Saturday, June 28, 2008

Bicyclists take message to the streets

By EVE HIGHTOWER
Ehightower@modbee.com

last updated: August 30, 2007 07:58:53 AM

How many people are needed to incite change in Modesto?

That's what a group of bicyclists who meet monthly to cruise Modesto's streets want to know. The change they seek depends on whom you ask.

Some want safe bike paths and more bike racks. Others want to show motorists that there is a healthier, cheaper, pollution-free mode of transportation. Some want to show that bikes are traffic, too, and should be respected. And some just want to be noticed -- not applauded, but seen, so they aren't hit by heavier modes of transportation.

When they're together, they call themselves Critical Mass. It is less a group and more of a reoccurring event. There is no leader, no definitive list of participants, no route and no set agenda. Everyone just knows to meet the last Friday of the month at Tenth Street Place downtown. The idea is to gather in the hopes of attracting more cyclists. And as they ride about town, their numbers will show that it is possible to bike Modesto.

Motorists have hit at least 18 cyclists this year in Modesto; one died, according to Sgt. Craig Gundlach, a Modesto Police Department spokesman.

On his way to last month's Critical Mass ride, Bob DiRocco of Modesto said he nearly added to that statistic.

"I consider a 4,000-pound vehicle as threatening as a knife," said DiRocco, who filed a police report shortly before the ride began. "Somebody tried to entice and threaten me off the road."

Instead of turning around and cruising home to safety, DiRocco added to Critical Mass's numbers, weaving through downtown and neighborhood streets with a group of cyclists he'd never met. He said it was a comfort.

A bike is David Josephson's sole mode of transportation. The 20-year-old Modesto man doesn't have a driver's license and figures he doesn't need one. To him, Critical Mass shows drivers that bikes are traffic, too.

"It's about riding your bike on the street with cars to show them they aren't the only ones out there," he said.

Modesto Critical Mass is not a new idea. The group has grown and waned since Modesto's ride began in 2004. Brian Robinson has been riding with the group since its inception. The ride used to average 30 cyclists, but numbers have diminished, possibly because of lack of publicity, he said.

The idea of holding a monthly bike ride along city streets traveled the short distance to Modesto from San Francisco, where it began one September evening in 1992. The Bay Area event started with 48 people and grew to 500 over the course of a year, according to http://critical-mass.info. The large group of cyclists dominated the streets and delayed motor vehicle traffic. The movement has since spread worldwide.

It's San Francisco's ride Lt. Bill Ryan envisions when he hears "Critical Mass."

"I don't think stopping traffic is the answer," he said.

Ryan, commander of the Modesto Police Department's Traffic Unit, said San Francisco-style Critical Mass rides seem confrontational and to incite drivers' anger. But, in general, "we would like to see more bikes on the road, that would alleviate traffic congestion and collision rates would go down," Ryan said.

Some cyclists try to hinder auto traffic and be confrontational with motorists, according to critical-mass.info.

"Such riders are missing the point about Critical Mass," the site says. "Critical Mass is about asserting our right to the road, not denying others their right to the road."

The feel of Critical Mass varies by city. Modesto participants ride slowly in one lane, keep a tight group and cruise residential as well as busy streets.

During the July ride, most drivers coasting behind the group were patient and curious. A few drivers glared at the group when it took up one of two McHenry Avenue lanes headed in the same direction. One darted out from behind the group, used the opposite lane to race ahead of the group, swerved back into the correct lane and promptly stopped at a red light.

Testing drivers' limits is not Critical Mass's goal, said Modesto Critical Masser Tawny Holt. She hopes the ride just reminds drivers to watch for cyclists.

"They need to be aware we're on the road, and get out of the way sometimes," she said.

Bee staff writer Eve Hightower can be reached at 578-2382 or ehightower@modbee.com.

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