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September 29, 2007
Kicking ass ~ Critical Mass!
Whoa, it was quite a ride last night!
Its unclear how many riders there actually were- partially because El Oso and I arrived late and caught the mass where it had already been split in half- it seemed deliberately, by police, who were out in droves. Its so good to know they are on the job- you know, keeping car traffic flowing. A bit of sarcasm?? Perhaps!
Anyway!
Here are a few visuals, although I didn't manage to capture the scope very well- its hard to steer and shoot! And who wants to stop, especially when one is filled with adrenalin, and carried along in the joy of the moment, and the joy of seeing the streets filled with bicycles (does the heart so much good!), and happy people representing a broad spectrum, on a broad spectrum of 2 (and more!There were several with several more! Including one built for 4 to pedal, pulling a trailer carrying an accordion player perched atop a somewhat ornate chair and wearing a funny crown on his head, as he played and played- such beautiful music for biking! What but what can be more delightful, on a coolish night? That's the thing.) wheeled contraptions- and one's bliss only intensified by the sounds of pedaling, shifting, (the lovely clicky- clicky sound of humans moving on wheels under their own power- oh, and sometimes squeaky brakes) friends greeting one another, happy music from the sound trailers, big bikey party noise!
That's what I'm saying! Pre-ride estimates were expecting in the neighborhood of 5000 riders, I'd say we were pretty close. It is in no way reflected in my photos, as I chose to edit out my attmepts at big crowd shots since they were unfortunately blurred and didn't capture even a fraction of the massive, thundering herds.
Without further ado, and in no particular order-
There were two girls with some excellent helmet embellishments!
And plus I have a soft spot in my heart for the wearer of this helmet, as he is a bikey friend-
which just happens to have all manner of interesting stickers.
And besides-
You just know-
Its a fact!!!
A young woman pulling a trailer decorated with some kind of tall and very lush foliage (couldn't get a photo- my camera was in my bag and then she took off) gave me several of these stickers- which I love.
So I got extras, if you need one. I'm just sayin'.
I had done my own pre-ride helmet decorating too, with white reflecty-tape, in a polka-dot formation on the front, too, just fyi.
Plus the handlebar mojo was updated to include-
Luscious lavender streamers, which streamed quite nicely and did not disappoint!
I was really fascinated by this guy's front-mounted drum arrangement, too.
And who but who is this handsome devil-
to the right of the pretty dress lady! And what can he have in that giant cooler? Can it be Ho3ard, aboard the sound trailer??
Oh yes!
Here is a general crowd shot I managed to get early on- when we were stalled on Michigan Ave.- the rest are blurred, but no! That boy does not have his handlebar up his nose! And if you look closely I believe its the Hancock building in the background.
Oh! So much more happened! Including dramatic encounters with enraged motorists (for my own puny non-threatening self- I tried to persuade the angry driver of a very shiny German luxury vehicle that sitting on his horn would prove futile. He couldn't be convinced to roll down his window- I guess you can't blame him, being as he was surrounded by smiling bike-riders who probably couldn't afford to drive and had the audacity to block traffic- lord knows we were probably so crazy we might just attack- but I yelled into his open sunroof "you need to calm down! You need to stop honking!"- not only did he not roll down his window, he never did take his fist off of his car horn! Apparently my actions also didn't sit well with a Lincoln Park Trixie, who was compelled from her car in order to walk over and inform me I needed to step away from this man's vehicle immediately! She got an earful from an adrenalin overdosed Pippy- oh! It wasn't pretty! There may have been some unladylike expletives uttered- I'm afraid. Don't be too disappointed in me, dear readers!! There's more I'm not proud of- I told more than one SUV driver with an open window that their Station Wagon was killing polar bears.)
We rode until we were quite stupid and I can only speak for myself but somewhat saddle-sore, believe it! And thus, the ride fizzled by the lake but not without some action from our friends-
yes, the police chasing us off and menacing us with their paddy wagons. (I blew them kisses).
But that's how you know its a good party, right?
And it was!
Posted by pippypippy at September 29, 2007 11:47 AM
Comments
good to see you've finally added the streamers to your little pony.
i also caught a glimpse of the polka dot work on your helmet.. very nice!
Posted by: nobody really at September 29, 2007 02:25 PM