Critical Mass tied up more than the usual amount of traffic

Most delays in traffic are caused by the sheer abundance of vehicles on the road, which naturally results from people's general unwillingness to cycle and take transit. It's easy to point the finger at CM, but difficult to actually change your own commuting behaviour. CM made you think about that a little more than usual this month.

I generally support the Mass, but think it would make sense to give the Lion's Gate a rest. Blocking it seems to be the biggest annoyance to the public at large.

I'm a biker and there is no way in hell I would ever be a part of Critical Mass. It's less about promoting sharing the road and more about being a complete dick for the sake of being a dick. With all the lanes going in, it seems Critical Mass' relevance is lessening. Unless their goal is to incite increased hatred towards cyclists in their city. If so, mission accomplished.

I agree with Bob. Dicks for the sake of being dicks. I would add selfish jerks also.

There has been a lot done to make life better for cyclists. Time for them to stop asking for yet more and give back. How about driver education, a driving license, plates and insurance? Then thugs like "critical mass" could face the ticketing they deserve for needlessly making the mere getting from A to B yet harder.

The vast majority of people who participate, have to wait or just watch the CM are kind, good people. It is only a few bad attitudes among cyclist, car drivers and pedestrians that cause trouble. To say that the people who are participating in CM are "dicks" is biased and not true or fair I see many normal nice people riding with CM including parents with children. Besides the cops love it to. It is really fun and most people are really nice and supportive when it rides by.

I'm a cyclist. I'm all for people exercising their right to ride. Laying down across the road, however, is not riding, nor is it promoting riding. It's simply mischief, and it gives all of us a bad name.

(And no, Winston1, it doesn't make anyone think more about their commute. It makes people think that cyclists are dicks who should be banned from the road. Get your head out of your ass.)

As a cyclist I support those willing to give their time to the promotion of cycling, and do not fault CM for its more controversial protesting. Their message can never be loud enough. Our environmental crisis is not going anywhere, and it is important for us to continue to hear about it, no matter how 'inconvenient' it may be. If I were to own a compact car, and used it solely for commuting to work, I would create more than 1 tonne of CO2 per year. ONE TONNE. I would like to ask all of you to take this into consideration and honestly tell me who is being more selfish. Not one of us is more worthy of this life than any other--- And while I breathe in your car exhaust every day, my life grows shorter so that your life can be more convenient.

I commute several hundred kilometres each month by bicycle, but sometimes I have to drive somewhere with my six-month-old baby. And sometimes I have to take one of the bridges with my child in the car, or my father who's had a stroke and can't even manage transit. It's not a car-or-bike world. It's a car-AND-bike world. And Lions Gate is one of the most bike-friendly areas of the city. To target it is a dick move, and the few people I know who are CM riders are dicks, because they only do it because they think it's funny to get stoned and disrupt traffic. And not wear helmets. Advocating for bike lanes where they're needed is one thing. Shutting down a crucial transportation zone that has bike lanes is indefensible. Most of the cyclists I know feel the same and won't have anything to do with this bunch. I wish the police would do something about them. They're not accomplishing anything but making people hate cyclists in general.

Allyson: I bet everybody here supports the promotion of cycling as an alternative to driving. The problem is that Critical Mass doesn't promote cycling; it promotes a selfish, "look at me!" attitude that does nothing but piss people off. We don't have bike lanes on the Burrard bridge or along Dunsmuir because of Critical Mass; we have them because people who are actually organized and know how to promote cycling have managed to convince the city that they make sense, despite the best efforts of Critical Mass to alienate the voters whose support they need to get things done.

Critical Mass isn't about promoting cycling so much as it's about drawing attention to those involved. It was cute the first couple of times, but quite frankly we'd get more done without it.