Critical Mass takes the Gardiner

Thought it was the Ride For Heart, officer!

http://torontoist.com/2008/05/critical_mass_takes_over_the...

• Cyclists Shut Down the Gardiner (BogTO May 31)
• Gardiner plugged by 200 rogue cyclists (Toronto Sun, May 31)
• Gardiner closed as police herd cycling protesters

Also metioned on TorontoCranks and Bike Lane Diary

This episode has me baffled, convince me of its sense.

I appreciate the guerilla tactics of CM, often admire the co-opting of public spaces in exuberant, subversive processions of self affirmation. Activism has many shades and settings, from the corridors of City Hall to the back alleys of the inner city; CM's inclusive culture and provocative tactics find adherence among those undeterred by decorum or correctness. And it's fun too. Usually.

If the appeal of this escapade was its audacity it at least makes sense. It's intoxicating, staging a grand spectacle, directing and starring in a colorful, chaotic piece of street theater. Hope you had a good time. Seriously. Because as political action it comes off as bush league as best, completely reckless at worst.

Besides the selfish indulgence of the participants what was attained by this stunt? The Tour de Gardiner portrays cyclists as Pedallers without a Clue.

Ostensibly, (as reported in the Sun), the reason for the outing -- or was there a reason? -- was to "garner support for more bike lanes on Bloor St." Here's a novel idea: you want lanes on Bloor how about riding on Bloor? There was a ride for just that purpose this past Sunday: 1000+ cyclists participated in Bells on Bloor. And instead of rounding the cyclists up the cops were even clearing the cagers out of the way. Imagine that.

Campaigning down the center of the Gardiner for amenities on Bloor makes about as much sense as Air Canada campaigning for a new terminal at Pearson by clogging runways at O'Hare. Yeah, you can do it, and it may be fun too, but to expect the desired results to emanate from such convoluted reasoning is a delusion. Let's see if CM is consistent in their logic; next month will it parade down Bloor lobbying for bike lanes on the 401?

Which brings me to the general reactions encountered: confusion at the ambiguous aim of the scheme; exasperation and annoyance at the tactics employed; and disbelief.

Disbelief. It's hard to convey the incredulity among my circle -- cycling and non cycling -- that children were along for the ride (TorSun). That they were is either cynical politicking or a damned fool bit of recklessness. Or both. Want to haul junior out as a prop for your juvenile stunts? For the sake of his welfare opt for a more benign venue.

I don't expect CM to position itself in the comfortable middle of the activists' spectrum; I'd be disappointed if it did. Or expect that it relies on the likes of me for validation or approval -- who the f_ck am I anyway? Indeed, if the last run is truly emblematic of its creed, I don't expect Critical Mass makes any sense at all.

http://www.thestar.com/News/article/434806

I'm surprised that they did a real news story with minimal hype:
http://www.torontosun.com/News/TorontoAndGTA/2008/06/01/57...

This episode has me baffled, convince me of its sense.

One of the things I like about CM is that is its whimsy. Since when should whimsy make sence?

Several people (soem who have never ridden a CM) came up to me today after the Becel ride and said that cyclists should take over the Gardiner every month. While I concur and think that cyclists should, I don't think that CM should be so predictable; it would lose its whimsy.

Yes, it is whimsical. And anarchic, spontaneous, and certainly colorful. That makes sense to me, it's all part of the spirit of the affair. There is an air of volatility about the undertaking, it makes for unpredictable, compelling outings as we've just seen. That's all fine.

But without due consideration these traits applied to a political agenda, e.g., bike lanes on Bloor, can derail the effort. Are CM participants so blinded by the appeal of poking the Auto-cratic Colossus in the eye they cannot see the harm it does their stated objectives (in this case)? Expressing opposition to the status quo is not synonymous with furthering support of an alternative; that requires winning minds not alienating them.

Cm is a bunch of cyclists riding togther for the joy of riding together. Political agendas are forced upon CM externally by those who have not ridden on CM.

