Joined: 25 May 2007Posts: 356Location: Downtown Tacoma
Best CM evar!!
_________________ Tacoma isn't that bad... well maybe it is
Oldmesenger82
Posted: Fri Oct 26, 2007 8:39 pm
Joined: 30 Jun 2006Posts: 204Location: Fremont
WAY COOL!!!!!!! Huge turn out.
john
Posted: Fri Oct 26, 2007 9:28 pm
AAAARRRRRGGGGbllll pppphtt!Joined: 26 Aug 2006Posts: 725Location: In the lab.
I'm bringing a pickleball bat next time.
If we had taken I-5 back, I wouldn't have had the run in with the gangsta's.
(chop: yer right cowBen... that was unnecessarily negative speech for the relatively sensitive eyes that now cruise this forum.)
I digress ( but went back and censored myself)... I-5 woulda been perfect. Traffic was at a standstill, we woulda saturated it. Not sure why CM fears I-5. I drive about 70 on I-5 and about 85-90 when I am on the viaduct. Corking I-5 would be safer.
but riding on 99 was way fun. For those who did not get to experience it...we had two guys in a honda that were listening to Screamin Jay Hawkins that I gave a beer and they helped us cork the aurora bridge. Buttrock trash uber alles!
Last edited by john on Sat Oct 27, 2007 8:48 am; edited 3 times in total _________________ In der Not frisst der Teufel Fliegen.
wishing death on another is fucked up. wishing death on their siblings... evermore so.
My house smells of feline urine.
I saw you guys today.
kalen
Posted: Sat Oct 27, 2007 9:33 am
Joined: 10 Apr 2007Posts: 342Location: Olympia, on the farm
That was a rockin good time. Some photos of the pirate ship and its construction here. Anybody got other good shots?
Raindog
Posted: Sat Oct 27, 2007 12:05 pm
Joined: 12 Sep 2007Posts: 51Location: Fremont
I almost got runned over by the #49 bus on 45th. There were 2 or 3 of us directly in front of the bus and the driver was honking and intentionally driving as closely as possible to our bikes. It was pretty intimidating. Cars aren't nearly as scary as a fuckoff huge bus 2 inches from your back tire.
I thought really hard about whether I should report the incident to Metro. I completely sympathize with the bus driver and all the people on board. The driver's just doing his job, getting people to their jobs or homes or pubs or homecoming parties. The passengers are doing their part - out of benevolence, drunkenness, or necessity - to support not-driving-cars in this town. It isn't these people at whom my silent messages of bicycle superiority are targeted when I ride in Mass. On the other hand, fuck that guy. I was legally riding my bike in the right lane of a road without a bike lane and he threatened to run me over with his bus. So I reported it.
Other than that it was a wonderful night and riding up 99 was monumentally awesome. As were the costumes.
_________________ "I take it from your glum demeanor that your ill-advised foray into time-travel destroyed yet another reality."
surlykat
Posted: Sat Oct 27, 2007 4:04 pm
Joined: 05 Jul 2007Posts: 658Location: in the CD
So the trip up the Viaduct was definitely a blast (though I would have preferred to get off the arterial and clog up downtown a bit more before going north), and many thanks are due to those in the front who helped to keep the group together instead of just sprinting ahead.
Watching John and Gregg stand up to the gangsta who had gotten out of his car on 45th and was trying to make something of it was also pretty awesome. And the party waiting for us at Red Square was, well, coincidental but also fun.
My camera battery dying at Red Square just as people began to do the Bike Lift was not awesome, but the rest of it sure was. Great Mass!
J
Posted: Sat Oct 27, 2007 5:44 pm
Joined: 03 Aug 2007Posts: 179Location: by that one arco am/pm
shoutouts to erics and dashap and that one crazy fucker who went to california on a pink fixie for being downtown late and confused just like me and for being bonerworthy enough to herd a teeny subMass back to mass
what a jolly night!
_________________ god damn problem bees
Oldmesenger82
Posted: Sat Oct 27, 2007 5:49 pm
Joined: 30 Jun 2006Posts: 204Location: Fremont
It shure was fun but maybe we didn't need to stay on 99 as long as we did.
SCREEMING JAY HAWKINS IS NOT BUTT ROCK!!!!!!!
john
Posted: Sat Oct 27, 2007 8:03 pm
AAAARRRRRGGGGbllll pppphtt!Joined: 26 Aug 2006Posts: 725Location: In the lab.
Oldmesenger82 wrote:
It shure was fun but maybe we didn't need to stay on 99 as long as we did.
