Critical Mass. Hartford, Dec 2008. The Holiday Ride!

LL Cool J said it best....I can't live without my radio!

Well, better late than never! Friday night...a few weeks back...was awesome! We had a real winter Critical Mass ride complete with lights, decorations and holiday music. It was great to see so many familiar faces as well as some new blood out to ride around the city. The weather may have been cold, but the ride was hot! Lots of people decorated their bikes with colorful lights, glow sticks and light-up santas. I am sure it was the largest ride yet in the winter months. There was a UConn game at the Civic Center (yes, i still call it that) and of course all the traffic that goes with it.

The boombox was blasting mostly punk and reggae covers of Christmas music. I found a few Chanukah and Kwanzaa songs on itunes and threw in the Ramones' version of "its a Wonderful World" just to round things out. Many people cheered, smiled and laughed as we did laps through the area.

We also rode to Constitution Plaza and around the decorative lights and Christmas trees up there. And all got separated for a while when leaving, until reuniting and enjoying more of the crowded downtown streets.

Eventually we headed down Asylum Avenue towards West Hartford and made it to Woodland Street when we found out someone needed a chaintool back at Bushnell Park. In the holiday spirit the whole ride made a 180 and sped back to save the day. We did several more loops around the Civic Center while repairs were made. Ya know... i might have some chronology wrong here; but just the same, it was a wonderful ride. Everyone was super friendly, sharing tools and libations and ideas for next year's ride. Thank you to everyone to braved the cold and helped make Hartford a brighter place! Wooo-haaaa!


Marylynn is always dressed for the occasion!


Chris laughed in the face of death with his lights. and looked cool doing it!


Coreylynn was rocking two peace signs radiating good vibes in all four directions.

What happened next? What bar did we go to? Want to see the neked group shot?

click READ MORE!






Did i say neked? I meant natural light...I didn't use my flash! Sorry for any confusion.

We decided to ride to the Spigot and took the scenic route on Park Street for most of the way.


Brendan, is that your cable looking up my boom box along with the bikes? Thanks dude, good looking out!

And more photos here from Caresse!