Too much ink has been spilled and too much bandwidth used to praise/bury Critical Mass in length. Now the LA Times gets in on the action. We'd love to break it down for you, but it's a long article and we don't bike or drive; more or less, it's stuff you've heard before.

So, we present to you some choice quotes from the article taken totally out of context. Enjoy.

"When Critical Mass hits the streets, bikes rule. Sometimes with sharp elbows..."

"...woman with orange dreadlocks..."

"...boisterous mass of freewheeling humanity..."

"The scent of marijuana is in the air..."

"...cyclists slam their locks onto car hoods and police make arrests amid pointed turf battles..."

"A cyclist blows kisses to glum-faced bus passengers. Another yells 'It's OK to smile!'" [By the way, the single most offensive imperative to say to anyone is "Smile!" Stop. It. Everyone. -- SFist]

"The riders swarm up Van Ness Avenue looking like Grateful Dead groupies on wheels."

"[R]iders test the limits: One sneaks up behind a bus to yank the electric cable from a power line overhead, laughing as he rides on."

"...confrontational massers are a 'testosterone brigade.'"

"A new cycling event recently was launched [in Los Angeles]...they call it Critical Manners."

"'It's been traumatic,' she said, her voice breaking. 'I've got a child standing here saying, No, Mommy. I don't want to talk about it.'"

""People have a different idea how to make life richer and more artistic and profoundly more emotional than the capitalist world wants for us.'"

"Suddenly, a woman wheels a stroller into a crosswalk as the bikes surround her. 'Stop!' she shrieks. 'I'm with a baby!'"

"The cop shrugs."

"'xerocracy'"

Photo: Chris Carlsson