SCREEMING JAY HAWKINS IS NOT BUTT ROCK!!!!!!!
Oh no... but the guys listening to it we're as close as you can get to Bevis and Butthead this side of Appalachia !!!!!! Sorry for the ambiguity...
You really had to hang with them for the experience. They also tried to run the one mega asshole off the road...and I think they threw some stuff at him... it was a great moment that reminded me of some of my old friends from highschool.
;-)
I reallllly wish some more experience riders would stick back with us on the moving cork. It can be really fun... I did a nose wheelie that ended with my wheel on the bumper of the silver volvo. However....there were not enough of us back there and there were some slow riders that were legitimately scared. If we are gonna be anarchists...we have to take care of the masses. It's more fun at the bike car interface anyway...
(Oh fawk, I'm ranting again.. and that means Henry's panties are getting knotted.)
_________________ In der Not frisst der Teufel Fliegen.
AAAARRRRRGGGGbllll pppphtt!Joined: 26 Aug 2006Posts: 725Location: In the lab.
surlykat wrote:
Watching John and Gregg stand up to the gangsta who had gotten out of his car on 45th and was trying to make something of it was also pretty awesome.
Fucking sucks, they settled for a pussy kick to my rear wheel. I coulda gotten shot in the face and Charly coulda paid off the mortgage.
Life sucks.
Samsarra is inescapable.
I love my bike too much. expensive material possessions are such an anchor we are hanging upon.
In other words...
Oh Mann I paid me hung...
(if you caught that I'll sockya all the way to Greenwood till yer stupahd)
_________________ In der Not frisst der Teufel Fliegen.
shoutouts to erics and dashap and that one crazy fucker who went to california on a pink fixie for being downtown late and confused just like me and for being bonerworthy enough to herd a teeny subMass back to mass
john wrote:
I reallllly wish some more experience riders would stick back with us on the moving cork. It can be really fun... I did a nose wheelie that ended with my wheel on the bumper of the silver volvo. However....there were not enough of us back there and there were some slow riders that were legitimately scared. If we are gonna be anarchists...we have to take care of the masses. It's more fun at the bike car interface anyway...
This is why I'm kinda CM'ed out for a while. We need a good lead group. Not so much leaders, per se... More like patrons. It seems like there's always a group that gets dropped off the back of the mass on the first big hill, and can't get caught up because of the lights and the now angered, backlogged car traffic moving perpendicular to the mass.
I'm not saying someone needs to be "the leader", but someone other than whoever's been leading the last few rides needs to set a better pace, at least up hill. I can't do many more hill sprints from the sweepers at the back to catch the front of the mass a half a mile up and through traffic to tell them to slow up for a bit, only to have them "slow up" by doing a miracle shift at the top of the hill.
HeadphoneMagnet
Posted: Sat Oct 27, 2007 9:30 pm
Joined: 05 Oct 2007Posts: 13Location: Queeeeeeeeeeeeeen Anne (on loan from Dublin, Ireland)
I tried to catch up with CM but couldn't find it. Ended up a long way up Aurora, bearing the brunt of a lot of angry motorists. Never had so much abuse shouted (and thrown) at me before. Glad to get home after that.
patr0ck
Posted: Sun Oct 28, 2007 12:27 am
Joined: 02 Aug 2007Posts: 42Location: travelling between issaquah and seattle
I had a great time with this CM ride. Riding up in the front of the group is tricky because we have no idea how far ahead we are getting from the rest of the mass. People yell 'hold up', but it takes 10 minutes for the whole group to come together again.
_________________
Eric_s
Posted: Sun Oct 28, 2007 1:18 am
Joined: 07 Mar 2007Posts: 1691Location: the dirty south
I had fun this CM. Bobhall and I decided that riding on 99 kinda sucks for various reasons, so we, and several other people (tandem!) sort of paralleled mass, and guessed (correctly) where you all would get off the 99.
A cop came up to me and several other people to ask where mass was going, and all I could do was laugh and tell him I had no idea. I almost wish I had said something about having no idea and that the SPD should put cars by every entrance to 99 just in case. But I'm not that guy, so I didn't.
_________________ That's Lemmy, Not Jesus.
Alex
Posted: Sun Oct 28, 2007 8:17 am
Joined: 18 May 2006Posts: 3128Location: Roosevelt
I don't like riding on 99 either, but I did because my wife wanted to. Christine and I were on our tandem and probably looked pretty funny as we got onto 99. I was leaning hard to the left, she was leaning hard to the right, and right we went (yes, you can steer a tandem from the back if you try hard enough). I'm glad that the submass kept going.