Yes, many of us riding CM, as part of who we are as individuals, do carry statemants with us. Some have them posted on flags asking for bike lanes on Bloor. The media, who have zero experience with CM sees a "protest" and has to justify and explain this to their viewers and hone in on any banner they see. Therefore the media reports that this was to get bike lanes on Bloor. But it is not meant for CM to have an agenda of its own other than for cyclists to ride safely togther and in each others company.

The media has no clue about CM, and no time to explain it to the cage-bound in a way that makes sense. The spirit of "community" is menaningless to those cocooned in individual, private moving living rooms.

To those who drive there's no understanding of "Safety in numbers" because numbers to a driver means congestion or death. They call these fatal incidents "accidents" and drive merrily home thankful that it wasn't themseves this time, even though drivers kill almost 10 people a day in Canada (about 3000/yr). Cyclists have killed about 3 people in the last century, and in the same timeframe about 10 of each other and zero motorists. More people die in bar fights a year than have died as a result of another cyclists. But the car remaines blameless, as do its drivers.

Watch what will happen to the driver of the Volvo who opened the door and killed a cyclists a few weeks ago. The driver will probably get an ticket for an HTA offence even though the action was as dangerou as firing a loaded gun into a crowd of people, and just as deadly. But a group of cyclists peacefully ride down the gardiner and poilce have to bang a few heads.

On Victoria day weekend my family and I rode our bikes across the western part of the Martin-Goodman trail to watch the fireworks at Ontario Place. or at least we would have. The park was filled of parked cars and parked cars completely blocked the trail in some portions. Motorists were driving their cars on the trail in portions, threataning the safety of my family. I called both TPS and TPA but no-one came to save the people (or the park) from the cars. But a few cyclists ride on the Gardiner and the police are sure to show up.

Many of us still believe that life (especially human life) is sacrosanct. The city and the police too often act as if it is cars, not people, that are holy and in need of protection. CM is but a small part of changing people minds, and the stunts that happen on CM expose this quite clearly.

But CM will remain a peaceful and communal ride, a place of community and safety, no matter they ride together.

http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/434942

I am all about challenging the status quo, elbowing corporate Canada and stirring things up. I support CM and respect the individuality and uniqueness of those who participate. I even get out and join them when I can, but had I been there on Friday night, I would not have gone onto the Gardiner; not because I think it would be dangerous, but because I've never advocated for access to expressways or highways. A route running adjacent to them would be nice, but I am an urban commuting cyclist seeking better engineering and design of cycling infrastructure, more cycling infrastructure, fewer cars and greater respect for cyclists. Riding the Gardiner, in my opinion, did not make a statement toward those goals. Whimsical? Perhaps. Spontaneous? Maybe. Foolish and self-indulgent? I think so. I think it was a step backward for a cycling community trying to discover itself and mature. It makes us all look like a bunch of radicals (not that that's a bad thing) and lunatics. Let's stick to pushing for more and better bike lanes and otheer infrastructure, car-free streets and better public transit and pedestrian engineering, not making a statement that says nothing.

The timing of the CM ride on the Gardiner was particularly poor. Friday evening the roads around St. Lawrence Market were closed for the first bicycle race in the downtown core in 15 years. This event was made possible by the support of Coucillor Heaps and David Millar (who rode the first lap to open the event). It would be great if this became an annual event and lead to more events in the city rather than having bike races in places like Kitchener or Hamilton that must be driven to. I'm sure that the people that were caught in traffic leaving downtown because of the bike race and then caught in traffic again due to the whimsy of the CM won't be supportive of these initiatives in the future.

Why didn't the CM rides wait for two days and join the ride for heart in stead? Are there plans in the future for a CM ride on the CN rail corridor which also restricts access to vehicles other than bicycles?

To those who think CM is not trying to make a political statement - what else would you call hundreds of people knowingly and intentionally breaking the law? Regardless of the original intent of CM the participants have to realize that what they did on Friday was a political statement.

Two "real" cycling events where planed in the city for the weekend, the St. Lawrence Market Crit and the Becel Ride for Heart. Instead of the city being able to celebrate these events with the rest of the biking community all CM accomplished is giving all of the enemies of cycling enough ammunition to sh$t on the cycling community for the rest of the month.

