Legacy

“Critical Mass is sexy!”

Unexpected words coming from a lean, curly-haired man wearing a white, v-neck shirt with the words “Yeah Bike!” printed on the front. Yet there he is: Moshe Cohen, mathematics graduate student, enthusiastically shouting those words to bikers as they pass by. Look for him on the last Friday of every month at the Memorial Tower, usually surrounded by more than 200 of his closest friends.

These people assemble to form Critical Mass, a group of local bike riders who get together and explore the streets of Baton Rouge. Critical Mass is comprised of a mix of first-timers, out-of-towners, BMXers, mountain bikers, and just-to-get-around riders. Despite their obvious diversity, there’s one thread that ties them together — the love of biking.

“I started biking because I was a broke college student,” Cohen said with a smile on his face.

But it’s not about why a person bikes, Cohen said, it’s about “showing your love for biking and increasing [bike] awareness.”

Cohen has done just that, by entering a movement that strives for awareness and safer streets since his first ride with Critical Mass in March 2005. He even had a hand in forming Baton Rouge Advocates for Safe Streets.

“My number one goal in the very beginning … was to get people on bikes and to let them ride safely in the streets,” Cohen explained.

Along with the formation of BRASS, Critical Mass has been vital in increasing local bike awareness. Earlier this year, Baton Rouge Mayor-President Kip Holden pledged to increase the amount of bike paths in the city to 68 miles by June 2010.

The popularity of Critical Mass has spiked since its first local ride in 2005. What used to be comprised of 12 riders has now expanded to more than 200 per gathering. As a movement with no leaders and no set routes, Critical Mass is a group of individual cyclists who get together to ride and celebrate.

“Critical Mass is not a statement. Critical Mass is a celebration of bicycling,” Cohen explained. “Ride daily, celebrate monthly. That’s what Critical Mass is trying to convey.”

Whether Critical Mass stands as a statement or not, the message it brings is simple: bicycling is practical transportation, and it’s here to stay.

“I feel like there is a message getting across,” said Tina Ufford, local potter who taught pottery leisure classes at the University before construction on the Student Union began. “It is going to piss motorists off, and … I don’t mind pissing them off because they’ve got to become aware that bicycling is a viable mode of transportation … We’re not here to be assholes.”

Critical Mass started in San Francisco in September 1992 and quickly spread to countries such as Brazil, New Zealand,

and Canada.

“Critical Mass is one of my favorite suburban and urban phenomena in America, and it really trips me out to think it’s going on all over the world,” Ufford said.

Cities such as San Francisco, New York and Vancouver, Canada have seen thousands of riders show up for the monthly Critical Mass rides, causing traffic that runs across the bikers’ paths to stop. This massive plugging of the streets in major cities has prompted response from law enforcement.

In comparison to those cities, Baton Rouge’s Critical Mass has remained rather uneventful. Though some Baton Rouge motorists have expressed their displeasure when faced with the massive group of bikes, most motorists get excited to see Critical Mass; honking, waving and urging the bikers onward.

“People love it here,” Cohen said, “I think it’s the parade culture. When we’re sitting on a bike and ringing our bells and waving at people, everyone just seems to enjoy it.”

Both Gary Durham, LSU Police Department’s executive director of public safety and risk management, and Cpl. L’Jean McKneely, Baton Rouge Police Department spokesperson, said they’ve received few complaints regarding Critical Mass.

“The only complaints we receive about bike riders are when they ride on the sidewalk or dart out in front of traffic on crosswalks,” Durham stated. “Bicycle riders are rarely, if ever, given tickets for violations on campus. Warnings usually suffice.”

Maj. Helen Haire, LSUPD’s special services commander, agrees that Critical Mass hasn’t caused any major problems.

“As long as they’re not bothering anyone, they can do their thing,” Haire said.

The city’s bike laws can be found on the official Baton Rouge government Web site. However, riders in Critical Mass often ignore these laws, instead doing such things as riding more than two abreast on a path, not having lights when riding at night or not keeping both hands on the handlebars at all times.

Despite numerous laws being broken by riders, local law enforcement hasn’t issued any Critical Mass-related citations.

“They are subject to [the law] and any time we see a gross violation, we are going to address it,” Haire said.

Haire said that LSUPD officers are familiar with city bike laws and citations have been issued to cyclists involved in accidents with cars.

Sgt. Don Kelly, BRPD media relations director, stated they execute the same policy.

“We only have so many officers, and they must constantly use their discretion and judgment to prioritize the use of their limited patrol time and balance the many duties they are expected to perform every day to help keep the public safe,” Kelly explained in an e-mail.

One such law states that a rider is granted the same rights as a car-driver, and thus is subject to many of the same restrictions. Alcohol consumption is therefore illegal while on a bike. Critical Mass, however, has obtained a reputation in Baton Rouge for the afterparties and riders who will coast with a beer in their hand.

Travis Hans, owner of Baton Rouge’s Mid City Bike and frequent rider had his bike outfitted for the July Critical Mass with a set of drums to play during the ride. He described a run-in with a police officer when alcohol was involved.

“I fell over my bike — I don’t remember this, somebody told me — with a beer in my hand in front of a cop, and they didn’t do anything. He was like, ‘What’s he going to do? He’s on a bike,’” Hans recalled.

“There’s so much straight-up drinking in the streets here that it always cracks me up that people are horrified that Critical Mass drinks beers,” Ufford laughed while stating. “A cop could give them a drinking-on-your-bike ticket and they’re totally aware of that, just like anybody driving home from a football game can get a DUI. It’s their choice.”

The absence of a group leader means every rider becomes responsible for their own behavior. Regardless of this lack of formal leadership, Cohen and Ufford have emerged as prominent riders in Critical Mass. Both often make announcements before the ride commences and are often looked to for the direction of the route.

The logic behind having no set leader for every ride is simple: “Everyone is an equal access member because no one elected anyone to be the president of bicycling,”

Cohen explained.

The “equal access” membership has helped Baton Rouge’s Critical Mass obtain a reputation for being inviting and accepting of all people and their suggestions. Both Cohen and Ufford agree that the atmosphere of Critical Mass is special.

Cohen said “You feel like you’re with family.”

See a slide show of more photos from this story.

Photographs Benjamin Oliver Hicks