San Franciscans have always been passionate about cycling. The City’s first bicycle club was established in 1876. Two decades later, 5,000 cyclists rode down Folsom Street in protest over unsafe cycling conditions.
In the early 1970s, the idea of a mass bike tour was conceived in Stockholm, Sweden. The idea waned quickly, and it was not until 1992 that a similarly-themed event took place in San Francisco. There were a couple dozen riders who were quickly dubbed by the press as the “Commute Clot”. At their next event a month later, they named themselves Critical Mass. They are an unusual organization in that there is no leadership and no membership. Because anyone can organize an event, the events themselves are considered “spontaneous” and therefore do not require City permits.
The practice of “corking” originated in San Francisco, and occurs when front riders block cross traffic to allow everyone in the Mass to get through red lights. Joel Pomerantz, a co-founder of Critical Mass, explained that he saw the Mass as one vehicle, and therefore no laws are being broken if cross traffic is blocked so that the entire “vehicle” can clear the intersection. Corking has led to driver and rider violence and arrests over the years.
Critical Mass was first viewed as a demonstration to call attention to the City’s lack of bicycle safety, and it was considered a nuisance. But the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition[1] has credited Critical Mass for spotlighting bicycle issues and advocating cyclist safety. Established in 1971, the Coalition’s one victory was the closure of Golden Gate Park[2] to cars on Sundays. In 2008 the Coalition organized Sunday Streets, where once a month during the summer and fall, certain streets in different neighborhoods are closed to traffic.
In 2009, the San Francisco Bicycle Plan was approved and the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency constructed 34 miles of bike lanes. The hope is to eventually have a City-wide network of bike lanes or bike paths that connect every neighborhood.
San Francisco has made an effort to make the City bike friendly. There is a Bicycle Advisory Committee consisting of 11 members appointed by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. The Committee makes recommendations on bicycle safety as it relates to current projects and policies. Bike rentals currently abound in the tourist areas. For residents, Lyft has placed bike rentals in key neighborhoods.
The two most popular biking venues in the City are the Golden Gate Bridge[3] and the Wiggle. The Wiggle is a one mile zigzag route from Market Street to Golden Gate Park that minimizes altitude change. Starting at Duboce Avenue in the Mission, it follows a now well marked path that is comprised of six 90-degree turns. The Wiggle ends at Golden Gate Park’s Pan Handle, and one can take roads and trails through the park all the way to Ocean Beach[4].
Today, SF Critical Mass[5] still meets up (usually the last Friday of the month) at a set location and time to travel as a group through various neighborhoods. It has changed from less of a demonstration to more of a social event, allowing cyclists to explore areas where they might otherwise not feel safe riding solo.
[1] Visit them at www.sfbike.org
[2] Golden Gate Park: see story coming April 4th
[3] Golden Gate Bridge: https://thesanfranciscophoenix.com/?p=4916
[4] Ocean Beach: https://thesanfranciscophoenix.com/?p=5243
[5] Visit them at www.sfcriticalmass.org
