I had to tell him that generally speaking, probably no. I do remember a time when people would bring their young kids on the TNBR, but that was back when the routes were a little more carefully chosen and the ride started earlier. Most parents would probably prefer not to guide their nine-year-old down Sixth Street at 9:30 PM on a bicycle.

Why isn’t there a ride in Tucson that would accommodate my friend and his daughter? It seems like there should be one. Right now the best I can think of is the annual Ciclovia and the BICAS bike-in movie rides.

–Erik Ryberg

It isn’t clear that either of those things were the cause, but in any event, there were an awful lot of police around last night — I lost track of how many squad cars I saw, some of them chasing cyclists, some angling them into the curb, some barking contradictory messages through their loudspeakers, and some just driving around.

Mike over at tucsonvelo.com has a full report. I’ll just say that as obnoxious as it at times was, the police actually showed a lot of restraint compared to what they did two years ago, when they raced menacingly and repeatedly through the crowd on motorcycles and followed the ride with a paddy-wagon.

It appears that they do want to find a way to make this thing work instead of just destroy it (no doubt, the political capital required to destroy it is daunting) because they have evidently contacted Perimeter Bicycling Association of America to help them “assure the safety” of the riders. I’m not sure how well that is going to go over, (I hope the designated PGAA route leaders keep their expectations low as to being liked, appreciated, or followed) but hopefully there will be some way to temper this ride’s more hazardous elements and make it an enjoyable and safe outing for all.

I will say I was struck by the bizarre route and the lack of interest among the ride leaders in waiting up for those stuck at red lights behind. The route included Congress west of the I-10, Grande, and 6th Street — some of the worst streets in Tucson for riding a bicycle. Over time the ride became extremely strung out because of so many people left behind at red lights. I wish the leaders would wait at lights so all can cross as a group, as in the “old days” of the ride.

–Erik Ryberg

Brad tells me they have weekly community bike rides in Denver (which he often leads) with over 2,000 cyclists! Whoa!

I’m heading to the TNBR tonight. I’m feeling a little sheepish about writing that post earlier this week after not having been on one of these rides in several months. (I am also going in case there is a lot of police presence — maybe having a lawyer hanging around will help.)

Erik Ryberg

She says the riders did not stop and told him he should have gotten out of the way.

I’m not sure what to think about it all. She said the police would be coming over to interview her husband, and I would guess this will result in some more police presence on the ride in the immediate future.

I haven’t been on the TNBR in nearly a year. It got way too aggro for me and at one point I got yelled at by someone for refusing to run a red light while he “corked” Broadway. He gave me a lecture about not knowing what I was doing and not understanding how the TNBR works. I ignored him.

Later a few of us started leading smaller rides that left at a reasonable hour (the TNBR had started leaving past 9 PM) and word got back to me that “Tucsonbikelawyer was trying to destroy the Tuesday Night Ride” by splitting it up. That’s when I called it quits. It just isn’t any fun to me to be in a pack of people who are running lights on major intersections and choosing routes that don’t avoid such intersections. The TNBR is supposed to be relaxing and fun, and for me it stopped being those things.

When it started, it was nominally “led” by some of the young bike superstars in town, and they selected great routes and, after a few rocky fits and starts, led by example. We had some meetings with the police about ways to avoid unwanted police presence, and after awhile the cops started leaving us alone. (There was one arrest early on and extremely annoying police motorcycle presence. It was awful.)

But over time the people who typically led the ride graduated or left or lost interest, and it became much more unruly. Maybe now it’s different, but the call I got this morning doesn’t suggest that it is.

I hope the TNBR folks realize that the police can make this ride really unpleasant if they want to, and just a tiny bit of good behavior and self-enforcement can go a long way toward preventing that.

I’d like to hear from people who are still doing the TNBR, and if anyone saw this week’s incident.

–Erik Ryberg

So consider this advance notice: if you want to attend our 8 PM ride, which is generally a little better behaved, a little more cozy, and (ahem) led by people with a little more knowledge of the neighborhoods, be there by eight o’clock, or we’re leaving without you!

See you tomorrow! Flagpole at Old Main Gate, Eight PM.

Lauren will be there too! (If we can find her a bike in time.)

–Erik Ryberg

If you miss that, try getting there by eight tomorrow. Some of us have resurrected the ride as it used to be done.

We left at 8:15 last week and are trying for 8:00 sharp on Tuesday, from the flagpole at Old Main as usual.

Our ride has got a little less pandemonium and we’ll get you home (or at the bar) before ten.

–Erik Ryberg

Just a reminder. Bring your coolest bike, a good attitude, and enjoy the coolest ride in the coolest weather we’ve had in awhile. There were 250 riders last week including the two pictured above!

The ride meets at the flagpole at Old Main: go to Park and University and go one block east into the University. Gather around 8:15 or so, leave around 8:30 or so.

–Erik Ryberg

So says Copenhagen Cycle Chic.

This Critical Mass had a less agro attitude than ours tend to — they stopped at lights, for example. I can hardly imagine what 20,000 riders must look like, but I’d sure like to see it some day.

Our own Tuesday Night Bike Ride had 215 riders this week, or about one percent of what they mustered over there in Hungary. But I’m not complaining. This week we passed by a house with a woman on the lawn who had apparently heard of the ride before. She come out to watch when she heard us go by and yelled out how happy she was to see us. We rang our bells and hollered back.

That’s so much more fun that yelling back at motorists after you cut them off.

–Erik Ryberg

Kylie from BICAS was there showing off the cargo bike that is to be raffled at the BICAS 20-Year Birthday Party and fundraiser at the Hut (see post on that below), and lots of people were rocking the free reflective TNBR bike stickers that Dwight at www.worldsbestbikestickers gives away free at each ride.

Plus I took second in footdown. Always the groomsman, never the groom.

It was a great time!

Oh and P.S. — I saw some skillful and elegant fixie riding last night, too. So I was wrong about that.

–Erik Ryberg

We were so excited back then to see 100 cyclists show up every week!

It’s bigger now.

I was talking to a friend about how whenever new students show up in August the TNBR suddenly becomes a lot more critical-massy.

New people arrive who want to run the lights and annoy drivers and assert their right to the road. Somewhere along the line back in 2007 the TNBR settled into an equilibrium with the police, a kind of “don’t look, don’t tell, don’t enforce, but don’t push it” detente whereby we take only one lane, mostly always stop at the stop lights, and kind of try to not be too obnoxious at the stop signs, and they don’t hound us in their police cruisers, on their motorcycles, and with paddy wagons in tow.

After some rather bad behavior this last August, I think the ride is settling down again. I hope it returns soon to the joy ride it once was — a fun time on your bike through town, without fear of being run over by an angry motorist or arrested by an angry cop.

Like my friend Arlo once said before a community bike ride: “There’s nothing wrong with a critical mass ride, this just isn’t one.” So all you TNBR veterans, let’s start showing up again and make the ride what it was always meant to be — fun!

See you tomorrow!

–Erik Ryberg