Critical Mass

(In addition to a great report by Jeremy Grant, Bikeside has a list of things that you can do to make certain that justice is served in this case.  Including a "Storm the Bastille" ride to this week's meeting of the Bike Advisory Committee)

The Post reports that the jury has reached a mixed verdict in the trial of Patrick Pogan, the ex-NYPD officer who was seen by millions of YouTube viewers slamming his shoulder into approaching cyclist Christopher Long during a 2008 Critical Mass ride, sending Long to the pavement. Pogan was found guilty of falsifying records when … Continued

(I figured some of you would enjoy this.  Originally posted as "A Lost Decade for San Francisco's Critical Mass?" at SF Streetsblog - DN)

Bike discussion sites have been abuzz since last Friday with news that things got ugly when Los Angeles Critical Mass breezed onto Los Angeles Street and ran into an LAPD Squad Car facing against traffic with its lights flashing.  According to eye witnesses, the two officers tackled cyclists off their bikes at the front of the mass and were still trying to drag massers off their bikes at the tail of the mass.  Witnesses claim that there was no announcement that riders should dismount nor any attempt to signal out riders that were lawbreakers, just an attempt to randomly grab cyclists and detain them.  From at one poster at Midnight Ridazz:

(This article is my first effort  to revive  a monthly series on Critical Mass in the Greater Los Angeles area.  Previously Streetsblog has celebrated an anniversary in the Valley, dodged the police in Santa Monica, cruised with the kids in Pasadena,  toured the downtown in Los Angeles, and kicked around in Venice. Why is a policy blog doing a series on Critical Mass?  Simply, it's an uniquely L.A. experience for so many communities to have their own Critical Mass and each ride tells us as much about the community as it does Bike Culture.)

(This article appears as part of a monthly series on Critical Mass in the Greater Los Angeles area.  Previously Streetsblog has dodged the police with Santa Monica Critical Mass, cruised with the kids in Pasadena,  cruised the downtown in Los Angeles, and kicked around in Venice.)

Responding to the over-policing of Critical Mass in Santa Monica, cyclists took to the streets last Friday night to show the SMPD that sometimes following the letter of the law is the worst thing that can be done for traffic.  In what MetBlogs described as an act of “Civil Obedience” 60 cyclists got off their … Continued