[van-announce] Over 250 Riders Celebrate 10th Anniversary Critical Mass Ride

[Steve Kisby]

Here's our follow-up release and some photos...

http://vancouver.indymedia.org/news/2002/09/17865.php

CRITICAL MASS VANCOUVER
For Immediate Release

Over 250 Vancouver Riders Joined Cyclists Around The World In 10th Anniversary Critical Mass Ride

VANCOUVER -- September 29, 2002 -- On Friday night over 250 bicycle riders in Vancouver joined cyclists around the world in celebrating 10 years of Critical Mass rides. "This was one of the largest Critical Mass rides in Vancouver -- and the largest one I've been on," said Bev Canuel, a regular monthly rider in Vancouver's Critical Mass. The next Critical Mass ride in Vancouver is the Hallowe'en ride on October 25.

The Vancouver ride passed through Robson, Denman, Davie, and Granville Streets before heading into Gastown where the ride enthusiastically greeted and supported activists at the Woodwards Building who are protesting that the building had been scheduled to be converted into social housing for years, but the government has pulled out several times leaving the building empty since 1993. The ride attracted decorated bicycles, costumes, noisemakers, and bicycle "choppers". Skateboarders and roller bladers participated too. 

The Critical Mass ride was also the inaugural ride of Uberkrank, Vancouver's first bicycle chopper gang. Uberkrank was inspired by similar groups in other cities such as Portland's C.H.U.N.K. 666 (http://www.dclxvi.org/chunk), who build and ride crazy bikes for fun. Cast members of the popular Fringe Festival play the Rocky Dino Opera and the Dinosaurs Against Fossil Fuels also participated in the ride (http://www.bikesexual.org/dinos).

Critical Mass started on September 25, 1992, in San Francisco. Ten years later, it's still going strong and has spread to over 300 cities including Vancouver. In San Francisco, thousands of cyclists turned out for the 10th Anniversary Critical Mass Ride. 

Critical Mass is a grassroots bicycle and skate event, held every month throughout the world usually on the last Friday, where riders and skaters organize themselves and collectively occupy the streets in a fun, celebratory reclamation of public space. It promotes bicycles and other non-polluting forms of transportation. In Vancouver, cyclists and other forms of human powered transportation meet at the Vancouver Art Gallery (by the fountain) for the monthly ride that starts around 6:00 pm. The ride is on rain or shine.

Critical Mass functions on a decentralized basis, with no leaders, central planning, or corporate sponsorship. Although there may be a destination, riders at the front determine the route of the ride as the ride proceeds. And although there is no one in charge of Critical Mass, the authors of this release have played a role in promoting Vancouver's Critical Mass and have co-organized other popular rides such as the annual Wholesome Undy ride (http://vancouver.indymedia.org/news/2002/07/13415.php) that was recently selected by the Georgia Straight and its readers as the Best Protest in Vancouver (September 19-26, page 21).

For information on participating in Critical Mass Vancouver, email velolove at vancouver.indymedia.org, phone 604-736-8194, or check the web site at http://www.monkeywrenchcafe.org/cm 

Mass for Mass Transit.
We Are Not Blocking Traffic, We ARE Traffic!

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! Critical Mass Vancouver  autosaurus at tao.ca !
!     http://www.monkeywrenchcafe.org/cm     !
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   _ _ __.. .__o     Next Ride: Friday, Oct 25
- -_--.-  _`\<,_      5:30 pm Van. Art Gallery
  (  ( (( (_)/ (_)

          THE REVOLUTION WILL NOT BE MOTORIZED