My concern with riding on 99 is that the cops will come down hard on CM and kill it's current vibe. CM is a lousy form of activism and a great way to have a rolling party. I worry that constant police escorts will start attracting those who enjoy conflict and kill the fun and laid back types that make up the bulk of Seattle CM today.
CM on 99 is stupid. Blocking a car downtown so they have to wait one extra light cycle is one thing. Holding someone up trying to drive to their poor grandma's in Shoreline for 25 minutes is something else. Next time I'll bring some kittens to run over.
We need to make CM fun again. For us AND the cars. You're not supposed to get into shouting matches. You're supposed to confront anger with a ton of silly-ass humor. When the corked cars start honking at you, hold up a sign that says "HONK IF YOU LIKE BIKES". Hand out beers to people. Tell them that they'll only wait one light cycle and that we'll pass soon. The goal should be to make people laugh and shit. Christ, people.
Raindog
Posted: Sun Oct 28, 2007 11:00 am
Joined: 12 Sep 2007Posts: 51Location: Fremont
Matthew wrote:
I'm not saying someone needs to be "the leader", but someone other than whoever's been leading the last few rides needs to set a better pace, at least up hill. I can't do many more hill sprints from the sweepers at the back to catch the front of the mass a half a mile up and through traffic to tell them to slow up for a bit, only to have them "slow up" by doing a miracle shift at the top of the hill.
Absolutely agreed. I tried to stay near the front and remind people that there were a ton of people spread out way behind us but that didn't work so well. After we exited 99, several of us (I think Irie and a few others) convinced the group to hold up for a few light cycles (which turned into about 15 minutes) while the rest of the group caught up. I don't get why people think it's a race.
I also hear the anti-99 arguments. Valid points. It was tons of fun though :)
_________________ "I take it from your glum demeanor that your ill-advised foray into time-travel destroyed yet another reality."
ksep
Posted: Sun Oct 28, 2007 11:25 am
Joined: 27 Jan 2007Posts: 1879Location: Westlake
It's that damn old bearded guy that looks like a hobo. I guess he likes riding on it because he's so used to living under it. A 2nd mini-mass tried to steer the group off 99 at the first exit (Seneca) which seemed like a reasonable compromise, but noooooo.
_________________ -Kevin
FieryIrie
Posted: Sun Oct 28, 2007 2:50 pm
Joined: 25 Jun 2007Posts: 554Location: Wallingford
About the 99 debate. Yes. Very stupid. We totally do not belong on the viaduct. The point of Critical Mass is to ride in the places where we are present but often ignored and made to feel unsafe. We take over the streets to say "Look, we belong here too!" It's about awareness.
But amazingly fun and beautiful anyway.
And about it being all spread out. We have a bit of a problem with some of the Fast Friday kids (and other of course too, though I noticed it was mostly them) wanting to sprint around cause they're all cool. =P I know a number of us pointythreers got up front after the bridge and told everyone to chill out, at which point things were a lot more grouped up.
And it was super fun to take part in leading it.
jeff
Posted: Sun Oct 28, 2007 3:36 pm
SOC pussyJoined: 05 May 2006Posts: 4501
I'm pretty sure tight pants and mag wheels make you go fast, that and cocaine.
snyd3282
Posted: Sun Oct 28, 2007 3:39 pm
could suck the fun out of a blowjobJoined: 23 Jul 2007Posts: 588Location: Ballard / Fremont
Thoughts from a first-time mass rider:
1. Why don't some folks agree to a radio channel for communication and bring hand held radios to communicate between the front and back? ...or a could "comm" folks post themselves at front, mid, and back and relay messages through cell phones?
2. I was paranoid about taking 99 and almost decided not to. The view from 99 was great, several first timers commented on it being a once in a lifetime experience. Yet, it corked people for white a while and probably attracts some bad attention. Did we have to take all the lanes? At first I thought maybe people would just stay in the right lane.
3. Going through the tunnel I was thinking "what would a person do if they had a mechanical right here?" and it made me a bit paranoid while still feeling that once in a lifetime sort of thing.
4. My friend needed a pit-stop and we were scrambling to catch up along 45th. I probably pulled a few dangerous moves splitting a lane with cars and taking the sidewalk and I caught a scary glimpse of an angry guy getting out of a car and yelling at some cyclists as I scrambled to get back into the mass.
