1. The Route: Problematic, but representative of typical biking conditions in our friendly town. It would have been much easier, and faster to take the Midtown Greenway. This is my daily commute preference because it isolates bicycles from traffic, except for a few crosswalks which have been carefully engineered for the most part. It could have been used in traveling West from St. Paul to St. Louis Park, and East back to West River Parkway – and downtown (there may have been an even better route on the path that parallels the light rail along Hiawatha).

2. The Behavior: There were four cyclists including me who decided to observe the law after the decision had been made to roll through red light intersections. Blocking traffic at a stoplight or anywhere else for that matter is selfish and antagonistic. Being polite, yelling thank you and waving is no excuse for disrespecting the law. Imagine someone who is late for work seething behind the wheel while be blocked at a green light. I personally would be furious, unless I saw a police escort. This is the kind of behavior I thought we were trying to avoid. Critical Mass uses a flagrant disregard of traffic law to disrupt traffic and illustrate their point(s). If the MF’s want to ride without having to accommodate cars, buses, and pedestrians they are welcome to move to the country where they can ride without having to get along with others (or at least they’d be less likely to butt heads as frequently). The not so unexpected lesson was that we arrived at the same time as the group that blew through intersections, and we didn’t screw anyone out of their traffic rights. There were notably no police escorts during the entire ride, until the group arrived in downtown Minneapolis. With a cop in the intersection, a disruption is perfectly well understood and there’s a clear respect for the law.

3. The crew that made it happen: Great work. The families of the victims were clearly moved, and the point was made far more broadly than it would have been without your efforts. Guidelines for participation in future events might be printed and handed out to riders. If it is “legal” to block traffic in an intersection, I’d like the organizers to state that they’ve received permission from all law enforcement agencies who have jurisdiction on the route. The involvement of police escorts would have made the ride a lot safer, but I have no idea if this was even an option. The orange ribbon I have tied to my handlebars will now remind me of the four who have fallen, my vulnerability to automobiles, and the importance of respecting the rights of automobiles. Another observation was that motorists were using cellphones, texting, and generally pretty tuned out (particularly on Excelsior Boulevard). That in effect makes them about as attentive as a drunk driver. Keep that in mind and choose longer routes when you have an opportunity to avoid exposure to automobiles.