Any of you have Critical Mass in your city?  I didn't know there was a group in Buffalo, but I guess there is.

Back when I was in Pittsburgh, I remember seeing the flyers Critical Mass would hand out to get people to join them.  Their goals are to get people to quit driving evil, polluting cars, get bike lanes in the city and make people think of bicyclists as "real traffic."

The way they accomplish this is by getting together in large groups and riding their bikes down city streets.  The flyers I saw made it quite clear that they were [b]deliberately[/b] blocking traffic to make people realize the "need for bike lanes."  No telling how much the economic cost is of these shit stains going around blocking people from conducting their business.  I've never been caught behind a group of them, but if I did, the only thing stopping me from putting the smack down on those egotistical fucks would be the threat of jail time and a criminal record.

Well, looks like the Buffalo Police did the ass-kickin for me!  The cops are calling it a "bicycle riot" and the cyclists are calling it a "police riot."  Knowing what I do about the Buffalo Police Department, it wouldn't surprise me one bit if the cops really did use "excessive force" but in this case I'm not going to cop bash.  Instead, I'm thinking of donating to the fraternal order of police.

The full story as well as a nice photo of these socialist fucksticks getting slammed on a police car can be found at [url]http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial/20030605/1004324.asp[/url]

I will say if they want to protest, that's fine by me, but for Christ's sake, go picket City Hall and hand out literature.  Once they start blocking traffic and bragging about all the traffic jams they cause, it's time to start cracking skulls!

Do you have any critical mass stories from your city?

Here's the 1st part of the article:

Some choice quotes from one of the people arrested:



Looks like you're the one who got the education this time, eh asshole?!?!

Also be sure to check out this link to see more photos of the arrests: [url]http://www.rentaweb.net/bikeride[/url]

As I said before, I don't care how loony your ideas are if you want to protest responsibly, but it burns me up to see these smug jerkoffs telling me their trying to "educate me" all the while playing havoc with the dozens or hundreds of people whose lives are interrupted by their childish antics.  Skrew 'em!

-Nick Viejo.

Have you guys noticed that most environmentalists dont really want to help the planet, but instead just want a clean place to live? I have.

[url]http://rentaweb.net/bikeride/0d735a80.jpg[/url]

[img]http://rentaweb.net/bikeride/0fc21700.jpg[/img]

Bwaaaahahahahha

They need to issue OC spray for that department.  Then the cycle group could have felt the burn for a few hours.

As long as the cyclers go home safe at the end of the day![:D]

caption says the officer is choking the guy - unless he has extra-long forearms, i'd say he's got him by the shirt

also, there's a lot of talk about the officers "beating" and "knocking to the ground" and that the bike group "did nothing" - we don't see any pics of the tall B/M BEFORE he's in cuffs - plus we don't see any real "beating" - but EVERYONE had a camera!?

Bicyclists... don't get me started [;D]

My problem with bicyclists:  they want equal road time but they want to selectively obey the traffic laws?

How many times have you seen a bicyclist roll through a stop sign?  Swerve through traffic in order to avoid stopping at red lights.  Riding on the sidewalks and parking lanes when more convienent?  Riding several abreast  (in my state it is illegal for two vehicles to share the same lane), despite traffic being behind them?

I can't pull any of this crap on my motorcycle, why can they do it on bicycles?  I'll give them equal road time - as long as they obey the same laws as me.

This is very much a case of people wanting cake and being able to eat it too.  I love hypocrisy (sic), no matter who's perpetrating it.

They should have used spike strips to stop them.

Sgtar15

[img]http://rentaweb.net/bikeride/06235a80.jpg[/img]

Look on the bright side, you at least got them to carpool! How is the view from the inside, A**hole!

I've seen a lot of motorcyclists do this too.  Let's beat the piss out of them.

Drivers paid for the raods, they are ours. And the laws of physics settle all disputes.

Good idea. Try me first. I just looooove it when cagers get their panties in a twist.

rofl

Get outta my road you wussie, tree hugging hippies.

lol

If the cops are commended for beating the piss out of liberal shitbags, how long before they start treating [b]everyone[/b] that way.

