Critical Mass is an event held typically on the last Friday of every month in cities around the world, where bicyclists, skateboarders, roller bladers, roller skaters and other self-propelled people take to the streets en masse. Critical Mass is not led, and as a group has no official goals other than to meet once every month and enjoy the security and companionship of riding, rolling and travelling through the city together. The general philosophy is expressed by a widely used slogan: "We aren't blocking traffic; we are traffic."

Critical Mass rides are self-organized and independent - often only the meeting place, date and time are fixed. In some cities, the route, finishing point, or attractions along the way may be planned ahead. There is often a backdrop of protest: through doing it actively and in full public view, participants demonstrate the advantages of cycling in a city, and show how the city may be failing cyclists in terms of facilities and safety.

Purpose

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The purpose of Critical Mass is not formalised beyond the direct action of meeting and carrying out the event, creating a public space where automobiles are displaced to make room for alternatives. The one agreed upon slogan is We Are Traffic. All participants, being equal in leadership, are thought to have equivalent claim to their own intentions and the purpose of the ride. Critical Mass is undeniably linked to the environmental movement, which cites private automobile use as catastrophic to our global and local environment, in physical and social terms. Generally, the purpose of the event as indicated by the actions of the riders are meant to oppose the domination of the automobile over our urban culture, or to create something different. However, these things are often interpreted very differently and some riders may even disagree - for example, one might not ride at all for environmental purposes, but because of social justice theories. Many do not ride in opposition to anything: they simply enjoy an opportunity to cycle socially and in safety.

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Critical Mass - Twitter Search

I think Twitter has reached such critical mass that people like to "@Ramsey" for anything related to Ramsey-something anywhere in the world.
ramsey (Ben Ramsey) Wed, 16 Dec 2009 14:15:16 -0000
I think Twitter has reached such critical mass that people like to "@Ramsey" for anything related to Ramsey-something anywhere in the world.
Critical Mass is on, Brenton has just got back from NYC and LA and has a stack of new CDs
RTRFM (RTR FM) Wed, 16 Dec 2009 14:15:02 -0000
Critical Mass is on, Brenton has just got back from NYC and LA and has a stack of new CDs
@mattChevy I'm here with Critical Mass because Nissan is my new client. I'll say a big hello for you!
JessiO (Jessi Odenbach) Wed, 16 Dec 2009 14:14:30 -0000
@mattChevy I'm here with Critical Mass because Nissan is my new client. I'll say a big hello for you!
Feels like Google Wave needs a pretty big critical mass of users to start being useful. Anybody want an invite? #googlewave
SatansParakeet (Alex Grigg) Wed, 16 Dec 2009 13:36:25 -0000
Feels like Google Wave needs a pretty big critical mass of users to start being useful. Anybody want an invite? #googlewave
@tweet_fail Is there anything we can do to expedite this critical mass drop off? Heh. I wish.
badnabes (badnabes) Wed, 16 Dec 2009 12:50:41 -0000
@tweet_fail Is there anything we can do to expedite this critical mass drop off? Heh. I wish.
@ryanjgagne that all depends on what you consider "critical mass" and "dying off" ;)
johnsgunn (John Gunn) Wed, 16 Dec 2009 12:38:56 -0000
@ryanjgagne that all depends on what you consider "critical mass" and "dying off" ;)

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