Critical Mass Tunnel Freaks

Fri, 11 Jul 2003 07:58:18 GMT,
,
"Buck" j u n k m a i l @ g a l a x y c o r p . c o m wrote:


This has nothing to do with CM. He stopped because he thought he was doing
you a favor.

How 'bout the guy who sped up to pass me four car-lengths before a
4-way stop. Then he cut to the right. I figure he's going to turn.
He's braking and I am too because I'm right behind him now. Okay, he's
stopping, I'm dribbling along. Clear sight lines. No approaching
traffic anywhere. Okay, he's still stopped and watching me in the
mirror. I'm on him and doing a track stand. His backup lights come on.
I dab. I'm looking right at the guy in his mirror and figuring out how
I'm gonna ditch the bike and climb onto his trunk lid. He puts it into
drive and proceeds normally.

WTF was that?

I'm still trying to nail down examples to support this popular
backlash myth before I'll even stick my neck out attributing it to any
particular groups or other individual cyclists.
--
zk

"Zoot Katz" wrote in message
...

How 'bout the guy who sped up to pass me four car-lengths before a
4-way stop. Then he cut to the right. I figure he's going to turn.
He's braking and I am too because I'm right behind him now. Okay, he's
stopping, I'm dribbling along. Clear sight lines. No approaching
traffic anywhere. Okay, he's still stopped and watching me in the
mirror. I'm on him and doing a track stand. His backup lights come on.
I dab. I'm looking right at the guy in his mirror and figuring out how
I'm gonna ditch the bike and climb onto his trunk lid. He puts it into
drive and proceeds normally.

WTF was that?

I'm still trying to nail down examples to support this popular
backlash myth before I'll even stick my neck out attributing it to any
particular groups or other individual cyclists.

What you just described sounds like the kind of backlash a crazy person
might use to get back at a CM rider. Perhaps he recognized you from your
last traffic jam....

-Buck

Buck wrote:

"Zoot Katz" wrote in message
...

How 'bout the guy who sped up to pass me four car-lengths before a
4-way stop. Then he cut to the right. I figure he's going to turn.
He's braking and I am too because I'm right behind him now. Okay, he's
stopping, I'm dribbling along. Clear sight lines. No approaching
traffic anywhere. Okay, he's still stopped and watching me in the
mirror. I'm on him and doing a track stand. His backup lights come on.
I dab. I'm looking right at the guy in his mirror and figuring out how
I'm gonna ditch the bike and climb onto his trunk lid. He puts it into
drive and proceeds normally.

WTF was that?

I'm still trying to nail down examples to support this popular
backlash myth before I'll even stick my neck out attributing it to any
particular groups or other individual cyclists.

What you just described sounds like the kind of backlash a crazy person
might use to get back at a CM rider. Perhaps he recognized you from your
last traffic jam....

-Buck

He couldna recognized him thru his dino suit!

Sat, 12 Jul 2003 00:36:21 GMT,
,
"Buck" j u n k m a i l @ g a l a x y c o r p . c o m wrote:


I'm still trying to nail down examples to support this popular
backlash myth before I'll even stick my neck out attributing it to any
particular groups or other individual cyclists.

What you just described sounds like the kind of backlash a crazy person
might use to get back at a CM rider. Perhaps he recognized you from your
last traffic jam....

Oh goodie, I'm glad it's that simply, though imaginatively, resolved.

But why are you so ready to excuse the jerk by pleading his sanity or
painting him as some righteous avenger? And tell me how exactly is a
"CM rider" is supposed to look?
--
zk

And tell me how exactly is a "CM rider" is supposed to look?

Stylish, man, stylish.

--

_______________________ALL AMIGA IN MY MIND_______________________
------------------"Buddy Holly, the Texas Elvis"------------------
in.edu__________

Sat, 12 Jul 2003 01:16:58 -0400, ,
"Eric S. Sande" wrote:

And tell me how exactly is a "CM rider" is supposed to look?

Stylish, man, stylish.

Yeah, that was probably the problem. I might have looked too much like
a cop in my yellow jacket, black mutt, socks and shorts.

Or he may have been reacting to the "CARS SUCK" sticker.
In that case, all the stop sign running cyclists, regardless of how
they're dressed for whatever disease ride or racing fantasy they're
'training' for, are exonerated.

