Shawn Bags Critical Mass Bike Ride

Published by Shawn on

Have you ever ridden your bike down a busy street? Or maybe you don’t because it doesn’t feel safe? As a general rule, I don’t ride on the road. It sure feels like cars own the road and as a cyclist, you are more of a problem than a fellow road user.
This is where the idea of the Critical Mass comes in. What if enough people on bikes got together that the roads could be made safe for cyclists too? Once a month, in cities all across the world, people go for a bike ride together in a critical mass, large enough to make it safe to bike down the road. Away we go!
As we go for a ride in the Critical Mass, I’ll try to answer some questions you may have about how this works. First off, do I have to ride a bike?
No, you don’t have to come on a bike. It can be any form of alternative transport. Perhaps a dinosaur or his friend on an electric scooter.
Or how about this guy pulling a small trailer with speakers and blowing bubbles. The Critical Mass is about safety and bringing awareness to alternative modes of transport.
Tandem bikes and some long boards, all are welcome.
Or how about this guy on rollerblades getting a tow up the hill. The Critical Mass is made up of people from all walks of life.
Or if you want to try biking at expert level, how about this double decker bike? What did he do when he needed to stop? Either leaned against a signpost or climbed down the bike. And yes, I had to turn the camera sideways.
How long is the bike ride? It varies each month, but this ride was roughly 15km and took just under 2 hours to complete.
How many people participate? The most recent event was estimated to be 400-500 participants. Much less in the wintertime.
How fast does everybody go? What if I can’t keep up? The mass moves very slowly. We averaged about 9Km/h. But the group occasionally stops so the mass can stay together. Remember the idea is safety by traveling in a large group.
Do you stop for red lights? Yes. If the leader of the mass arrives at a red light, they stop and wait for it to turn green.
What if the light turns red before the entire mass is through? When safe to do so, the mass will continue through the red light so the group stays together.
When that situation occurs, people do something called corking. A few people will pull over and place their bikes in front of the cars at the intersection. The idea is to provide safety for the mass until it passes. The people corking are very friendly, will chat with the drivers waiting and explain what is happening.
Don’t people get upset at all the bikes taking up the road? My estimate is about 75% of the people we passed would wave and smile, take pictures and cheer on the mass as it passes by. About 20% just looked really confused, wondering where this herd of bikes, scooters, roller blades and occasional dinosaur came from. And about 5% looked upset that a group of bikes were using the road.
Does the ride go down any major roads? Yes, the mass is large enough it can pass down some major roadways safely. I would never ride down this street if I was alone on my bike but there is safety in numbers.
Time to take a break from the Q&A for the traditional summit selfie!
Who picks the route? Do you pass any cool sights?
The Critical Mass isn’t really a structured event. But there are a few people with radios so they can keep track of the front and back of the group. There isn’t a published route, each time is different, but I will put a map of our route this particular day at the end of this post.
As for cool things to see along the way, I’ll let you decide. How about the Calgary Tower?
Or the Wonderland sculpture of a giant head.
Plenty of street art along the way to keep you entertained.
Passing through the bars and pubs along 17th avenue certainly had the most cheering from spectators.
Or this up-side-down church called the device to root out all evil.
What happens at the end? At a decided on location the mass comes to an end. People hang out or proceed to bars and pubs. As a heads up, it doesn’t end at the same place it started, so you are going to have to find a way to get back home, perhaps take your bike. 😉 If you want to join a Critical Mass ride, look up the next one in your city, they are the last Friday of every month.
Categories: BikingCalgary Biking
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1 Comment

Christine · September 7, 2026 at 11:07 pm

Missed u lovely and interesting blogs. Have kept them all so I can go through them again. Please don’t leave it so long.

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