A) I didn't advocate beating the piss out of them.  I merely lamented their inability to obey traffic laws.  For the most part they get away with it.

B) I've seen people in cars do it as well.  Are you advocating beating them as well?  Bicyclists are the biggest offenders in my area, followed by motorcyclists, cars, semis, etc.

I'm all for motorcyclists, bicyclists, semis, cars, trucks, mopeds, rollerbladers and even seques being given equal road rights.  I also expect them to obey the same laws I am required to follow.

*chuckle*  I wasn't gonna go that route, although I feel the same way.

Good call beat those who differ from your opinion. Cops should definetly have the right to use excessive force on those we don't like.[rolleyes]

I've always been an advocate of how stupid protesting is.  Protesting always ends up in blocked traffic and vandalization, this does absolutely nothing for your cause.  It only makes you look like a lunatic radical.

[B]It's about cyclists becoming traffic and hence, lawfully filling the streets where they have a legal right to ride - a right that is often denied them by reckless aggressive ignorant automobile drivers.[/B]

true. i've cycled since 1972 and can testify to that.


[b]My problem with bicyclists: they want equal road time but they want to selectively obey the traffic laws?[/b]

cyclists are subject to the same uniform motor vehicles code that cars and motorcycles are. just as obeying traffic laws helps keep a motorcyclist alive (i own 3 harleys and an indian, sold my 1100 gsxr), obeying traffic laws helps keeps a bicyclist alive. screw up on either and the odds are that you and i will pay a severe price.

[b]How many times have you seen a bicyclist roll through a stop sign?[/b]

perhaps a rolling stop for bicyclists is legal in your state? some states permit a cyclist to make a rolling stop legally. most do not.

in any event, from the view from over YOUR handlebars, how many cars do you observe doing the same thing? how many motorbikes? i see plenty of both.

[b]Swerve through traffic in order to avoid stopping at red lights.[/b]

sounds more like you are describing sport bike riders to me.

[b]Riding on the sidewalks and parking lanes when more convienent?[/b]

dunno about your area, but riding parking lanes is legal in my area. sidewalks are verboten in ohio....as they should be. that is pedestrian territory.

[b]Riding several abreast (in my state it is illegal for two vehicles to share the same lane), despite traffic being behind them?[/b]

two abreast is legal for cyclists in ohio. impeding the flow of traffic is not.

[b]I can't pull any of this crap on my motorcycle, why can they do it on bicycles? I'll give them equal road time - as long as they obey the same laws as me.[/b]

i take it that every stop you make is foot down and complete? i assume that your crotch rocket has never been above the legal limit? your rear tire has never spun? your front wheel has never left the ground? you have never apexed a turn? your bike never exceeds local/state noise ordnances?

You mean everyone who doesn't shoot back I am guessing?

[b]Drivers paid for the raods, they are ours.[/b]

actually, if you research your history, the first paved roads were the result actions of the league of the american wheelman (l.a.w.), a pre-turn of the century pro-cycling group.

[b]And the laws of physics settle all disputes.[/b]


your bluster notwithstanding, the law is squarely on the side of the cyclists.

I love watching people get their panties twisted here.

I have ridden bikes to about half of the places I need to go ever since I moved up to college. In some areas, it's faster and more convinent because of the heavy-traffic roads downtown and the very limited parking at many downtown stores. I have also ridden thousands of miles of traning on various county roads in the area. I own a car too, and use it when I think it will be faster then riding the bike.

I have even gone on a critical mass ride once. We didn't block the road, we stayed on the rightmost lane, in the bike lane, or in the shoulder of the road. The purpose of these rides is supposed to be to [b]share[/b] the road, meaning that both cars and bikes should be able to get where they're going without hassle. Riders who block the entire road to annoy motorists are no better then the drivers they are protesting against who flip off and nearly run over riders. The secondary purpose is to let drivers know about some of the advantages of cycling, such as low cost, avoidance of traffic and parking hassles, and free excercise. You may not agree, but it's a free country.

