Critical Mass Miami May 2012

It must have been a year ago when I went on Miami Bike Scene's site and learned a bit about Critical Mass after Teo Castellanos told me about it. They were having something called a bike prom, and a few hundred people got dressed up in "prom clothing" and pedaled around Miami through Brickell with a sound system pumping out the finest 80's music.

Last month, on the final Friday of April, nearly 2000 people rode through Little Havana, Coral Gables, Brickell, and downtown on Critical Mass's latest ride. Tonight, weather permitting, the freaks will come out again, and ride through Little Havana, Allapattah, Wynwood, Midtown, Design District, Buena Vista, Little Haiti, Upper East Side, Edgewater, Omni, and Downtown.

Mostly everyone loves Critical Mass, despite a few outliers who can't control their testosterone -- usually males between 15-40. They unconsciously ride against the grain, hop curbs, seek confrontations, and find one every so often. The other 98% just ride, hoot, holler, and laugh. Drivers of the cars inconvenienced by this monthly event generally suck it up, with a few -- usually males between 15-50 -- attempting to bulldoze whatever is in their way. One against a hundred, even with superior weaponry like a car, is against all odds.