I began to truly appreciate seeing the city of Milwaukee at street level, moving more quickly than walking, but without any glass or the sound of an engine between the buildings and me.

When I arrived at Riverside Park on Milwaukee’s East Side on May 26, I was immediately struck by the sheer variety in the carnival of bikes and riders present.

As I walked my bike toward the center of the park, I noticed the wide diversity in make, model, color, age and size of both the bicycles and those riding them.

All of us had come to attend a monthly community bike ride known worldwide as Critical Mass.

I had heard about Critical Mass since my first semester at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, mostly through fliers I’d found stuck between the spokes of my blue Schwinn Suburban. Before this particular evening, work and school had prevented me from participating in any rides.

I had been told different things about Critical Mass, ranging from stories screaming of unnecessary police force to others yelling just as loudly of unnecessary lawbreaking by the riders.

Surveying those around me, I noticed several uniformed police officers of Milwaukee’s 5th District getting ready with their own bicycles.

Critical Mass as a whole claims to have no organization, leadership or agenda — just a community of people out for a bike ride. These philosophies, however, seem to vary from rider to rider; with some claiming political activism and others simply sharing a ride with friends and neighbors.

In these differing purposes, some riders see fit to break traffic laws or act rudely to other road users. Because of this, police interaction isn’t new to Critical Mass. Both riders and police officers in attendance said there is always a police presence at rides. Sometimes officers only facilitate, and sometimes they enforce the law.

Officer Duke Roufus, one of the police officers present, said following the law is not only important for safety, but also to avoid confrontation with other citizens.

“The only thing I worry about is when (riders) go in the other lane … You don’t want anybody getting hurt,” Roufus said. “That’s why the officers and myself try to stay over so that at least the cars will see that they’re with the police. Not everybody’s on these guys’ side.”

Jason Ludtke, a junior majoring in art and art education at UWM, was a first-time rider at the Mass. Ludtke said he experienced firsthand why a ride like this can have significance.

“It’s important because for one, bikes do share the road with cars and other traffic, and traffic definitely does not … respect bikers,” Ludtke said. “I’ve had lots of times where I’ve been run off the road or almost run into parked cars, and that’s just terrible.”

Due to a combination of great riding weather, its coincidence with a conference called “Bike! Bike!” and media coverage of the previous month’s ride, May’s Mass turned out to be the most attended in Milwaukee history.

After a few announcements about safety and traffic laws, the last few stragglers had arrived. Very slowly the Critical Mass of riders started to file out of Riverside Park and onto Oakland Avenue, heading south toward downtown Milwaukee.

Rides are lead by whoever takes the initiative, and the route is completely spontaneous, which adds to the excitement.

Taking Oakland Avenue to Brady Street and then onto Water Street, we rode past people walking, biking or sitting on their porches. Some of the group shouted for them to join us, and some did. When onlookers asked where we were going, someone in the Mass would simply shout, “Wherever we want” or “Just for a bike ride.”

As Water Street became First Street, I began to truly appreciate seeing the city of Milwaukee at street level, moving more quickly than walking, but without any glass or the sound of an engine between the buildings and me.

I started noticing things I’d never seen before and felt the city in an entirely new way. I could feel the streets. I could feel the pavement.

Heading west, the Mass encountered the Sixth Street traffic circle. Those in front kept the Mass looping around several times until there was no clearly defined beginning or end of our line.

By the time all 250 bikers were inside the traffic circle, vehicles began to queue at its entrances. Some honked and waved, others tried to nose into the flurry of bikes and a few looked confused or angry.

It was amazing to see the lack of patience of some Milwaukee drivers in the face of a slight inconvenience. A few made rude gestures and others mouthed what looked like angry comments. Most of these gestures were returned by the riders with waves and smiles. But when a Hummer H2 drove by, it was greeted with thumbs-down and middle fingers up.

At the end of the ride, many riders expressed surprise about reaching the end without being stopped by police somewhere along the route.

Some described the attitude of police at this ride as, “totally different,” from past rides, and Owen Sharp of New Orleans said he noticed less aggression from Mass riders.

Brian Simmons, a junior Spanish major at UWM, said this ride was more successful than past Masses he’s been a part of.

“(This was) definitely the most successful (ride) I’ve ever been a part of, because of the amount of people … and the visibility; just being out in public,” Simmons said. “There weren’t very many people that seemed too aggravated with traffic being blocked. I think most people just enjoyed seeing so many people like this out in public having a good time riding their bikes.”

Brian Rothgery, a second year graduate student studying rhetoric at UWM, said he hopes future Critical Mass rides can be more like this one.

“I just hope that this is a trend that local people will keep bringing their friends to rides … and that people will see it as an opportunity to ride and have fun and save space and ride through Milwaukee in a way we don’t normally get to,” Rothgery said. “It really sort of changes your whole perspective.”

Critical Mass meets at Riverside Park near the corner of Oakland Avenue and Locust Street on the East Side of Milwaukee on the last Friday of every month at 5:30 p.m. Anyone may attend and all one needs to bring is a bicycle.

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