There was quite a bit of speculation about how the Critical Mass ride after the Aloha Incident would go down. Would the police try to bust everybody not wearing a helmet? Would it be another case of When Cyclists Attack? Would drivers revolt and start mowing down the mass?
I’m happy to report that none of that happened, and that the ride went off very well. Personally, I’d love it if we can keep a police presence on the ride, al a Vancouver, who seem to have hit a good stride for handling mass rides. Photo from Bombnumber19
There was more police presence than normal, including cops on bike, motorcycles, and a few cars. The police handed out pamphlets highlighting laws related to cycling, and asked us all to stay away from the stadiums where there were games going on. During the ride they rode with us, mostly near the end but also escorting and stopping at intersections to cork control traffic.
As for the riders, I’d say the several hundred attendees were on pretty darn good behavior, mostly staying out of the oncoming lane of traffic, smiling and waving, and sticking together as a pretty compact group most of the time.
As per usual there was a fair bit of support from the other road users, I personally delivered about ten high-fives to various car drivers. There were also a few disgruntleddrivers, although I really only saw a few cases of people being actively upset.
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