What really erks me is that the race on Saturday had as many participants as CM, and for many it was the first race they have entered in. It's the first big race in Toronto for more than a decade and if it doesn't happen next year you can be sure it is a direct result of this. I hope people in CM can rest easy knowing that their reckless behavior may have ruined an exciting event for the rest of the cycling community.

I have a little secret for you. Remember those earthquakes in China a couple of weeks ago. Caused by CM. Yes sirreee! The vibration from April's ride magnified as it traveled through the earth causing China Syndrome.

Also, mark my words. The Democratic nomination in the US will be deeply affected by May's CM.

While we are at it. I did not sleep well last night either. It all has to do with CM. Probably much similar to all of the drivers who suffered trauma when they saw cyclists on the Gardiner on TV.

Darren,

That's just the point -- CM got the news coverage and in stead of the downtown race which was the culmination of months of efforts by part of the cycling community to close downtown streets for the most professionally organized race that I have ever participated in. In stead of good publicity and fostering the growth of cycling in this city we received press coverage of a bunch of protesters protesting against not being allowed to ride on a highway that was scheduled to be closed for their use in 36 hours anyway. I hope that you had fun.

Derek.

The Sat. Sun article was particularly harming, and while Tooker was always keen on Critical Mass, it really didn't help to have the Gardiner riding directly linked to bike lanes on Bloor. As for who turned up, Angela and I weren't riding together, but were towards the back, and I'm not sure where Jean was, and as many of you are aware, he has elements of a loose cannon on two wheels, though I respect his level of energy, his caring, and a basic ability to work with physical realities.

But ardent cyclists can have a couple of causes, and anyone that rides with a banner is de facto more visible, and their riding is also more visible, wherever and however it's done. That includes stopping at stops, signalling, etc.

So yes, there's some damage to that Bloor bike lane cause I'm sure, and the media don't print letters or nuances - their job isn't always "truth" (relative in a "carrupt" culture), but often it's to sell ads, and to report on conflict.

The CM is both an anarchic joy ride and a political statement. I don't always go on them because as a political statement I cannot justify breaking the law on behalf of some of the two-wheeled quick and quiet non-stop passholes that I see around during the month.
At other times, like last Wed. when the police hang up on me as I report a near-dooring, "carism" stinks and the mobile furnaces are creating searious problems for all of us - driving and non-driving. Why can't we privatize car exhaust? Bikes are best!

The safety aspect is important - yet it's not the bikes that are/were endangering the kids, it was/is the cartillery. Daily carnage, and cyclists rarely kill others, though we can harm others, and sometimes do.

CM doing the Gardiner for a bit was bound to happen at some point, but anarchist forethought is as big an oxymoron as Progressive Conservative can be.

It is a political statement as it proves that the City can and does provide smooth pavement in the hectares somewhere, for someone. It was a nice smooth ride to Parkdale, and the Bike Plan of 7 years age completely fails to provide a single safe east-west route from that Parkdale/WQW area into the core - a gaping hole that has been ignored despite one tragic death, and many of the local politicians were ardently boosting a $255,000,000 road folly to "complete the grid" without looking at either transit options or the harms to two transit systems from this road folly, and five years later, it's finally expired, though no politician has sought to seek a range of effective transit options despite copious sustained bull about the transit priority being the future...

It is unfortunate that the Criterion race was eclipsed - but if there was forethought in doing the Gardiner, everyone would have exited down Spadina perhaps, even going by the cars on both sides, just to get off ahead of any responses.

As for the Ride for Heart, the Gardiner and DVP are only accessible to the motorized public though public funds alone pay for them. THe TTC and GO have high rates of user-pay and the Island ferry even makes money! but the Gardiner/DVP are "freeways" despite costs - and this includes a lot of lead-contaminated land, that is from industrial traffic, not industry.

Yet there are hectares of smooth asphalt provided on the big roads while many gutters and bike lanes in the rest of the City are absolute wheel and butt-busting shit to ride on, with years between a vex to the City and any repair.

The car-cooned have comfortable shocks and climate "control" - but cyclists have extra risks and extremes added to from car usage eg. climate carisis.

