For the record, in the several years that I participated in Madison's CM, and in heated debates about CM on the Bikies list, it was frequently suggested that persons with concerns over the tactics of the ride and it's riders should attend and initiate discussion both beforehand and afterwards. To the best of my knowledge no one has ever done so.
-Martin --- [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > A Message from the Critical Mass list to bikies... > > > -------- Original Message -------- > > Subject: Re: [msn-cm] Re: Fwd: [Bikies] Critical > Mass Victim > > From: "Sarah Rogers" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > Date: Wed, October 31, 2007 10:45 am > > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Wow, what controversy! > > Instead of complaining about rides, get your > sympathetic friends together, > > come to Critical Mass, and make your concerns > known to riders before we take > > off. We usually wait around the Capital for at > least half a hour before we > > ride. This is plenty of time to discuss riding > etiquette, what lanes to > > take over, what streets to avoid, et cetera. > Critical Mass has no leaders. > > If you can sway enough people to your side of > things, it may make for a much > > more enjoyable ride. > > It's tough, though. When I first started riding > Madison Critical Masses > > about a year ago, the rides were very, very > negative. Not only did we block > > 4 lanes of traffic with only a dozen bikers, the > riders scowled and yelled > > and polluted the ride with their negativity. That > was my first impression > > of Madison's CMs. I tried to get the riders to at > least leave one lane open > > to buses -- only one other person agreed with me. > "If we leave one lane, it > > endangers our lives, as cars would fly by > extremely close to the ride." > > This is true, too, and I've seen it happen... But > since last year, I've > > gotten more and more of my positive-minded friends > to ride. We try to bring > > celebration, fun, and energy to the ride. I don't > see many of those > > negative folks anymore (or if they do ride, they > keep kinda quiet). The > > ride is not so negative -- now we just block 4 > lanes of traffic with SMILES! > > As the saying goes: Agitate, Educate, Organize. > Well, it looks like we > > have the agitate and organize part down, but we're > still working on the > > educate part. We need more signs describing to > folks what we're all about > > (which is hard to pinpoint in itself, since > everyone rides for their own > > reasons). I've brought flyers to each ride in the > past several months, a > > flyer that describes Critical Mass' history and > purpose, -- but we can only > > hand them out to the cars directly behind us, and > to passersby. > > I would LOVE to see more diversity in Madison's > Critical Mass. In > > Pittsburgh, the only other city I've ridden CM, > there are cyclists, > > spandex-wearers, kids on BMX's, hipsters, punks, > college students.... In > > Madison, it seems like the only folks coming out > have a bit of a hippie > > streak in 'em. Anyone who rides their bike on a > regular basis in Madison > > must realize that things are far from perfect -- > angry motorists, buses > > cutting me off, peeved pedestrians on bike paths, > abruptly-ending bike > > lanes, dark roads, potholes... the list goes on > and on. So I invite > > EVERYONE to Critical Mass. Please! > > Also, I'm completely open to taking just one lane > -- imagine how FAR the > > ride would stretch! Maybe this is an experiment > for next month? I'm down. > > Love, > > ~ Sarahtops > > PS: Someone want to share this email with bikies, > and invite them to the > > Critical Mass listserv, please? > > _______________________________________________ > Bikies mailing list > [email protected] > http://www.danenet.org/mailman/listinfo/bikies > __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com _______________________________________________ Bikies mailing list [email protected] http://www.danenet.org/mailman/listinfo/bikies
