This month's critical mass ride was about a thousand strong. It's usually hard for me to tell because of the g'dawful state I'm in. We corralled around the Picasso sculpture, there above traffic court and waited around for someone to figure out which of the routes we'd take. There were two maps proposed that night. The first one that I recieved was from a rider that I hadn't met, and there was a lot of people there I hadn't met. This ride proposed some kind of general zig zag through Lincoln Park. The next route that I recieved came from an old school masser that I knew well. I didn't know which route would get the most praise because the older the masser, the less he seeme interested in his own agenda. Micheal Burton bored himself, offering me an invitation to the Octoberfest Ride (which also goes up through Lincoln Park).

I kept mingling until I realized that it was getting dark, it had started raining, and no one had taken the initiative to start the ride. Finally I stepped up and announced that there were two maps that were generally going up through Lincoln Park, and that we could simply do both of them. I got a big cheer from that idea, and neither of the routes hosts seemed to be really working their cause, and so the undemocratic Octoberfest Ride began. Thie route took us through the Loop, a few different ways, and then it traced the other route right past the destination, and then continued up to Lincoln Square, where there was a pedestrian mall with some old school german bars that would be celebrating Octoberfest quite traditionally. Hoy!

The night was sort of drizzly, but that meant for a more peaceful ride. I think the driver's were less antaginistic because the were already cautioned by the rain. Later, as we rode through the gold coast, and Old Town, without restiction from the police, the rain let up and the night became quite perfect. This was the first of the fall rides, and we felt the chill of the season already setting in. The police were protective of us, watching interections, and stopping traffic.

We got split up at Wellington and Halsted. I was up in the front group which got away from the rest. We waited at the six way intersection with Lincoln, doing circles in the intersection, until massers started to descend on us from two directions! Big party for a moment as these group met in the street. The ride continued following Lincon until it reached the square. After hanging out in the street for a while I joined a few friends for rounds at the bar, and we got to see these classic German dances in these traditional outfits. They wore suspenders and khaki shorts, and they wore Robin Hood hats. In the basement were intense table tennis competitions. And what great beer!

Next week the Evanston ride will meet up with the Oak Park ride.
"Rock over London. Rock on Chicago."

www.chicagocriticalmass.org