Borne out of frustration over the Critical Mass cycle that takes over downtown streets, a new breed of bike protesters are hitting the road - in the most respectful way possible.
The group is called Critical Manners, and are positioning themselves as the antithesis to the cyclists who block downtown streets at Vancouver rush hour on the last Friday of the month, causing traffic headaches and sometimes heated arguments between cyclists and drivers.
Critical Manners organizer Jennifer Watkiss says Critical Mass has gotten disruptive, and may have lost its message in the process.
"It's really sad that it's gotten to the point where police have gotten involved and that the disruptions and confrontations have gotten so bad," Watkiss, who cycles from Vancouver to Richmond daily, said.
With a motto of 'be a part of traffic, not apart from it,' the Kitsilano resident started organizing the ride late July after learning about original CM group in San Francisco online.
She found their friendly approach a refreshing alternative.
"I've been a driver and cyclist in Vancouver for a long time and I've had that feeling sometimes that I wanted to run over cyclists in Critical Mass," she said.
"I just thought, wouldn't it be nice to get a few proactive cyclists out to have a nice and non-crazy ride?"
"You can't paint all cyclists with the same brush. Bike advocates are saying 'I want to be an activist, but being disruptive and disrespectful isn't going to get us anywhere.'"
Between 50 to 100 cyclists are expected to participate in Vancouver's inaugural ride on Friday night, a much smaller turnout than the thousands that ride in Critical Mass.
The ride, which sets off from David Lam Park at 6:00 p.m., will wind its way through the downtown core using bike lanes only, and obeying the rules of the road.
Watkiss is hoping other cycle groups, like Pedal Etiquette and Courteous Mass, may participate. She isn't sure if Critical Manners will be a one-time shot or become a monthly event.
"The Critical Mass crew is planning to have a pot-luck sit down later this month to talk about the current state of the ride, which is a good thing," Watkiss said.
"I don't know if there will be a need to have this again in the future if Critical Mass changes or other cycling groups will pick it up and keep running."
Watkiss says sooner or later, cyclists and motorists will have to find a way to peacefully coexist.
"Considering how Vancouver is a city built north to south in downtown it's a sad reality that sometimes people need to drive downtown."
"We need something that shows that cars and bikes can happily co-exist and share the road. We have to share it all the time so why not have something that keeps us productive all the time?"
