cyclist trying to keep her calm: Uh, I think the police already know.
I'm speechless. Drivers had no idea what hit them. When the bikes first started coming, they may have groaned, looking at their watches, realizing it was the last friday of the month. Or they may have smiled, realizing it was the last friday of the month - a minor inconvenience to allow the bicyclists to make their point. They had NO idea. This was no ordinary Mass.
It was the 10th Anniversary of Critical Mass and it was HUGE. There are no numbers in yet, although I heard one estimate of 8000 cyclists on the streets of San Francisco. It paralyzed Muni, with light rail cars and buses at a standstill all the way down Market St. Every intersection was a critical mess. I tried in vain to get to the front of the Mass. My mind boggled at the size of this thing, I couldn't grasp it. I was trying to get to the front so I could stop and watch it go by.
San Francisco started Critical Mass 10 years ago and it has spread to cities around the world. People came. The people who came indicated where they came from on signs. Massachussetts. Kentucky. Philadelphia. Germany. Seattle. England. Rio de Janeiro.
I got to yell, for the first time in my life, "Go back to where you fucking came from, you fucking teabag" to a British-accented motorist who could only vent his road-rage frustration with racism. Mind you, my comment was aimed at only this one person. I apologize to anyone else of British descent who might take offense, as I have nothing against the British. Aside from Tony Blair puppydogging behind Dubya. Anyway, and it felt good. I grew up with "Go back to where you came from" yelled at me, and I could only respond with "America - love it or leave it". It was immature, it was uncivilized, it was barbaric, it was human, but I did it and I can't say that in the same situation, I wouldn't have done it again. In fact, I regret not catching up to him as it took a few moments to think, "I can chase down this racist fucking bastard". I saw panic in his gas pedal as I came up from behind and he peeled off down another street. I don't know what I would have done, banged on his window, spat, if I had thought of it, I would have major keyed his fucking car. Does a racist remark equal in value a new paint job for your car? It's relative, and for me, hell yeah!
Anyway, my feelings are mixed about this experience. This Mass was impressive, but a little too intense. A higher mix of hostility in the boisterousness. One of the ideas behind Crit Mass is to raise awareness of cycling issues in the city. We can shut down traffic and we will do it again if we don't have more bicycle-friendly action in City Hall. But we can't do it again. The numbers we got today was a one time thing.
MUNI was brought to a complete halt because once the buses got downtown, there was no where for them to go.
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| September 27, 7:06 p.m. |
