By Bronwen Payerle and Matt Thomson

Critical Mass is a global phenomenon among urban cyclists. On the last Friday of every month we gather after work to bike en-masse. Everyone rides for a slightly different reason: to cycle safely on city streets, to celebrate bikes as a form of transportation, to raise awareness about alternatives to the automobile, to build community and make friends, or just to enjoy coasting down the centre of the Burrard Street Bridge.

Some cities witness thousands of bikes join the “Mass”, and some barely notice the handful of stalwarts who form an incongruous pack on their homeward commute. When the ride gets big it means we span several city blocks; in Vancouver the May Mass took at least 20 minutes to pass any given intersection. (In Budapest on April 22 they had 80,000 bikes turn out for the ride.)

If car traffic gets caught among the flow of bikes it poses a danger to cyclists. For this reason we run red lights and stay in a continuous stream, delegating “corkers” to hold car traffic at intersections through which the bikes are travelling.

And it was as corkers that we the writers, a high-school teacher and a community development planner, found ourselves on May 30, holding cars from driving south on Fir, at Broadway. Stopped directly behind us as the Mass went by were a station wagon, an SUV, and a soon-to-be-long line of traffic.

Initially our conversations with drivers were cordial: the couple in the station wagon asking about the frequency and size of the Mass, accepting their delay with good grace. It was noted that Bike to Work Week had just finished, and that June was Bike Month.

However, as drivers realized this would be no small pause, they became antsy and agitated. A man approached on foot, shouting repetitively, "What gives you the right to run red lights?"

Although we tried to explain the issue of safety, he paid no attention and stormed back to his vehicle upon mention of the police escort that accompanies our ride. Another driver then asked us to consider all the pollution that the stopped cars were emitting. We agreed that this was troubling, but politely mentioned that people could choose to turn their vehicles off.

The response? A vehement "F@*# you!" Soon, a second man approached, informing us that our point had been made and that he needed through to the airport. When we again cited safety concerns, he yelled, "Drop dead."

Most shocking of all was the SUV across the street, occupied by two 50-something professionally-dressed couples, which proceeded to enter the intersection, slowly plow into a corker and drive over his bike, even as others stepped in front of the grill and they blocked an ambulance’s way.

We told a friend of our remarkable encounters the next morning, over breakfast, and she said, "The Mass is too big to be cute." She meant that, in general, the public's awareness of environmental issues has increased dramatically in the last few years, causing a certain guilt-induced anger.

We admit that the Mass model isn't perfect: buses are blocked along with cars, when perhaps public transit should be allowed to slowly continue. Mass riders' communication with car drivers can be self-righteous, and the event sometimes appears as more of a hate-on for cars than a celebration of bikes and community. However, Critical Mass is, by nature, unplanned and organic; the broad array of participants are involved for countless reasons.

One only has to be semi-conscious of current politics to recognize that democracy is not well practised. Leaders talk, and kill, in the name of democratic freedoms, but demands by citizens are regularly ignored. Public participation in Canada's government is more than elections, meetings, petitions and letter-writing campaigns.

Democracy is also served by spontaneous action; voices on our streets that strive to remind us of our great distance from true justice (social or environmental). As citizens complacency is only a choice for those willing to surrender their rights.

Has society reached a crux on the matter of change? Critical Mass remains current because riders' concerns have not disappeared or been meaningfully addressed. The Mass is about bikes, but also about perspective shifts--perhaps even paradigm shifts--surrounding our interactions on the road, in the grocery store, in our institutions.

Until we see tangible CO2 emissions reductions, healthier, people-oriented communities, and a less individualistic, more cooperative society, we will keep riding. To those who feel we, the cyclists of Critical Mass, have proved our point sufficiently: you could not be more wrong.

Bronwen Payerle (teacher) and Matt Thomson (planner) live, bike, and work in Vancouver.