I was at June Mass. I would guess there were 50 cyclists there. We had a
pretty good ride, no cars pushing through like in May. After zigzagging
across Hennepin and Central Avenue Bridges, we took Washington to the
University, where we were broken up by police after accidentally following
some cyclists who were trying to ditch the effort onto a side street. One
officer pulled a cyclist from her bike and was preparing to pepper spray
her when a rush from the crowd and/or the appearance of cameras sent him
running back to his vehicle. She got up and walked away. (Her bike was
"fucked"). The officer promised to issue a ticket, but made little effort
in that direction. The group dispersed, but many reconvened in a nearby
park and talked about next month.
Aside from the police response, another disturbing element was that few of
the cyclists attempted any corking of intersections, an oversight which
could have been dangerous (there was a diminished veteran presence
generally). Also, the back and front of the group kept drifting far apart,
and calls to "tighten up" sometimes produced no results.
On the positive side, the group seemed diverse and cheerful. Flyers
regarding bicycle rights/safety/economy and the environmental
unsustainability of car culture were often well received by motorists, who
even lowered their windows to receive them. Someone pointed out that we
need more/better chants.
