SoFlo peeps...

I guess people are *****ing a bit who don't really understand what or how the event is supposed to be run. Yes there were some people screwing around and breaking general rules. Hell as you can see at the beginning of the video even I with the camera went inbetween the bus and the car going the wrong way. But it was my first event and it seemed like a free for all at that moment. Now i know better.

Even one of the people who normally runs the events brought many of these factors up while promoting the video:

http://miamibikescene.blogspot.com/2010/07/miami-critical-mass-june-video.html

He also brought up the ride rules which answer many of your questions as to why the events are organized as they are:

http://miamibikescene.blogspot.com/p/miami-critical-mass-guidelines.html

Incase you don't understand why the group runs through intersections here's a great explanation:

For the most part Miami Critical Mass has been very tame, there's been little to no altercations aside from the occasional tap on the horn from an impatient motorist. I can honestly say the majority of people honking are cheering us on, same goes with pedestrians hollering from the sidewalks, I believe the mere sight of an abundance of bicycles on the streets of Miami excites them, it's a beautiful thing. On the contrary, the sight of motorists cooped up in steel boxes, isolating themselves from their surroundings while reducing the quality of air.. not so appealing, eh?

I pose a question to those who don't like the idea of corking and/or just share a common disdain for Critical Mass in general. Have you ever considered how much traffic a really large group of cyclists could back up if they didn't cork intersections? I'm estimating they can possibly back traffic up for close to an hour in some areas, not just 4-5 minutes as they presently do. That is, obeying all traffic laws, riding two abreast, stopping at red lights, no corking etc. Chew on that for a bit.

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From what I could tell from attending my first ride and seeing previous video's they're normally very tame and the only people they bother are people who would be bothered by every little stoppage in there day anyways. Also, whomever started this was very smart for starting all the rides in downtown on Friday evenings because sadly the place is a ghost town which is great for the event because we're not causing or adding to any major congestion anywhere riding through an empty city at 7-9pm at night.

We most of the honking we got that day were people cheering us on and gladly allowing the group to proceed on our way. Also CM's have run into police many times before if you watch video's from previous months and usually the cops tend to clear the way.

If CM were to become too over organized and official it would kind of break the entire spirit of the event in my eyes. Right now its just great to see 200-300 people from all different walks of life gathering under one common activity.... biking.