This past Friday marked the 15th anniversary of the San Francisco Critical Mass Ride. Critical Mass rides are informal, "unorganized" rides that occur on a monthly basis. Around the world, cyclists gather on the last Friday of each month and ride through the streets of their town in a public display of cycling unity and fun. The ride varies from town to town, as a central component of the Critical Mass phenomenon is that the character of the ride emerges from spontaneous group decisions rather than from a group or an individual leader. This means Critical Mass rides can attract the surliest cyclists among us, riders bent on "reclaiming the roads", but Critical Mass also attracts the more modest cyclists, rolling slow on cruiser bikes and riding simply to enjoy the weather and the company of other cyclists. The nature of these rides vary from confrontational to friendly. In 2004, Cyclists in New York combined a Critical Mass ride with a protest at the Republican National Convention, and the ride ended in a clash with police. Cyclists were manhandled, arrested, and bikes were confiscated. Elsewhere, cyclists just gather and ride their favorite routes without any intention of confrontation or politicization. The New Yorker magazine described the New York Critical Mass Rides as "monthly political-protest rides", calling into question the non-political character of the CM. But as Critical Mass operates in more than 325 cities now, it is impossible to characterize the ride as any one thing. The rides are as varied as the people who attend.

This past Friday (the last Friday of the month), about a dozen cyclists gathered at Overton Park's Rainbow Lake parking lot for a "Celebration of Bicycle Riding". Riders rode from the park to Downtown Memphis, cruised along Front st. as the sun was setting, and rode back through Central Gardens, enjoying the cool of dusk and the sweet smell of blossoming crepe myrtle trees. A Critical Mass ride? Well, one needs a "critical mass" of riders first. The ride was more a celebration of the two wheeled wonder that is the bike, the beautiful city streets that are Memphis roadways, the fellowship that springs from bicycling. The group agreed to meet up again next month--5:30 p.m. at the Rainbow Lake parking lot.

What do you think about Critical Mass Rides? What is their place in Memphis--if the ride have a place at all?