This is a first-of-the-year catchall… Critical Mass was much bigger than I expected last Friday, probably 800-1000 riders. Had a lovely evening, hearing loud echoes of the memorable ride in 1999-2000 when Critical Mass fell on New Year’s Eve itself… here’s a shot from Octavia Blvd:
There’s still a developing problem with the lack of communication among riders, lack of creative ideas, uninspired repetition of old tricks like going through the Broadway Tunnel for the umpteenth time (I bailed at Polk and went to a party)… CMers as a community in SF really need to step up and reconnect with each other and passersby, perhaps some handouts, etc. It’s just more fun and meaningful that way… but I always think that!
As I mentioned in the last post I had a grand time with my daughter. Here’s a shot on xmas eve, then individual pics of each of us from our xmas day walk up Bernal Hts.
And finally a shot of Francesca in the car on the way to Sacramento to see the Irving Norman exhibit:
I was bummed to see Billmon not only stopped publishing but pulled the plug on his 3+ years of eloquent posts… what a loss! Maybe he’ll publish it as a book now? Anyway, I’ll really miss having him on my daily loop around the blogosphere…
Here’s me on Twin Peaks an hour ago… starting the New Year out right with a ride up the hill… like everyone I’m trying to change some bad habits and improve my health this coming year… nearing the mid-century mark of life, I can’t ignore the need to shift some basic habits any longer… (he said, hopefully, on New Year’s Day!)…
Lastly, I finally put online the 1994 documentary Caitlin Manning and I co-produced called “Noah’s Ark: A Neozapatista Delirium.” Here t’is… It’s 24 minutes long…
=v= I bailed at the Broadway at the previous ride, but this time I held my nose and continued on, kvetching about it the whole way. Fortunately people moved on quickly (some relooped through the tunnel), and there we were near the Golden Gate Bridge. We were by then small enough to take the bike path over to Sausalito (yes, on the shortest day of the year) but the police were having none of that.
Thanks for your posts. First of all, I agree that CM needs to be more creative. I bailed once we hit Chrissy Field because they were headed towards the GG Bridge which I didnt want to cross.
Concerning Normans exhibit, many of his drawings like “Rebellions and Revolutions”, and “Man of sorrow” reminds me of a famous artist/painter named Guayasamin. You can find a brief description of him on Wikipedia.
Enjoyed the Zapatista film. I wonder what Subcomantande Marcos is up to these days.
See you at CM next month!
dennis
san francisco