
Although this interview has been in progress for about a week, it’s a great followup to the NYC Critical Mass post below.
I spoke with Atlanta’s Courteous Mass ride organizers, Jeff McMichael and Jett Marks, about their softer version of Atlanta’s Critical Mass, about the ride and why they differentiate it from a typical CM. They’re both daily, year-round bike commuters, are members of the Atlanta Bicycle Campaign and work with a few local bicycle groups. In other words, they’re pretty much like you and I, except they’re doing the right things to get more people on bikes…
BIKERUMOR: Are you the organizer for Atlanta’s Critical Mass or Courteous Mass?
JEFF: I am helping to organize the Atlanta Courteous Mass Rides. I seek opinions on routes and other matters, and post announcements on various local websites.
Critical Mass is a ‘leaderless ride’, often with just the people in front going where they want.
BIKERUMOR: Sounds like Fight Club…you don’t talk about Critical Mass, or at least not the “organization” behind it. Why not?
JEFF: I think this quote from the Wikipedia Critical Mass article says it better than I could:
“The “disorganized” nature of the event allows it to largely escape clampdown by authorities who may view the rides as forms of parades or organized protest. Additionally, the movement is free from the structural costs associated with a centralized, hierarchical organization. In order for the event to function, the only requirement is a sufficient turn-out to create a “critical mass” of riders dense enough to occupy a piece of road to the exclusion of drivers of motorized vehicles, pedestrians, and other road users.”
Read “more” for the links, pics and the rest of the interview…
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