Enthusiasts and avid cyclists ride once a month around Kansas City with organization, Critical Mass. | by MICAH WILKINS

It is the last Friday of the month and for cycling advocates and enthusiasts of Kansas City, that means Critical Mass.  Around 7 p.m., cyclists slowly accumulate in a large parking lot where some set their bikes down to share food and stories.  As they await their departure, a few riders mount their bikes and circle the lot.  Soon, hundreds are gathered and ready to ride.

Critical Mass (CM), a worldwide bike ride that takes place in almost every large city, was brought to Kansas City 12 years ago by Ms. Sarah Gibson, an avid cyclist and owner of Acme Bicycle Company in the Crossroads district.  Cyclists gather the last Friday of every month and the ride begins at approximately 7 p.m.  The last ride took place April 24 from the Sun Fresh parking lot on Mill and Southwest Trafficway.  According to Gibson, in its first few years in Kansas City, CM attracted crowds of 10 or 20 cyclists each month.  Now, about 300 to 400 cyclists participate in CM each month.

‘I hoped that others would see that riding bikes is fun,” Gibson said.  “Just about anyone can do it.”

Described as “organized coincidences,” the rides are casual, with no set route or pace.  According to Mr. Mark Rainey, an active cyclist and owner of Bike American in Shawnee Mission, the cyclists in the front of the group lead the way.

“[CM] has no leader, it’s not an organized event,” Rainey said.  “Whoever is in front leads and if we don’t like the way we’re going, we turn the other way and wait for the others to catch up.”

The cyclists are a diverse group of people of all ages, ethnicities and from all areas of the metropolitan area.  According to one cyclist, Mr. Bob Brown, this diversity is what he values most about the CM rides, which he has attended every month for two years.

“One of the neat things about [CM] is that you meet people from all extremes of all walks of life,” Brown said.  “It’s a really huge mix of crosswalks of the population.”

Brown said one purpose of this biking event is to celebrate the bicycle as a form of transportation.

“[CM] raises consciousness about alternative modes of transportation,” Brown said.

According to cyclist Ms. Corinna West, another of CM’s goals is to demonstrate that cyclists have legal authority to ride on the street.

“The slogan of [CM] is, ‘We aren’t blocking traffic, we are traffic,'” West said.  “Cyclists have the right to the road.”

According to Rainey, however, he and other cyclists are accustomed to motorist aggression when riding on the street.

“Not all motorists agree that bikes should be on the road,” Rainey said.  “I don’t think they realize that a bike is many things to many people.  For some, their bike is their only form of transportation.”

Gibson said she also experiences what she calls the same “internalized frustration” that drivers feel. 

“There’s a certain freedom associated with riding your bike that angers people in cars,” Gibson said.   “But when people yell at me to get on the sidewalk, I tell them to get on a bike.”