Critical Mass is a monthly bicycle ride to celebrate cycling and to assert cyclists' right to the road. The idea started in San Francisco in September 1992 and quickly spread to cities all over the world. This site attempts to be the most complete guide to all Critical Mass rides around the globe.

Critical Mass has a different flavor from city to city -- there's a big variety in size, respect of traffic laws (or lack thereof), interaction with motorists, and intervention by police. So if you want to know more about Critical Mass, you'll really need to find out what your local ride is like. For those who must know more right now, here's a link to Chicago CM, which I suppose is a "typical" CM ride, if there is such a thing.

Critical Mass has no leaders, and no central organization licenses rides. In every city that has a CM ride, some locals simply picked a date, time, and location for the ride and publicized it, and thus the ride was born.

CM is an idea and an event, not an organization. You can't write to "Critical Mass" -- certainly not by writing to me.

CM is intended to be a celebration, not an opportunity to cause trouble. Those who want to try to tie up traffic as much as possible and be confrontational with motorists are missing the point. We can assert our right to the road without being rude about it. Focus on the ride, not on the cars that also happen to be on the road.

Don't have a CM in your city? Then start one!

 United States, A-C   Choose location... United States (A-C) United States (D-I) United States (K-P) United States (R-W) Canada Central/S. America - Europe Middle East Asia/India Australia/NZ Africa

Choose location... United States (A-C) United States (D-I) United States (K-P) United States (R-W) Canada Central/S. America - Europe Middle East Asia/India Australia/NZ Africa

Other Critical Mass Resources

Global site guides, similar to ours:   * CM Wikia   * Critical-Mass.org   * Berlin's global CM guide How to Start a Critical Mass Ride A step-by-step guide. Get a free website for your local CM ...at the CM Wikia. CM Fliers Example fliers and handouts. Also, an SF group will make a custom Dinosaurs for Clean Air flier for your local ride. CM Email Lists There are Critical Mass discussion lists in cities all over the world. Join one of them. CM Book: Critical Mass, Bicycling's Defiant Celebration Produced for the 10-year anniversary of CM in Sept. 2002, this book chronicles the birth and evolution of the ride in S.F. and elsewhere. See about the July 2003 book tour.

Critical Mass Videos See our separate page of CM videos & documentaries. Critical Mass News The Critical Mass Times An international newsletter and clearinghouse, with links to Mass happenings around the globe. Velo Revolution Web-based newsletter of CM & bike-related happenings in London and around the world. The Critical Mass Song   (Lyrics only.) Critical Mass Arrests. CM made international news several times when police wrongly arrested many cyclists, on 7-25-97 in San Francisco, on 8-00 in Los Angeles, and since 2004 in NYC. (Bad arrests have happened at many other CM rides, but only these three were major media stories.) Check out websites about the San Francisco and Los Angeles incidents, or our own coverage.

Bike Advocacy

America Bikes Lobbies the federal government to support cycling. Also, see how your elected officials voted on bicycling & transportation-related issues. Bikes Belong's Guide to Advocacy This national coalition group has published an online guide for doing bike advocacy work in your community, with an emphasis on using federal money for bike-friendly transportation projects. Bike Summer Bike Summer is an annual bike festival with rides, activist workshops, and fun events, occurring in a different city every year. Past host cities were: Los Angeles (2005), Seattle (2004), New York (2003), Portland (2002), Vancouver (2001), Chicago (2000), and San Francisco (1999). Activists are encouraged to hold Bike Summers in their own cities. Bust Media Bias against Bicycles This site exposes media bias against alternative transportation modes, especially the bicycle, and to address such bias with action, facts, constructive criticism and humor. Chainguard Online Lots of info but poorly organized. girlBike.com Resources for women cyclists. International Bike Fund Huge advocacy site/organization, with resources about urban planning, bike to work programs, safety and more. The group is oddly named, since it has nothing to do with money or grants.

League of American Bicyclists (LAB) Very large group which supports all types of cyclists (sports, rec, commuting, advocacy). National Bicycle Greenway These folks are pushing for a national (U.S.) network of bike paths for both recreation and transportation. They also held a BIG ride across the U.S. in the Summer of 2000 to promote the idea. National Center for Bicycling & Walking Site includes detailed PDF reports on implementing facilities improvements like bike lanes and bike boulevards. National Cycle Network  (U.K.) 5000 miles (with more to come) of continuous routes, running right through urban centres and reaching all parts of the UK (eventually passing within 2 miles of half the population). Almost half the Network will be entirely traffic-free, built along old railway lines, canal towpaths, forestry tracks riversides and urban space. White bike memorials for killed cyclists A group is painting entire bikes solid white and leaving them in places where cyclists have been killed by cars. Velo Mondial 2006 Conference An international conference to support and plan for transportation cycling. The conference is held every six years, and the 2006 version will be held in Cape Town, South Africa in March.

Other Anti-Car sites

Auto-Saurus Commercial Broadcast-quality ad by AdBusters. Car Busters International group based in Europe working towards a car-free society. They publish a hot magazine ("Car Busters") and email newsletter, and sponsor World Car-Free Day every September. Car-Free Cities These folks advocate for car-free cities in a well-researched and professional manner. Car-Free City US A group working to create a car-free city in the U.S. (Planning a) Car-Free Day Large, well-organized site which details how to plan a Car-Free Day in your city. Culture Change Documents the tremendous environmental, social and economic damage caused by endless road building. Also publishes Culture Change magazine (formerly Auto-Free Times). Get out of the bike lane! Posts vigilante photos of autos parked in the bike lane in Toronto, Canada.

National Park(ing) Day Promotes the creation of temporary public parks in public parking spaces. Less Traffic Recommends going beyond traffic calming to reduce the number and speed of cars on the streets. Reclaim the Streets (San Francisco, CA US) A movement which advocates massive street parties, covertly painting bike lanes onto roadways, and other ways to subvert the car culture. Here are the RTS pages for London and Adelaide, Australia. Right of Way (New York City) Local group asserting cyclist and pedestrian rights over motorist prerogatives. Has stenciled over 250 street memorials to car victims and published "Killed By Automobile" report. Transportation Alternatives (New York City) Local group promoting alternatives to car-based transportation. This website is HOT! It's a model for other groups to emulate. Victoria Transport Policy Institute Publishes a number of important studies and reports, such as one explaining how cyclists actually subsidize the cost of road-building for motorists, a Pavement Buster's Guide, and much more. For activists who are ready to move beyond simply riding in Critical Mass rides and actually get something done in their communities, this site provides plenty of the ammunition they'll need.