Maybe we all should have a sit-down and talk all of this over? How about the last Friday of the month - perhaps in a park? somewhere central? If it's raining, maybe we should meet somewhere else, and the only places that come quickly to my carazed mind is under an exit ramp somewhere....

and with further thought, there may be a subway overhead near High Park, and maybe there's a pavilion in High Park itself, just to make the others reading this relax a bit...
One influencing factor may well be any police attendance of course. Say if someone stands up at the regular meeting locale and suggests a destination for discussions, and yes we could go to a bar though any kids would be less likely to come along, presumably any route would work, though if it were High Park, some could take the Harbord bike lane, some on Bloor, and some go north to go west, and it'd just be traffic...

Meanwhile safe rides, and it really helps to be lit, signal and stop fairly completely...

Not to dismiss or diminish the points of Derek, EnigManiac, Cpt_Sunshine and Anthony -- indeed by turns I find myself nodding in agreeing with each of you. But does anyone else wince when the word "community" is trotted out and applied to a single, often tenuous, commonality -- skin color, income level, bicycle ownership? -- as if it's enough to leverage wildly different elements into a coherent collective?

[Stereotype spoiler]. Is the fact of a 420 friendly messenger's and middle-aged mother/office worker's bike ownership enough of a mutuality to cement them into a 'Bike Community'? Certainly not in of itself, it's contingent on an assortment of other considerations which can go a long way toward blurring the boundaries of where precisely a community starts and ends, and who exactly is part of it. Factor in all manner of cultural, age, ethnic, philosophical and political disparities and the enterprise can look far from homogeneous and coherent.

Indeed, I consider it an indication of maturity that a movement encompasses many contrary adherents -- truly a sign of its inclusiveness. Just like the wider communities we move in, the more varied and vibrant their nature, the more they attract. And the more people that join the push, the greater the chance of success.

Derek is 100% right. I didn't know about the CM Gardiner ride until the next morning when I picked up a news paper when my group ride stopped at coffee shop. CM was on the front page of The Sun. When I got home I did a little survey of Toronto papers trying to find mention of the race, I basically couldn't find any. Almost all of the mentions to the race were in articles about the CM stunt. Things like "the St. Lawrence Market area was also closed for a bike race". Nothing about any of the positive aspects of the race, only a reminder that it caused motorist longer to get home.

The other thing to know is that people have been pushing to get this race back for 17 years, and it still only happened because David Miller threw his support behind it. The major detriment to the race has always been it's location and the resultant traffic nightmare it could cause. Even though CM is completely separate from the race, it reinforced all the negative aspects of the race and this is fully exemplified by the media's coverage of it.

This one off Gardiner event is old news already, it's not going to hamper any cycling events or the progress towards more bike lanes. I doubt it will be done again.
I was in it and still made it back to watch much of the Criterion. No surprise it didn't get much mention - bike racing really isn't a big deal in Toronto.
How about the World Naked Bike Ride happening next weekend in many cities and in Toronto on the following one? It will also perpetuate the notion of some bikers being weird and out of the mainstream but I'm not concerned if they get a few headlines.
They aren't going to help get bike lanes either, but who cares? It's just a group of people off on their own tangent not always thinking of The Big Picture we're often too hung up on.
The weirdos made Pee-Wee's theatre show last week a lot of fun and drew huge crowds, but also didn't make the mainstream news. That's fine with me.

Why doesn't this story and photo mean an end to car lanes on our streets?
There's a real double standard when cars causing dead cyclists are routine but an uneventful ride on an expressway gets outrage.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1023813/Pictured-S...

I feel like you guys are trying to attach some kind of label to CM just like the papers are. It's all an effort to make sense of what is really a very un-definable event. There is no particular agenda as a whole.

If you really wanted to label it though (and frankly we should, for the sake of better reporting) I think CM can be safely referred to as nothing more than making the biking community more visible in a pretty damn peaceful manner. With the biking community always on the public mind, more things get done.

The biking community has gained more front line reporting than ever this summer. People are looking and listening. Debate is opening up. Things are getting done.

We're not invisible. Critical Mass makes sure of that every month. (and they're getting better and better at it)

'The biking community has gained more front line reporting than ever this summer. People are looking and listening. Debate is opening up. Things are getting done.'

