A group of local bicyclists staged a Critical Mass ride on Friday afternoon, starting at Bridge Square.
The group appeared to be having a good time while mostly abiding by traffic laws. The civil disobedience of one well-known but unidentified biker (right photo above) is worth noting.
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Actually Griff, the group started out well-intentioned and law-abiding but then discipline broke down.
I was at the back of the back, with a student from St. Olaf. We discussed our disappointment that some of the “leaders” (alpha dogs of the pack?) were ignoring traffic laws.
She suggested that there should have been a discussion at the beginning of ride about the action being a statement about equal rights for bicyclists but that with the rights came equal responsibilities. In fact, the last Critical Mass that I attended (led by Bruce Anderson and Steve Clark) started with just such a discussion.
The next day, on Saturday morning, there was a Critical Mass by some bicyclists from St. Olaf. They got it right. I wish I’d ridden with the latter group instead of the former group.