Tomorrow is the last Friday of the month, when Critical Mass--the dedicated cycling activists, fun-seeking hangers-on, and everyone in between--will take over the streets of downtown Portland (and many other cities) for an hour or two.
It's one of the things that can stir the coals of the on-again-off-again friction between cyclists and drivers in this town--although probably it does less damage to peaceful co-existence than recent Oregonian coverage, which seemed to be looking for ways to stoke the flames.
Portland, being Portland, has been handling it all fairly well for the most part, at least in the last couple of years. Both a partial cause and a symbol of that was the afternoon that newly elected mayor (and former chief of police) Potter made good on a campaign pledge and rode his recumbent bike with the rest of the Critical Mass riders in January 2004. It was a welcome olive branch in a town where police and public reaction to large, disruptive demonstrations--like Critical Mass but also including the several large anti-war marches that took place downtown during the previous year--had gotten a lot less tolerant.
Tomorrow's ride in Portland will almost certainly be peaceful. I can't say I'm as confident about what may happen in Manhattan, where confrontations between riders and police have escalated to the point where both sides are in harm's way. (Quite a comparison to the borough across the bridge, where Brooklyn police block intersections so the riders can get through more quickly and safely.)
BikePortland.org, has recent dispatches from Portland bicycle advocate Sara Stout, who's in NYC right now on behalf of the many, many cyclists who've been arrested there recently.
Meanwhile, back here in Portland, this morning's paper says it'll be 48 and partly cloudy tomorrow afternoon. Everybody be careful out there. Helmets and lights. You know the drill.
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