On the cusp of Earth Day and with Mother Natures mood swings finally stabalizing, my thoughts turn to fair-weather cycling. Discussion of such with Lance brought this – riding not just to work or in a duathalon (*cough*), but en masse and for a purpose.

Critical Mass Rides Site
Critical Mass Org Site

First born in San Francisco in September 1992, Critical Mass has spread like wildfire across the globe, and now occurs in hundreds of cities in dozens of countries each month. Originally termed the “Commute Clot”, an “organized coincidence” to ride home together, the term “Critical Mass” was inspired by a line in Ted White’s classic film, Return of the Scorcher, where the term is used to describe traffic patterns in Beijing. There are no traffic lights there — so the large numbers of bicyclists pool together at intersections until there are enough of them (“kind of a…a critical mass thing”) to stop truck and car traffic and make their way across.

Find one in your area. Ride on.