Since this is a college town, there's no shortage of cyclists who do really strange things on the road, including ignoring traffic lights and stop signs. Most of them have probably never ridden a bike since they were 10 years old and never really got the idea that cyclists have to follow the rules of the road too. Police here do give tickets to cyclists who break the law, and I have always supported that.

Also, as far as I know, it is legal to ride bicycles (or motorcycles) two abreast in the same lane.

[b]Louts and ruffians the lot of them![/b]

shotar! no cop bashing allowed!!!!!

I'm wasn't trying to imply that bicyclists are the only one's who do these things.  



A) Not every stop because I can actually balance my bike after all forward momentum has been stopped.  Just as I've seen bicyclists do.  Point is, I (and some I've seen) come to a complete stop.  Doing otherwise causes me to end up with road rash.

B,C,D)  Not denying the fact those events may transpire**.  However, I do not bemoan the tickets I've received either.  I have never bitched about being treated unfairly when I've been caught doing something I shouldn't.  Do the crime, pay the time.  My comment was more along the lines of:  bicyclists, more than any other wheeled vehicle, tend to obey the laws that they want to, yet are the first to complain about not receiving equal road time.  (Yes, motorcyclists do this as well, but I see it more with those under their own power.  There is an intersection where I watch bicyclists turn on a left arrow all day long in order to keep their momentum on a hill.)

E)  Even though my bike is louder than many Harleys, it is 100% street legal.  I've been pulled over for pegging the hand held decible meter, yet my pipes are stock.  And no, I'm not the asshole that downshifts and engine brakes in front of your house at 2 a.m.

I have nothing against bicyclists using the roads.  I just get upset when I see them selectively following the laws. I get more upset when I see motorcyclists do the same as, being one, I tend to face that driver's ire next time.

I think that we are all guilty of breaking some motor vehicle codes (speeding is sure thing for almost anyone with a license).  The contention is that, as a driver and a rider, I don't expect special privelages based on my mode of transportation.  Not every bicyclist does, but many in my area do.

Bike riding dickweed: "Fuck you filthy pig!  You'll never get me in that squad car!  Down with the oppressive car drivers!"

Young cop: "You can't talk to me that way you fuckstick!  Quit resisting arrest and GET YOUR HANDS BEHIND YOUR BACK!"

Old cop/Sgt.:"Hey hey hey...go a little easier on him kid!  Lots of cameras and this shit is gonna wind up on AR15.com for sure!"

I wish more municipalities would do the same.  None of the cities around here give tickets to bicyclists.

Sharing a lane, like helmet and eye protection laws, differs from state to state.  When I lived in CA, you could do it.  In CT you can't, which was a [b]big[/b] thing for me to re-align my thinking.

[size=5]Stop hijacking my thread!!![/size=5]

This is not about cyclists who obey the laws or if they deserve to get beat down.  This is about a bunch of hippie pinko commie environmentalists who brag about snarling traffic getting their comuppance!

If you want to defend the Critical Mass people go ahead.  I say they're assholes and had it coming to 'em.  Their attitude is, "We'll teach those evil car drivers a lesson.  We'll block traffic!"

In several of the photos you can see them riding and taking up an entire lane of traffic.

I do lots of bike riding myself (both pedal-power and motorcyle).  When I'm on my pedal bike you can bet your ass I do everything in my power to stay out of traffic.  It's about being considerate to other drivers and not clogging up the streets of people who are trying to get somewhere.

These Critical Mass people figure if they get enough of them together, then they can just block traffic with impunity all the while telling us how much better they are than normal citizens because the critical mass assholes don't use fossil fuels!  Whoop-dee-shit.  If they ever graduate college and get a real job where they can AFFORD a car, then they'll change their tune.

This is just another example of people thinking the rest of society owes them something.

They think they have every "right" to the road that car drivers do.  Well fine, if you can ride your bicycle at the same speed as the natural flow of traffic, go right ahead!  Otherwise, be considerate and stay out of the way!

-Nick Viejo.

Sooo....bikes are OK, as long as we all ride the way [b]you[/b] want us to??