Last Friday I attended Critical Mass in Toronto for the very first time. If you haven't heard of critical mass before, it's essentially a big bike ride. The motto for Toronto critical mass is: we're not blocking traffic, we are traffic. The first critical mass took place on September 25, 1992 in San Francisco; however, for that first ride, it was known as the Commute Clot. The reason it became known as critical mass is because after the first ride, those who participated went to see a film about cycling. The film, Return of the Scorcher, showed that when a critical mass of cyclists and motorists in China reached an intersection where there were no signals, the crowd would continue through the intersection. There are now at least 325 cities that host critical mass every last Friday of the month including Seattle, Honolulu, Riga (Latvia) and Vilnius (Lithuania).
There's definitely something about critical mass that can't really be explained. It's that feeling of being part of a crowd and participating in something bigger than yourself. That being said, it does feel strange to have motorists supporting you (some honked for us). If they are for it, why aren't they cycling home from their jobs?
About Me
- Miriam Katz
- I'm 27 and right now I'm living in Konstanz, Germany for 3 months. I'm doing research here as part of my Master's in Environmental Studies. In my spare time, I play ultimate frisbee and I dance. I first became a published writer at the age of 15 when I wrote an article for the Toronto Star about internet chat rooms. Since then, I have also had poetry published and an academic paper concerning wind energy policy. I graduated with an honours bachelor of arts in political science and environmental studies from the University of Toronto.
1 comment:
Being a part of the large group while holding a certain level of freedom or own will, nevertheless feeling the movement of the whole.
That's the ctitical mass.
If we can feel the movement of our society we'll be exilarating as if we are in the critical mass every day.
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