I just dismissed him as some wannabe traffic-vigilante type by
dramatically expectorating on the road in his general direction.
--
zk

I just dismissed him as some wannabe traffic-vigilante type by
dramatically expectorating on the road in his general direction.

Well, that's as may be, but you understand that I'm always trying
to raise your consciousness in the universal road use direction.

I just can't believe there's an urban road cyclist out there who
believes CM is a good thing.

I think you hate cars too much, think of them as road furniture.

--

_______________________ALL AMIGA IN MY MIND_______________________
------------------"Buddy Holly, the Texas Elvis"------------------
in.edu__________

In article ,
"Eric S. Sande" writes:

I just can't believe there's an urban road cyclist out there who
believes CM is a good thing.

There's no such thing as bad publicity ;-)


cheers,
Tom

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"Baka Dasai" wrote in message
This is termed "corking", and is done to ensure the mass doesn't get
broken up. If this offends your sense of vehicular cycling, think
of the mass as a single vehicle that requires a longer-than-usual
traffic light cycle to get through an intersection.

Call it what you want, but it is illegal and shows the world how CMers think
theat the laws don't apply to them. If you want to do this kind of thing,
then do it legally - go get a parade permit and have the intersections
blocked with barricades. Oh yeah, I bet you can't get a parade permit for
rush hour on a Friday. Perhaps there is a reason for that, no?

The CMers are a bunch of hypocrites. They want to show that they are part of
traffic, yet they block traffic. They want to call it a rolling party until
the law gets involved and then they become "protestors." They flaunt their
ability to break the laws then whine when there are repercussions. They
claim they are making a difference, yet can't comprehend that there might be
a backlash against what they do. Which is it? They lay claim to any positive
feeback yet deny all negative feedback.

These folks need to decide who they are, what they stand for, how far they
are really willing to go to make their point, and then take responsibility
for their actions, whether the results are good or bad.

-Buck

"Zoot Katz" wrote in message
...
"Buck" j u n k m a i l @ g a l a x y c o r p . c o m wrote:

I'm still trying to nail down examples to support this popular
backlash myth before I'll even stick my neck out attributing it to any
particular groups or other individual cyclists.

What you just described sounds like the kind of backlash a crazy person
might use to get back at a CM rider. Perhaps he recognized you from your
last traffic jam....

Oh goodie, I'm glad it's that simply, though imaginatively, resolved.

But why are you so ready to excuse the jerk by pleading his sanity or
painting him as some righteous avenger? And tell me how exactly is a
"CM rider" is supposed to look?

Well, you got what you were looking for, didn't you? Let's quote you again,
"I'm still trying to nail down examples to support this popular backlash
myth...." If you weren't fishing for someone to respond that this is a
backlash against CM, then what were you doing?

Who excused him for anything? Your point of view is once again coloring what
you read. You gave an example of bad behavior. It was in the context of a
discussion about negative repercussions from CM. You even suggested that
this might be an example which supports the backlash "myth." So when someone
finally tells you that it could be, you put on your suit of indignation and
say that by confirming your suspicions we are 1) excusing his actions, 2)
suggesting that his actions are an act of riteousness, 3) pigenholing all CM
riders into some sort of recognizable "look."

So, you had an encounter with a moron in a truck. As you present the story,
you did nothing wrong and I believe you. Something had to motivate his
actions. You are a participant in CM and you have a recognizable bicycle.
You have stated before that you go out of your way to make sure people see
the most recognizable element, a "cars suck" sticker mounted prominently on
the fender. The moron had ample opportunity to observe said sticker as he
passed you. Thus the conclusion that perhaps he did recognize YOU from
something YOU did. Or he could just be a moron in a truck who thinks it's
fun to harrass cyclists.

If you talk to the folks that work in an emergency room, they will tell you
that things just get crazier during the full moon. Perhaps the case load is
different, but statistically, they are no more busy during the full moon
than other days of the month. As cyclists we interact with autos on a daily
basis. Perhaps there is no proof that CM causes a backlash (and it would be
difficult to prove anyway), but it has been observed, as has been posted
here several times, that traffic reacts differently (and not in a positive
way) after a CM ride.

-Buck