There’s a lot of buzz about tonights ride with many people bringing new first time riders.  Should be a good night.  If you’re coming out, be sure to be safe on the ride, respect vehicles, enjoy a laid back ride, and remember that this is a casual ride, not a race.  See everyone tonight!

The critical mass rides that take place on the last Friday of each month are one of the highlights of the month for me.  It’s just very refreshing to meet up with over a hundred people (on a good friday) that have at least one thing in common, and that’s riding bikes.  There’s no official leader, no official route every month, and everything is for the most part, “on the fly”.   But it doesn’t really matter, because everyone there has shown up to simply have a good time and enjoy the ride.

I remember coming out to my first few rides with the mass, and did the ride on my bmx flatland bike.  A couple of friends came out with me and because of our small gear ratios, we pedaled hard through the whole ride, with of course a lot of freestyle tricks along the way.  But because we were having so much fun, it didn’t even occur to us until after the ride, that we had ridden as hard as we did for over 20 miles!  We all felt it in the morning and since then, I’ve decided to never do the ride on that little bmx bike again.  It’s so much more chill to cruise on my mid 80′s fixie conversion, which i do tricks on as well.  Or at least try to.

Making new friends is always key at these rides.  We’ve met alot of great people at the masses and hope to meet more.  People come out with friends, a friend, and many times there are people that come alone.  And don’t forget about the ones that come with their dogs, who enjoy the ride in the comfort of a little basket.  Wish someone would carry me in their basket.  Love seeing dogs at these events though.  But whomever you do or don’t come with, make it a point to reach out and meet new people each month.  It can become so comfortable to stick to your crew, or “clique” in some cases, and not meet new people. We encourage everyone to step out and make new friends.  There are many times where someone who came alone felt so much more comfortable on the ride because someone reached out and welcomed them.

I personally won’t be at the July 31st ride because I’ll be in New Orleans for the BMX Flatland Voodoo Jam.  But if you’re going, have fun and enjoy the ride.  And if you have any links or news that you feel would benefit readers and regular visitors to this site, please send that us.  See you all on the next ride.

Hector Garcia – The Byke Project

Through this site we’ll offer updates on the monthly mass rides, recap each month’s ride with photos and video from fellow riders, and link you to any and every other bike and fixed gear related site on the web to help keep everyone connected.  If you’d like to contribute to this effort each month with photos and video, just hit us up and we’d love to link to your Flickr feed or throw up some video.

This month’s ride takes place on Friday, June 26th.  We meet at Tranquility Park, which is in Downtown, right across the street from City Hall.  Everyone meets there between 6:30 – 7pm.  The ride technically starts at 7, but sometimes starts a little late.  Just be there on time and be ready for a chill ride.

Contact us with any questions or if you’d like to be added to the Critical Mass mailing list.  We won’t spam you, we’ll just keep you posted and informed on any events or future rides.  Enjoy.