Owasso Critical Mass!

Tomorrow there will be not one, but two critical mass rides in Owasso, Oklahoma! Imagine that! Two rides in a single day.

The first one will leave from my house, travel along neighborhood streets, four-lane arterials, and two-lane rural roads, generally heading south toward the airport.

The second ride will take place at mid-afternoon. It too will follow four-lane arterials, two-lane rural roads, and some neighborhood streets, eventually ending at my house.

Both rides will involve unimaginative, boring adherence to the rules of the road, partly because it's less stressful than the usual CM practice of corking intersections and running red lights, and partly because most motorists in the area are polite and safety minded. Pissing off other drivers and the police is hardly a method guaranteed to win hearts and minds, and if we want to persuade some out from behind the wheel of a car and onto a bike, it really helps if we don't antagonize them first.

The first ride leaves around 6 AM. Lights and reflectors are required, as stipulated by Oklahoma law. That means a white front light, a red rear reflector, and a red rear light.

Be prepared to confront the occasional stupid motorist, but it's more common to have short, intense interactions with roving dogs and stubbornly intractable skunks. Skunks do not give a damn about your right-of-way!