Critical Mass

I rode Critical Mass today. It was my second time.

People do CM for lots of different reasons. For me, it's a cultural and political form of protest, a way to make a statement in truly a palpable way.

The standard way to "get heard" today about a political issue is to hold a demonstration and rally. The results are usually pitiful: people who show up to rallies aren't the ones who need to be persuaded; mass media coverage of these events can be very biased, thus harming the effort; the speeches bore the crowds; there's a lot of talk but very little action taken. The anti-war movement is the perfect example of lots of vocal dissent with few concrete results. The people who *have* become anti-war changed their minds because of things like government corruption and ineptitude, the use of torture, and the endlessness of it all... NOT because they saw a crowd of people carrying signs in the street and chanting slogans.

Critical Mass is not just about being heard. It's about doing. When bikes take to the streets, asserting their right to *be* traffic and to occupy road lanes, they are doing something. They don't simply make drivers and pedestrians "aware" of bikes, like an inert billboard advertising a message that one can take or leave. No... CM *forces* people's actual behaviors to change. Drivers must physically slow down or stop. They must pay attention to avoid an accident. The experience of being on the road is altered by CM.

It's also about working together. With no organized leader or authority, how does the ride stay together as an effective "mass"? The answer is, it doesn't always. Some people at the head of the pack ride too fast sometimes and the mass dissolves, along with its power to occupy the road. The routes taken are sometimes a little crazy. People have to voluntarily stand guard to halt cross traffic at intersections when the mass is riding through red lights. Not everything works perfectly all the time, but the fact that it does manage to work at all, a good deal of the time, speaks to the willingness of the bikers to work together, create, and problem-solve in a highly improvisational way. Amazing things are possible without hierarchies and structures.

These are powerful things.

Tonight, a woman in a car tapped a biker with her front bumper. Then she got out of the car and started screaming at him at the top of her lungs. There's always a few irate drivers at every CM, but she was totally over the top... clearly, she was having an extremely bad day. "PEOPLE NEED TO GET THINGS DONE," she yelled, shaking her fist at the biker. She was almost in tears. "MAY. YOU. FUCKING. DIE!" she shouted.

I felt really bad for her. I don't know what kinds of personal things she was dealing with that made her lose it on a Friday night. What's really tragic is that CM was just the straw that broke the camel's back... and what a HUGE back that must be. She probably puts up with so much in her life that she either doesn't or can't criticize. Obviously she was willing to deal with rush hour traffic, since she was driving in it. She probably had troubles with her job, her family, her friends... but those were facts of life she had to live with. Now, a bunch of bikers taking maybe a minute off her ride? That was too much. It pushed her over the edge. In her mind, I'm guessing, it was too absurd, too extraordinary, too frivolous for a crowd of bicyclists to enjoy a ride once a month. After all, people need to get things done.

That made me really sad for her.

The Morning After

Sold the Shogun last night on craigslist. The guy was looking for something for his girlfriend, which was very cool, and I think my price was fair. Didn't lose too much money on it--justified in my head by the fact that I learned a lot as I fixed it up. So I feel good about the whole thing. Although this morning I'm having that sad, empty feeling... the bike was so beautiful...

Onward to better-fitting projects!

Bicycle Addiction

On Friday, I found an old Fuji Regis at a thrift store for cheap. I just couldn't resist. Took it home and all I had to do was clean--it rode pretty nice as is.

I didn't have a tape measure at the store, but I could stand over the top tube. There wasn't much room--less than the recommended one inch, probably. At home, I measured it and the frame is a humongous 58 cm! I was shocked.

My size is 56 cm, so at 53, the Shogun is too small for me. Even with the seat fairly high, it doesn't feel as though I'm really extending my legs fully when I pedal. And when I'm in the drops, I feel scrunched up over the bars and unbalanced, like my weight is centered too far forward. I have long legs and arms for someone 5'9".

Now, riding the Regis feels GREAT. I'm centered when I'm riding the drops. My legs feel good when they're pedaling. When I dismount, I usually tilt the bike to make sure I get extra clearance, but it doesn't seem to be a big deal.

My small studio is getting quite cramped.

Tune Up Tips

Some things I have learned so far in tuning up the Shogun:

- The frame is really about 1-2 cm too small for me, but I can make do. I like the saddle high and set back in order to get as much extension in my long legs as possible.

- I had the brake levers too high on the handlebar. This made it hard to squeeze them tight from the hoods, since the pulling motion was directed at an awkward angle, towards my feet. It's better to have the brake levers lower so they're perpendicular to the ground; this way, the pulling motion is horizontal towards the body and my hands get more power.

- New brake pads are a very good thing.

- To center the brake calipers over the wheel, play with the front and rear bolts that attach them to the frame. Center the brake by hand, and then tighten the bolts to be snug--not too tight, or the calipers won't move; not too loose, or they'll be wobbly. It takes some experimenting to get it right. (Thanks to the cool folks at The Bikery who helped me with this!)

- Cleaning a mildy gunky chain doesn't require removing it first. Start from the bottom and spray a bit of cleaner (Simple Green is a good biodegradeable option) on each link along the length. Use a rag to loosen/wipe the dirt away by rubbing vigorously. Then wipe away the cleaner fluid with a rag dampened with water. Pedal backwards to move the chain along, and repeat. Let dry for a few hours, then oil the chain.

I Hate Trucks

I took my new bike, an 80s Shogun 200, for a spin around the Mercer Island loop today. It was a nice ride, except for a wide, old pick-up truck that whizzed by me with 6" between my head and his right mirror. And it wasn't a narrow road--there was plenty of space for him to pass safely. I couldn't fucking believe it.

I'm noticing a pattern. It's always the gigantic cars that pass way too close. Pick-ups and SUVs are the worst. (Let me be clear: not all SUV drivers are assholes; but the assholes tend to drive SUVs.) And they're driven by suburban moms recklessly hauling kids to soccer practice or rednecks whose sense of the meaning of life is proportional to the amount of gas they can consume in a mile.

That's what happens when you make expensive gas-guzzlers as strong as tanks. The commercials make it seem like the price buys you better "safety." In practice, this just encourages a certain demographic to be less attentive, less considerate, less concerned overall about their driving, since the car takes care of it for them. After all, in a collision the 3,000 tons of metal surrounding them will ensure they'll survive. Whatever or whomever they hit will not be so lucky, but what do they care...

Anyhow, the Shogun did nicely. The handling is easier and not as squirrely as the Fuji, but the bike is not as fast either. I'm starting to get used to riding in the drops when I go down hills and against the wind. It seems to help.

I like biking in the brisk fall weather. The only bad part is getting home and feeling a bit woozy from all the wind.

Another Bicycle

Bought another bike this weekend. As much as I love my fast Fuji, it just doesn't feel as stable as I'd like on the roads. If I was a more experienced cyclist, I probably wouldn't have a problem. More details on the new (used) bike, to come...

Several weeks ago I saw a posting on craigslist that said a bunch of old bikes had been left on a corner, a few blocks away from my apartment. I walked over and took home two Trek mountain bikes badly in need of work.

Over time I decided I didn't want them. The 820 was too big; I gave it away on craigslist. The other one was a 930, which I dumped outside Recycled Cycles, where there's a "free stuff" pile. After browsing for a few minutes inside, I came back out to see two punk kids taking the 930 frame.

That made me happy.