Eye on Blogs

Riding with Critical Mass was a Riot  

by Joe Vazquez

We knew getting "Critical Mass" on camera would be a challenge. CBS5 devoted two roving photographers in live trucks and another in our "Chopper 5" helicopter overhead.    

But to truly capture the ride, we decided we had to ride along with a smaller camera attached to my bike helmet, which also provided me with an intimate perspective on one of San Francisco's most interesting traditions.  

Our engineers strapped a "flip camera" - a small video camera -  to my bike helmet.  Don Sharp - our news operations manager - loaned me his bike, and away we went.  

Before the ride began, I talked to some of the riders. There were young novices and older bicycle enthusiasts.  Professionals, students, tourists -- the crowd was packed with people who had one thing in common:  an infectious enthusiasm.  

Yes, they recognized they were about to break some traffic laws, but they felt strongly about sending a message.   What message?  Depends who you ask.  

"Some people do it for fun and others for exercise," said one rider.  "That’s the real beauty!"  

"It's fun anarchy.  Anarchy in a good way," said another anonymous rider.   

"The purpose is to increase visibility of bicyclists," said one older rider who said he had participated in many critical mass rides.  "To increase awareness that bikes are part of the transportation system."  

"I kind of feel that there should be a more designated route instead of messing up traffic everywhere, but that’s not really up to me," said "the bubble lady"; a woman wearing pink who had a device on the back of her bike that blows out bubbles, which she described as a "metaphor for car exhaust."  

More than a thousand riders congregated at Justin Herman Plaza, before riding up Market Street at about 6:20 PM.  We circled Union Square several times, angering some motorists.  Keep in mind this is rush hour, and tying up traffic is the point of Critical Mass.  

The driver of a white SUV tried to push his way through, but the bikes surrounded him, parked in front of him, and shut him down.  

One driver at Union Square was flabbergasted that the police would just ride along in their motorcycles and not pave a way for the cars.  

"It's the wildest thing I've ever seen, actually," he sputtered.  "The cop told me there's nothing he could do.  I've never heard a cop say that!"  

We drove up through the Chinatown entrance on Grant Street and encountered a taxi who was so angry, he was leaning on his horn and flipping the bird.  

"Do you feel for them? "  I asked one rider.  "They’re trying to get home on a Friday night.  It’s rush hour!"  

"No, because I commute down Market street every day of my life and I get practically run into every day of my life," he said.  "No sympathy."  

The ride went on for two hours:  through the Broadway tunnel, down past City Hall, and into the Mission district before circling back around the city several times.  It ended around 8:30 back in Justin Herman Plaza.  

It was difficult for our CBS5 photographers to follow along in their live trucks. The riders are leaderless, so there is no schedule or pre-planned route.  It goes where the crowd takes it.   We often stopped in the middle of a street and did a u-turn.  The photographers would have to stop their trucks, find a place to park, and by then -- the mass was gone!  

That left me to shoot with my helmet camera, and along the way, I found myself unusually sentient.  

As a reporter, I am not supposed to feel anything while covering a story. That's how we are trained:  focus on the story.  Get it right.  Be fair.  Leave your human reactions out of the story.  

In this case, though, I was feeling it.   My legs were sore and tired (because I haven't been on a bike in two years!)  The sunset was glorious.  Music was blaring from boom boxes on bikes.  

The party atmosphere made it easier to forget that the selfish actions of the bicyclists were cutting into people’s lives.  We were blocking intersections, running red lights and keeping people from going home to their families on a Friday night.  Still, the power derived from being part of such a large crowd made it seem like our experience was more important.   

Yes, critical mass makes a "mess" as our TV promotions blare.  And, yes, I think it's fair that we ask whether we can afford the event during these difficult economic times.  

It's also fair to say that most riders were well-behaved and even polite (I watched one rider actually apologize to a car driver for tying up traffic).   

Critical mass is a riot, not just because it's a moving mob with a cause.  It’s a riot because it’s a celebration every bit as exhilarating as it is exasperating.  A true San Francisco tradition.