success! fun! love on wheels!

The first Critical Mass Spartanburg ride was a fantastic, raging (courteously) success! We had about 30 people show up, including 4 kids and at least one person who hadn't ridden a bike in their adult life! The news even showed up and did a nice little segment about the ride. We rode through downtown, neighborhoods, and back to end up at The Tap Room @ RJ Rockers. We overwhelmed their bike parking, and impressed the early patrons of the place with our sheer cycling numbers. It was a blast and we hope our numbers grow with each ride. Below find some videos and a link to photos from the ride.

Join us for the next ride FRIDAY, APRIL 23rd, 6pm, Morgan Square.

We will be celebrating Earth Day, so come as green as you wanna. Wigs encouraged (we did have a brave mullet wig appear at the 3/26 ride).

Two wheels, one love. Laura Ringo rocks some killer fashion for the ride! For all the photos from the ride, click here.

let's be courteous.

ARE YOU READY TO TAKE OVER THE STREETS OF SPARTANBURG...courteously?

Check out this post on Courteous Mass. Let's make our Critical Mass a courteous one. Someone reminded me yesterday that every interaction a driver has with cyclists has ramifications for future interactions. So let's not make other cyclists ride's difficult by pissing off drivers. Tomorrow's ride should be a party on wheels, a celebration of cycling, not an opportunity to ramp up driver/cyclist angst. Some guidelines to think about:

• Stop at all lights
• Stop at all stop signs
• Use hand signals when turning
  Be as friendly as possible to all road users throughout the ride!

The weather looks perfect - 70 and sunny. See you at 6pm tomorrow!!!

BE THERE!

Bring your bike, your helmet, and a healthy sense of spontaneity. Meet at the fountain on Morgan Square at 6pm. We will follow all traffic rules. There is no route. Ride for as little or as long as you want.

Post-ride water, beer, etc at The Tap Room at RJ Rockers, 226 West Main St. Most riders should be there by 7pm at the latest, for those of you revelers who do not want to ride this time around.

people for bikes.

There is a great new website to support pro-bike policies and spread the joy of bikes! Check out peopleforbikes.org! They're collecting one million names in support of a better world for biking -- one that's safer, more convenient, and more appealing for everyone.

Every day, millions of Americans like us ride for their health, for the environment, for their communities, and for the pure joy of bicycling. But until now, only a tiny fraction of riders have stood up to help improve bicycling in America.

Peopleforbikes.org is going to change all that. They're building a national movement with the clout and influence to get things done. That means promoting bike-riding on an individual level, but also sending a unified message to our elected leaders, the media, and the public that bicycling should have their full support.

Check out their great new website to take a pledge for biking and learn how you can help:
http://peopleforbikes.org/

first ride info

What is Critical Mass?

Critical Mass is a monthly bicycle ride to celebrate cycling and to assert cyclists' right to the road. The idea started in San Francisco in September 1992 and quickly spread to cities all over the world.

Critical Mass has a different flavor from city to city -- there's a big variety in size, respect of traffic laws (or lack thereof), interaction with motorists, and intervention by police. So if you want to know more about Critical Mass, you'll really need to find out what your local ride is like.

For those who must know more right now, here's a link to Chicago CM, which I suppose is a "typical" CM ride, if there is such a thing.

Critical Mass has no leaders, and no central organization licenses rides. In every city that has a CM ride, some locals simply picked a date, time, and location for the ride and publicized it, and thus the ride was born.

CM is an idea and an event, not an organization. You can't write to "Critical Mass" -- certainly not by writing to me.

CM is intended to be a celebration, not an opportunity to cause trouble. Those who want to try to tie up traffic as much as possible and be confrontational with motorists are missing the point. We can assert our right to the road without being rude about it. Focus on the ride, not on the cars that also happen to be on the road.

Source.

FROM NOW ON, THERE WILL BE A CRITICAL MASS IN DOWNTOWN SPARTANBURG ON THE 4TH FRIDAY OF EVERY MONTH AT 6PM. MEET AT MORGAN SQUARE.

Two Wheels One Love - Critical Mass in Charleston, SC from Joel Schooling on Vimeo.