively righteous activity. Yet, due to our laws and economy that sidelines all but the holy car - the cyclist is left to act as an individual only and such difficulties arise. Even CM, a mass event must be an act of individuals coming together rather than something legal or socially supported because it just isn't true that drivers and policy-makers are enabling the road use that must now happen.

    PS: I do agree that it is unfair that the ferry system so dramatically accomodates car usage more than any else so you feel stuck driving to it. The bus/walk/bike-on is an option but it takes a LOT longer due to the lack of basic support (Such as the tunnel being anti-bike, and the bus being overwhelmed)

     
  • At 4:21 pm, September 07, 2008, Blogger wakeful said…

    "Trapped and overwhelmed" does describe feelings i often experience while lawfully riding my bike in BC traffic. Vive les Velos !! Indignant drivers can go suck on a tailpipe, if that's their choice.

     

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