5. It was a lot of fun. I'll do it again, but I'm glad I was toward the front of the pack instead of the back when we were on 99. I feel that 99 isn't the best idea, but the view is nice enough and it is enough of a statement that I'm afraid folks will keep doing it. ...though a motorcycle cop sitting at the onramp would more than enough deterrant to keep me off.
mcrawfor
Posted: Sun Oct 28, 2007 3:55 pm
Joined: 09 May 2006Posts: 1039Location: Ballard
Could we have one month, just *one* where CM isn't followed by a tedious debate of how we were on 99 too long, how it's scary at the back, how some people went too fast, how some people don't get what it's all *about!*
Let's try it next month, ok?
Please?
_________________ -miles
Happy Stick Person
Posted: Sun Oct 28, 2007 4:10 pm
Joined: 20 Sep 2006Posts: 1168Location: Leschi
better miles?
FieryIrie
Posted: Sun Oct 28, 2007 4:33 pm
Joined: 25 Jun 2007Posts: 554Location: Wallingford
snyd3282 wrote:
Thoughts from a first-time mass rider:
1. Why don't some folks agree to a radio channel for communication and bring hand held radios to communicate between the front and back? ...or a could "comm" folks post themselves at front, mid, and back and relay messages through cell phones?
2. I was paranoid about taking 99 and almost decided not to. The view from 99 was great, several first timers commented on it being a once in a lifetime experience. Yet, it corked people for white a while and probably attracts some bad attention. Did we have to take all the lanes? At first I thought maybe people would just stay in the right lane.
3. Going through the tunnel I was thinking "what would a person do if they had a mechanical right here?" and it made me a bit paranoid while still feeling that once in a lifetime sort of thing.
4. My friend needed a pit-stop and we were scrambling to catch up along 45th. I probably pulled a few dangerous moves splitting a lane with cars and taking the sidewalk and I caught a scary glimpse of an angry guy getting out of a car and yelling at some cyclists as I scrambled to get back into the mass.
5. It was a lot of fun. I'll do it again, but I'm glad I was toward the front of the pack instead of the back when we were on 99. I feel that 99 isn't the best idea, but the view is nice enough and it is enough of a statement that I'm afraid folks will keep doing it. ...though a motorcycle cop sitting at the onramp would more than enough deterrant to keep me off.
Critical Mass is chaos. Unfortunately if you get dropped you get dropped and shouldn't pull unsafe maneuvers trying to catch up. Make sure you have the phone number of a friend who can update you on locale, end point whatever.
It's never fun getting dropped but there just isn't much way to organize the unorganized. That's what Tuesday and Thursdays are for!
We can try to keep off 99 by being in the front, but otherwise, sucks to be those who aren't willing to go there.
And Miles, it would be nice... but unlikely.
How about this? THAT WAS SUPER FUN, LET'S DO IT AGAIN NEXT MONTH!!!
mcrawfor
Posted: Sun Oct 28, 2007 5:47 pm
Joined: 09 May 2006Posts: 1039Location: Ballard
FieryIrie wrote:
How about this? THAT WAS SUPER FUN, LET'S DO IT AGAIN NEXT MONTH!!!
Perfect! I agree, let's do it!
_________________ -miles
Remington
Posted: Sun Oct 28, 2007 6:00 pm
Joined: 23 Jan 2006Posts: 457Location: Remington Country
john wrote:
I reallllly wish some more experience riders would stick back with us on the moving cork. It can be really fun... However....there were not enough of us back there and there were some slow riders that were legitimately scared. If we are gonna be anarchists...we have to take care of the masses. It's more fun at the bike car interface anyway...
Thanks John and Gregg for hanging out at the back through the tunnel. I brought a friend out for first ride on the streets, and everything was going well until we were at the back of the mass in the tunnel, with a few cars laying on the horn the whole way through just a few yards behind us. Oh well, we had a good time anyway.
FieryIrie
Posted: Sun Oct 28, 2007 6:41 pm
Joined: 25 Jun 2007Posts: 554Location: Wallingford
Dude. Remington. Love the avatar!
john
Posted: Sun Oct 28, 2007 8:36 pm
AAAARRRRRGGGGbllll pppphtt!Joined: 26 Aug 2006Posts: 725Location: In the lab.
Remington wrote:
Thanks John and Gregg for hanging out at the back through the tunnel.
'tis our duty and morale obligation.
No novice cyclist or pedestrian shall suffer an aggressive motorist within our view while blood still flows in our veins.