In spite of stunts like the Gardiner ride, not because of them.

CM has been a fixture in Toronto on the last Friday of every month for over ten years.

The crit by all accounts I have read was well attended. Those who attended said they had a great time.

The Mayor, who has done a dismal job with cycling issues, attended the race. He attends many events in Toronto, very few get reported on.

None of the cycling blogs reported on the crit nor did any of the mainstream papers according to Cpt_Sunshine.

CM rode on the Gardiner, no injuries or criminal damage.

Seems like the solution would have been to invite CM to the crit and send the Mayor packing via the Gardiner.

Since my pre-teens I was always on the lookout for regular stories in the media for cycling news. While I'm happy to have an outlet here for sharing some of the stories that I have found that aren't about violent deaths (or injuries) of cyclists, cycling still gets little coverage or respect overall from mass media.

For example, see today's Toronto Sun's story (and headline) about cycling. This, from the same paper that had a resonable story about the Gardiner CM ride on Sunday.

I don't ever recall seeing cycling results in a paper except maybe for the Tour De France; occassionaly the olympics, but only if a local person placed for a medal.

Cyclists are not the target audience of people who need new and used cars, replacement shocks, new tires, oil changes, gas, car insurance, body work, or car loans. The makers and sellers of these products are the advertisers who privide a majority of the funding for mass media.
Watch the news on TV? Every other ad is for a new car or car dealer while the other ads are for drive through restaraunts (open late!), convience stores at gas stations, car insurance and/or loans for cars, and (high calorie) convenience foods. (If there was another ad in the mix I missed, I'm sorry!)
Pick up a newspaper. Every third page has an ad for a car dealer or car maker, most of the other ads are for injury lawyers, contests where you can win a car, gps units for lost drivers, and the odd ad for an airline/vaction destination and ads for sex-enhansement products and services. The rest of the ads are very small.

With peak oil causing the rising price of oil and the rising price of everything that uses oil based "inputs" (everything shipped, made of plastic, grown with fertilizer, etc) people are starting to scale back. Big thirsty SUV are not as attractive mainly because of the costs. More peple have taken, and will take, to an already overloaded transit system as their "alternative" transit option. A few have taken up cycling for transport, but most have found it either awful, uncomfortable, or barely tolerable. I know of none who have found it to be anything resembling a fantastic experience. Problems with motor vehicles drivers, bad roads or designs, lack of bike parking, no changerooms, social stigmas, are a few of the reasons I have heard people tell me that have make the trip by bike unpleasant. I'm sure you have your own stories. And most here want to change that experience to be a more positive one.

If Marshal McCluhan is right in that the media refects us like a mirror, than we are obsessed with cars and all things automitive; except to escape it by airplane. A local site called the ALLDERBLOB is excellent at pointing this out, and continues to call for a ban on car and car product ads for many of the same reasons that we banned tobacco and cigarrette ads.

All in all, it means that cycling is not deemed worthy to be on the same page as "real transportation," and is only a core urban issue at best. Cycling is news worthy only when a cyclists is seriously injured, or better yet, killed; or when cyclists become "protesters" who take over the Gardiner.

Even if the CM had not taken over the Gardiner, news media would still not have covered the race. 8000 people attendance at a sporting event that occured in downtown isn't worthy to spill ink on. Twice that rode on Sunday's Ride For Heart and it got only the briefest of mentions. However, if cars were involved it would get lots of coverage bacuse the advertisers would want to leverage the event for even bigger advertising values. Like the car race that didn't happen this year (Yay! A quieter weekend in the city!)

The event sponsors were happy with the way the race worked out. Overall it went really well. Some sponsors already committed to the race for next year, as has the city (at least that is what I last heard). My compliments to the city and all of the city staff who worked hard to make this race the amazing event that it was. Yes, there were a couple of "rough" spots, but nothing that detracted from the overall pleasure that the event was able to share with the participants and spectators. The overall reception from the local businesses seems to be good. I'm hoping that this race does became an annual event, and one we can be proud of.

The automotive news making headlines these days is clearly indicative of a trend. I suspect that this is an occasion where cagers would rather be in our place where no news is often good news.

