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With news of the bike-ticketing blitz this week, some of us expected a major crackdown at last night's Critical Mass Ride. Luckily for the bikers, it sounds like cops decided to take it easy-- though there were some scattered reports of harrassment, we haven't heard reports of a lot of arrests. BikeBlog reports:
After over a year of police harassment and intimidation, with varied tactics, it has been very hard to predict what the NYPD is going to do about the Critical Mass. Will I get arrested tonight? This is the question in the backs of many of those in attendance. This can effect how willing you are to come to the ride. Well last night people seemed to be back in the action despite several helicopters flying overhead and the usual brigade of scooter cops. There were about 30 people at Washington Square Park, 50 at Tompkins Square, 12 at Madison Park and about 300 combined at both ends of Union Square Park. This was in accordance with the attempt to split up the ride a little and at least be able to get critical mass going. The idea stemmed out of the fact that people weren't even able to get 2 blocks out of Union Square park and thus form critical mass. It sounded like last night the police were around to monitor but the arrest order, for some reason wasn't given. Maybe no one wanted to do the paper work tonight on this long Halloween weekend.
Will from UntitledName also has some good pictures from the ride-- and you can find some more on Flickr. Did any of you go last night?
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Oh, great. Now you have Transportation Alternatives following your lead and calling them "bikers." Although they do generally use the right term. There are 112 instances of "biker" on transalt.org and 617 of "cyclist." What is it with ignorance nowadays? Newsday got it right with "cyclists" in yesterday's Foxy Brown article. So did the Post. Likewise the Times anytime it covers bicycling. I guess if you're "just a blogger" and not a "serious journalist," you don't have to worry about being right.
oh lighten up brightliner-- in nyc, we call people who ride bikes "bikers" or "cyclists"-- although bikers is certainly the term you hear more often from people who aren't hardcore riders.
Whenever I call a cyclist a 'biker' they get pissed.
Not for nothing, but cyclist is the correct term. 'Biker' is a term that is more connected with motorcycles.
In nyc we call critical mass riders drama queens on bikes. Non critical mass riders are commonly referred to as people that ride bikes.
It's easy.
Anyone riding the Central Park loop on Sunday on a $2000 bike is a cyclist. Anyone delivering your lunch or packages, or running their own errands around town, is a biker. Commuters can be cyclists or bikers, depending on whether they're wearing spandex or street clothes.
Anyone who cares either way just needs to relax...go for a nice ride, then have a beer. (Brightliner, have two.)
I guess I was expecting too much from people who write "in the Upper East Side." At least Jack got it right. If "biker" and "cyclist" are interchangeable, I suppose it should be safe to walk up to a Hell's Angel and call him a cyclist.
FYI, "AbysmalChump," (appropriate name, there), anyone riding the Central Park loop on Sunday on a $2000 bike isn't called a cyclist. He's specifically a subcategory known as a poseur. Serious cyclists head out to places like Jersey for good road work, roadside sights or technical trails that are legal to ride on.
Brightliner must have been sipping on Haterade after his tricycle ride. Would you change mountain biker to mountain cyclist?
Biker can refer to one who rides bikes or motorcycles -- look it up -- get over it.
"Haterade." How original. Did you think that one up yourself, or did your mommy help you?
Look it up? I don't need to look it up. Tell me this, Mr. Nobel Laureate, doesn't the term "American" literally refer to basically anyone from the Americas? And yet Canadians and Mexicans would correct you if you called them Americans. Never mind the Panamanians, Venezuelans, Brazilians, Peruvians, Chileans, Columbians, Argentinians, Bolivians, Ecuadorians, Nicaraguans, Salvadorans, etc. Some of them would take very violent exception if you were to apply your great dictionary-approved appellation. Get over it.
It's about accuracy too. You could call me a "Speed Freak", but using "Meth Head" would be more appropriate since I only do crystal meth, and not amphetamines.
Spoofing other people's handles now, too? You really have sunk to a new low, Nic. Unwilling to stand behind your own comments with your own handle.
I'm also stealing car radios, mugging grannies, shooting up, and tearing tags off mattresses in addition to "spoofing handles" online. This isn't a new low -- this is my life.
I don't doubt it. You're one of those people who thinks he's blindingly clever, but the reality is that you just don't have any friends who are close enough and honest enough to tell you the truth. Sort of like the very worst American Idol rejects who actually believe they can carry a tune, not noticing that everyone else is grimacing.
Now, for an actual comment on the article/posting... I rode on Friday in Critical Mass, and it was awesome. The only problem was that I think many of us who are used to fleeing cops were a little nervous about their conspicuous absence. That ride was like the CM of old, where we just had a lot of fun and surprised the tourists in Times Square. On a related note, there were a ton of people taking photos and video clips, and many of them haven't found their way online yet. If you have photos, please post them somewhere! There were a lot of great costumes and sweet bikes.
Re: the biker/cyclist debate. Give me a f*@#ing break. Who cares? In NYC, most bicycle riders use the terms interchangeably. It's not worth your time or ours to get offended and throw a hissy fit. Bicyclists in this city have bigger fish to fry without getting all worked up over semantics. See www.bicycledefensefund.org for examples of real life, tangible problems.