rough riders

"it's hard to be a gangster
with a basket on your bike.
i said it's hard to be a gangster,
with a basket on your bike!"

-Bushwalla



well said, bush, well said. too bad you underestimate the power of the biking masses, ready to damn the man at just the perfect gangsta' moment.

story: the other day i rode my bike (yes, it has a basket) to balboa park. i was sitting and reading when i noticed that random bicyclists kept riding up and congregating by this one big fountain at the end of the park. i wondered what the story was, but i didn't ask anyone.

later, i was hanging out at kungfood writing in my journal (i know, i'm so hippie), when all of a sudden i hear yelling and horns honking, and everyone on the patio breaks out into cheers, and this HUGE group of bicyclists ride by--right down the middle of the street!

well of course what could i do but jump on my bike and join the raccous two-wheeled party! i rode up to a guy taking up the rear and said:

"hey, what's this for?"

"critical mass," he said, "here."

he handed me a flyer.

the gist:
The last friday of every month, cyclists from over 400 cities worldwide participate in Critical Mass, a group bicycle ride. To many riders, Critical Mass is a leaderless celebration of cycling and other responsible forms of transportation. To others, it is a way to reclaim the streets for social interaction and fun, rather than being locked away and isolated in cars. To still others, Critical Mass is a way to feel safe as a cyclist on the streets by riding together in a group. And for some, Critical Mass is a protest against the car culture that is polluting the air, causing global warming and consuming natural resources that formed over millions of years in little more than a century.

i immeditately remembered a documentary i had seen on critical mass at a film festival in olympia, washington. the documentary was, of course, completely unprejudiced and unbaised and merely explained that people who want to get in huge groups with their bicyclist friends while disrupting traffic and fighting the nazi power disguised as democracy are right, and cops are assholes.

i, of course, am switzerland.

on one hand, i appreciate that people want to make a point about the environment, our culture's complete reliance on vehicles that are making us fat and guzzling our money and causing wars and polluting the once breathable air. on the other hand, i think if i was in a car and i was late for something and i couldn't get there because a bunch of granola-crunchers on bikes were keeping up the show, i'd get a little irritated.

luckily for me, i didn't have to worry about that today. so i joined critical mass like a true legislation-despising green party member.

i rode circles around the intersection of 6th and university. i waved at people on the street. i blew kisses at babies. i winked at attractive men who were probably gay because who am i kidding this is hillcrest we're talking about.

then i heard sirens, did a somewhat impressive pop-a-wheelie, and sped home like cru jones.