I’ve been living in Chicago for two years now and I’m ashamed to say I just found out about Critical Mass a couple weeks ago! In simple terms, this is a bike ride…for the entire city of Chicago. Anyone with a bike (and the ability to ride it) can participate, and hundreds of people gather together for one giant bike ride that literally takes over the streets of Chicago!
The bikers rode down my street and I was in awe of how much fun they were having and was quite jealous. I might buy a bike just to participate in this. “The Mass itself has no political agenda, though, no more than the people of any other community do. Critical Mass is open to all, and it welcomes all riders to join in a celebration of riding bicycles. Why? Because bikes are fun!” Awesome, right? That quote was taken directly off the Critical Mass website. They pride themselves on being nothing more than a gathering of fun people who love biking as well as the city of Chicago.
The term “critical mass” comes from a documentary by Ted White called “Return of the Scorcher”. Another cool thing about Critical Mass is that there is no leader or formal structure, everyone who participates shares part of the leadership! There are occasional meetings, but only when people want to meet, and it’s usually at a bar or someone’s apartment. There also isn’t just one “official” website; anyone can make one to share information about the ride. The most legitimate website I found is http://chicagocriticalmass.org/. Please feel free to check it out for more information! Next time you see a mass of bikers taking over your street, yell “Happy Friday” and bask in the happiness! The next ride is October 26th at 5:30 pm.