Anthony comments:

" ... few have taken up cycling for transport, but most have found it either awful, uncomfortable, or barely tolerable. I know of none who have found it to be anything resembling a fantastic experience. Problems with motor vehicles drivers, bad roads or designs, lack of bike parking, no changerooms, social stigmas, are a few of the reasons I have heard people tell me that have make the trip by bike unpleasant. I'm sure you have your own stories. And most here want to change that experience to be a more positive one."

I a fair weather cycling commuter, meaning I make my journey to and from work by bike on days that it isn't raining or snowing. This usually means riding 3 or 4 days a week between spring and early winter. If my night vision wasn't so lousy, I'd probably be able to extend even further, but I find riding home in darkness with the threat of random ice a bit too challenging!

I don't commute by bike because I'm trying to save the earth, reduce my carbon footprint or save money -- though I'm very happy I manage to do that in the process. I cycle to work because it is, by far, the most enjoyable way to get there. So, yes, I would say it is a pretty fantastic experience.

To begin and end by day, breathing, enjoying the flow on the bike, hammering through traffic or just sitting back and cruising along is ... wonderful.

The biggest deterent is the "system" you need to develop. I have access to showers now, but didn't for many years and had a system to ensure I arrived at my desk smelling and looking fresh (basically shower before leaving, wear cycling clothes, wait until you stop sweating after arriving to work, and wiping down with baby wipes -- worked like a charm). But, the beauty of a commute is you do the same thing every day. Once you work out the system, it's all very easy.

I would be happy to see improvements in cycling infrastructure, but I disagree that without them cycling is some kind of horrible grind too difficult to manage. Frankly, sqeezing into a crowded subway, or sitting in unmoving traffic, to me, is far, far more unpleasant!

Today's Scarborough Mirror I found in my mail box featured a bike race. The one in Malvern last Saturday.

http://www.nowtoronto.com/news/story.cfm?content=163403

I share the exact same sentiments. Cycling to work is still far more enjoyable than taking TTC or trying to drive. Like most commuter cyclists it is up to the individual to figure out a system that works for them because we all know as cyclists no one is going to support us in a adequate manner via proper infrastructure etc.

I am fortunate to have a gym wich is two blocks from my work and security guards who patrol the outdoor bike racks at my work but not everyone has this small luxury. I am still awaiting for a major employer in the Down town core (ie big bank, insurance company etc) to properly provide facilities such as showers to there employees. I think if one mayor corp did it they would standout amongst the rest and others would follow suit but so far no one has made the leap.

http://www.carectomy.com/index.php/Bikes/Critical-Mass-Clo...

As a commuter bicyclist, I have enjoyed a tremendous self satisfaction that borderlines a bulging ego...not to mention the bulging disk in my back as a result of so much riding ;) ... I had to schedule treatment options and spinal decompression therapy just to be able to ride to work, and fluff and tickle my own ego...

In light of the comments from tmoney - sorry to hear of the back issues - hope it's better soon and thanks for putting the link up....
could rough roads have aggravated your back? They are horribly rough, wheel-breaking and spoke-breaking - so why not back-breaking? Please advise....
And certainly the ride on the Gardiner was clear proof that the City can! provide good road surfaces - glassphalt as it were, smooth as glass, faultless in comparison with the shit we ride on every day. Mind you the City gives the Gardiner riders I mean drivers maybe $10M a year in maintenance etc. though the unwashed unmotorized just get to pay for it....

You might not all agree with this idea, but what if the Critical Mass group ride (some 500 + of us riders) participate in the Becel Ride for Heart? I noticed how quiet and corporate the Becel Ride for Heart is compared to the Critical Mass ride.

You might not all agree with this idea, but what if the Critical Mass group ride (some 500 + of us riders) participate in the Becel Ride for Heart? I noticed how quiet and corporate the Becel Ride for Heart is compared to the Critical Mass ride.

You might not all agree with this idea, but what if the Critical Mass group ride (some 500 + of us riders) participate in the Becel Ride for Heart? I noticed how quiet and corporate the Becel Ride for Heart is compared to the Critical Mass ride.