En Masse

We ride for the city

Comments (0) By Patrice Elizabeth Grell Yursik Thursday, Mar 8 2007

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Critical Mass events in other cities are meant as a powerful statement about the benefits of bicycling, and often, they take their battle to the streets. Literally. “Some other Critical Masses in New York and San Francisco will take the approach aggressively. They’ll go off into traffic at 5:00 p.m. rush hour,” says “Flash,” the peace-loving, politically minded man behind the Wallflower Gallery. The event organizers of our local mass know that the rush hour ambush would backfire in this crazy town. “It’s on Saturday morning, so we prove our point, have our fun, and we avoid becoming roadkill,” Flash says.

The goal of these monthly events is to create a community of bike riders. Folks come out with brightly colored flags affixed to their rides, and fun costumes are also encouraged. “We’ve organized these with routes based on the Metrorail, so that everyone can take public transportation to get there. Then we ride to different parks and stop off to get food or drinks, to support local businesses,” Flash says. “You see the city at a different pace on a bicycle as opposed to a car. And because we’re in a mass, we’re less likely to get picked off by an SUV.” visit www.myspace.com/wallflowergallery for a complete list of entertaining and socially responsible things to do.
Sat., March 10, 10 a.m.