In one massive cluster, scores of bikers made their presence known to motorists and pedestrians in an effort to promote bike safety and awareness.
More than 100 bikers rode through the streets of Carbondale early Friday evening in a show of solidarity and unity. The event, which is similar to the Critical Mass rides that have popped up in cities across the country, has quickly become an end of the month tradition for many cyclists in Carbondale.
"The thing about Critical Mass is it's not an official organization, it's just run by the individual bicyclists," said Mike Sax, a junior from Evanston studying art education, who was one of the people who started the tradition last March.
The monthly rides are the brainchild of Sax, an employee at The Bike Surgeon, and Brendan Scahill, a junior from Chicago studying forestry. Both participated in similar bike rides in Chicago and decided to bring the tradition to Carbondale.
Sax said the point of the rides is to teach people how to safely ride their bikes, show them how to use hand signals and what is legal and what isn't when riding a bike.
Since bicyclists are required to ride in the street, no laws were broken by the massive joyride.
"It's safe, it's legal and it's not anarchy or a bunch of kids trying to get drunk," Sax said. "We were 100 people deep and we saw cops and none of them tried to stop us because they know it's legal."
The first ride was held on Scahill's birthday in March and had a turnout of about 25 people. Since then, the movement has gained popularity through word-of-mouth as well as street chalk ads and flyers.
"We're trying to get it up to a hundred people, then maybe to hundreds of thousands," Scahill joked.
Unlike Critical Mass rides in other cities, there is no set course for the throng of cyclists snaking through the streets.
"The group leads itself, there's not one leader most of the time," said Ryan Claypool, an alumnus from Marshall who currently lives in Carbondale. "Whoever's in front leads."
Currently there are plans for themed rides, such as a Halloween ride held later in the evening where people would be encouraged to dress up.
Justin Stoncius, a graduate of Carbondale Community High School, attended the bike ride for the first time and was pleased with the message that was being conveyed to drivers.
"Motorists get annoyed when we ride through the streets, but that's the only place we can legally ride," Stoncius said. "We are traffic too."
David Lopez can be reached at 536-3311 ext. 273 or by email at dave.lopez@siude.com.
