Saturday, July 30, 2011

Los Angeles Critical Mass July 2011

Last night was the last friday of July in the year 2011, which is why a thousand plus riders gathered to celebrate their right to exist as traffic on the streets of Los Angeles. I missed the start as I was helping a fellow rider repair a flat tire,

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but it didn't matter. I could easily find the ride by looking into the sky and seeing a police helicopter hovering over Western and Olympic.

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I rode fast thru the pack so that I could get to the front and shoot a static shot of the entire ride passing by.



Needless to say, Critical Mass was a very visible addition to the regular goings on about town last night.

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People came out of their homes to marvel at the sight.

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Tigger was a favorite with the children.

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Some cyclists were spooked by the rollerblader

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This is the normal operating procedure for this fellow

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and his friend

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This fellow had the coolest bike of the night, and he was riding fast!

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A Unicyclist was assisting newer riders as part of the recently formed Critical Mass Support Team

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LAPD and cyclists have joined forces to ensure the ride is safe and fun for cyclists of every ability.

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Riding thru downtown, we came across an NYPD police cruiser, which can only mean 1 thing, we just rode 3000 miles

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or a TV show was being filmed. Looks of joy from the crew ensued.

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No ride is complete without a sound system

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which I caught up to right at the entrance to the tunnel



On we rode to Mariachi Plaza for a rest stop with snacks for hungry riders

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including ice cream for yours truly

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a few minutes to take in the scenery

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and off we rode back into downtown

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I forget what happened next, but we ended up in Macarthur Park

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and waited and waited. Finally the ride seemed to fizzle out (perhaps by design LAPD?)

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While riders called it a night and dispersed, a small group continued to Hollywood.

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Where we saw police engaged in non bike riding duties

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FIN!

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