(sorry... It's my best attempt at channeling some cotton mather... but not very good. but hey...)
_________________ In der Not frisst der Teufel Fliegen.
Joined: 12 Oct 2007Posts: 87Location: Greenwood/Phinney
Hey Remington, John and Greg, I was at the back all the way through the tunnel and up to the s. end of the bridge with my friend Angie, helping to push her along. Thank you, thank you, thank you so much for the rolling cork and support.
Riding 99 is awesome. I'm amazed to have done it twice in my life. I'm completly OK not doing it again, and next I think I'll join the mini-mass taking the left.
snyd3282
Posted: Sun Oct 28, 2007 9:16 pm
could suck the fun out of a blowjobJoined: 23 Jul 2007Posts: 588Location: Ballard / Fremont
FieryIrie wrote:
snyd3282 wrote:
Thoughts from a first-time mass rider:
Critical Mass is chaos. Unfortunately if you get dropped you get dropped and shouldn't pull unsafe maneuvers trying to catch up. Make sure you have the phone number of a friend who can update you on locale, end point whatever.
It's never fun getting dropped but there just isn't much way to organize the unorganized. That's what Tuesday and Thursdays are for!
All good advice, and I totally don't blame anyone for myself for the probably unsafe maneuvers. I've been bad about getting numbers and need to start doing that.
Out of curiosity, how often has CM taken 99?
Oh, and THAT WAS SUPER FUN, LET'S DO IT AGAIN NEXT MONTH!!!
dennyt
Posted: Sun Oct 28, 2007 10:03 pm
rocket mechanicJoined: 02 Aug 2005Posts: 2708
Lutella
Posted: Sun Oct 28, 2007 10:04 pm
Joined: 20 Mar 2007Posts: 206Location: all dressed in yella
Kalen! Amazing bike costume!
Eric_s
Posted: Sun Oct 28, 2007 10:22 pm
Joined: 07 Mar 2007Posts: 1691Location: the dirty south
I HAD FUN LETS DO IT AGAIN NEXT MONTH!
I just wish there was a way to get such nice views without having to take over the freeway.
_________________ That's Lemmy, Not Jesus.
dennyt
Posted: Sun Oct 28, 2007 10:30 pm
rocket mechanicJoined: 02 Aug 2005Posts: 2708
Eric_s wrote:
I just wish there was a way to get such nice views without having to take over the freeway.
All times are GMT - 8 Hours
The time now is Sat Aug 12, 2023 11:32 am
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum
Joined: 25 May 2007
Posts: 356
Location: Downtown Tacoma
AAAARRRRRGGGGbllll pppphtt!
Joined: 26 Aug 2006
Posts: 725
Location: In the lab.
dr. math
Joined: 26 Oct 2005
Posts: 132
Location: On the outside of a Klein bottle
Joined: 18 Oct 2005
Posts: 233
Location: SEA || 206
Joined: 10 Apr 2007
Posts: 342
Location: Olympia, on the farm
Joined: 12 Sep 2007
Posts: 51
Location: Fremont
Joined: 05 Jul 2007
Posts: 658
Location: in the CD
Joined: 03 Aug 2007
Posts: 179
Location: by that one arco am/pm
rookie
Joined: 20 Aug 2007
Posts: 1173
Location: Sur le nord-ouest des États-Unis, pret de la frontier Québécois
Joined: 05 Oct 2007
Posts: 13
Location: Queeeeeeeeeeeeeen Anne (on loan from Dublin, Ireland)
Joined: 02 Aug 2007
Posts: 42
Location: travelling between issaquah and seattle
Joined: 07 Mar 2007
Posts: 1691
Location: the dirty south
Joined: 18 May 2006
Posts: 3128
Location: Roosevelt
Joined: 28 Jul 2006
Posts: 460
Joined: 27 Jan 2007
Posts: 1879
Location: Westlake
Joined: 25 Jun 2007
Posts: 554
Location: Wallingford
could suck the fun out of a blowjob
Joined: 23 Jul 2007
Posts: 588
Location: Ballard / Fremont
Joined: 09 May 2006
Posts: 1039
Location: Ballard
Joined: 20 Sep 2006
Posts: 1168
Location: Leschi
Joined: 23 Jan 2006
Posts: 457
Location: Remington Country
Joined: 12 Oct 2007
Posts: 87
Location: Greenwood/Phinney
rocket mechanic
Joined: 02 Aug 2005
Posts: 2708
Joined: 20 Mar 2007
Posts: 206
Location: all dressed in yella
