Musings From the Windy City - The Critical Mass Ride



The weekend of September 29- October 1 was a fruitful one.

September 29th Friday saw the Critical Mass Ride of Chicago with me attending it for the first time. I barely knew what to expect when I went for the ride. In fact I bought my bicycle only on that afternoon, a 1963 Schwinn with the Sturmey Archer hub gear system. So the guys at the UIC College of Cycling invited me for this ride which, apparently, could be used to get familiar with my new stallion. I went along with the idea with now knowledge of what I am going to witness.

The name “Critical Mass”comes from Ted White’s bike-umentary 'Return of the Scorcher'. This video shows intersection crossing etiquette in China’s big cities. Cross bike-traffic waits until it has enough riders, i.e., a critical mass, to push it’s way through the intersection.

We all met in front of the Behavioral Sciences Building as per plan and set off to Daley Plaza from where the CM rides begin every month. By the time we reached, there were at least two hundred cyclists already getting ready for the ride. As time passed, the crowd swelled into a thousand riders before the actual ride began. There were all kinds of people out there in the crowd from various passes of life. They were doctors, there were students and there were teenagers and there were people over 60. I have found a few people campaigning for other CM rides nearby like the CM Evanston. There were other people handing out fliers condemning the Bush regime and inviting everyone to take part in the " World Can't Wait" protests. In fact an old lady made me take a bunch of them, supposedly to distribute among my friends. Jesus! Barely a month in this country and I have become an activist! Well, I am not. I am the observer, who sees everything.

So, it wasn't long before the actual ride began when all the riders started pouring into the streets together. A drizzle started around the same time but that did not deter anyone from going out and out. We went through the hazes of streets until we reached the Chicago river at the Wacker Drive. From there on, we continued along the river towards the west, crossing the river at every bridge back and forth. That was amazing. The beautiful river and the good ol' bridges in all its glory, and hundreds and hundreds of riders along the route like little ants. After the fun of the bridges for sometime, again we headed north towards Lincoln Square where its ended. We passed next to the Loyola University campus where there were a lotta people to cheer us.

Every time the front runners reach a major junction, they will just continue riding round and round in a circle, whose center consists of some thirty odd bikers lifting their bicycles above their heads and dancing. Complete anarchy! One full month of complete discipline in the roads followed by two hours of complete lawlessness. Even the traffic police were just watching. In fact there were a number of Chicago Police riders among us in the uniforms and all and all they do when we reach a junction is to stand aside and encourage people to move on. Looks like the city has accepted the Critical Mass as an unavoidable evil. I meanwhile forgot to mention that this ride's theme was Oktoberfest. We were all heading to this Lincoln Square area which has a lotta great pubs around to spend the rest of the evening.

Unfortunately, that was my first day of riding after a real long time and boy, that showed! The first thing I did was to head to this Pot Belly restaurant out there to get something to bite so that I don't drop dead with hunger. Once satiated, I found that I could barely walk, let alone ride back the twenty whole miles. It was aching in all unmentionable parts of my body and relief came when I consulted the map to find that I was barely a block away from the Brown Line rail station of the CTA. So all I had to do was to hop into the train with the bike and reached back to downtown in no time. After a short visit to my cousin's place there, I arrived at home uneventfully by midnight.

An amazing experience which showed me the rebellious nature of the windy city. But unlike the early Critical Mass rides a few years back, the riders were all behaving well, wishing everyone a 'Happy Friday' and without causing any friction with the authorities or within themselves. Altogether it made me a believer and I plan to be there for the ride in the coming months.

Issac Cheriyathu
October 19, 2006.