I’ve lived in South Florida for close to 5 years, and one of the things I love doing
is riding Fort Lauderdale Critical Mass.
As I explained in another video, Critical Mass is an international phenomenon.
Once per month, hundreds or thousands of cyclists meet up at a predetermined location to ride
around their city in a huge group.
There’s no attendance sheet or anything like that; You just show up.
Fort Lauderdale is a small city though, so their Critical Mass ride is quite manageable.
Sure it causes traffic, and you’d be hard pressed to see the entire group from any vantage
point, but it’s small compared to the ride that takes place 20 minutes away in Miami.
Until last week, I had never been on Miami Critical Mass.
It was really fun.
I ran into a lot of subscribers and fans.
I gave them blinkies.
The whole time though, I couldn’t get over the scale of the mass.
One thing’s for sure, it’s very different from the ride I’m used to going on in Fort
Lauderdale.
In Fort Lauderdale, there’s free parking at the meetup spot, which is vacant lot right
outside of downtown.
It’s pretty convenient if you’re driving there.
In Miami, there’s no such thing as free parking.
In Fort Lauderdale hundreds of people ride Critical Mass, and sometimes the group breaks
1000.
If you’ve never seen it before, it’s a sight to behold.
In Miami, those numbers are peanuts.
I have no idea how many riders were in last week’s mass, but it was a lot.
Towards the end of the ride we stopped at the top of a bridge for a solid 15 minutes.
People were passing us the whole time.
When we started riding again we were in the thick of things like nothing ever happened.
In Fort Lauderdale it’s a festive atmosphere at the meetup point.
Everyone is saying hi to their friends, and socializing before the ride.
They know it’s going to be a fun night.
As for Miami…
Not everyone is waiting around at the meetup point.
In Miami the the route looks like a big rectangle.
For a mass that large is better to keep everyone on long straightaways through the downtown.
It’s the perfect way to see the best parts of Miami from street level.
In Fort Lauderdale, the route looks more like a game of snake that you would play on an
old Nokia Cell phone.
The smaller, nimbler group makes its way through congested downtown areas, residential neighborhoods,
and even cul-de-sacs .
In Fort Lauderdale, there’s always some guy towing a bike trailer with huge speakers
in it.
This is called a speaker douche and there’s one on every ride.
They’re always riding alone and they always have terrible taste in music, but at least
they’re pretty easy to get away from.
In Miami, there’s a speaker douche every tenth of a mile.
They’re next to impossible to get away from.
I’d play the audio more so you can hear it, but I’ll probably get a copyright claim.
In Fort Lauderdale, you may come across Benjamin on his tall bike.
In Miami, look out for Raven and his army of mutant tall bikes.
In Fort Lauderdale, the city turns a blind eye to the ride.
In the past they tried to get involved but caused more problems than they solved.
So for now the ride is self governed, and usually happens without incident.
As for Miami, the city at least in part, embraces the ride.
For the thousands of riders who participate, the Miami PD blocks the major intersections
so everyone can pass safely.
They do this quite effectively.
In Fort Lauderdale, tourists are surprised to see the mass passing by.
They ask us where we’re going, and snap pictures with their cell phones.
It’s really fun to see the looks on their faces when they realize the true size of the
group.
So, half the entertainment comes from the people at the side of the road.
In Miami, stay away from the people at the side of the road.
So, if you live in South Florida or you’re visiting,
I hope this has given you a little taste of what to expect at each ride.
Info on Miami’s ride can be found through Miami Bike Scene, and Fort Lauderdale’s
ride through their Critical Mass Facebook page.
I’ll leave links to both.
If you live near Hollywood you may want to check out their ride too, which is a little
more intimate.
One thing all of South Florida’s rides have in common is that you can participate in short
sleeves at any time of the year.
For that reason, you can’t go wrong with any of them.
Thanks for riding with me today, and I’ll see you next time.