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February 16, 2006
Pippy at the movies ~ Still We Ride!
Tuesday night, Valentine's Day, me and my biking sweetie went to the Lincoln Park branch library to the Chicago Cycling Club meeting, where they showed an excellent movie, Still We Ride. Ah, yes, and a bunch of biking brethren were there, with our collective helmet-hair! This is just one bonus of bikey events, because you can have the worst helmet hair! You hafta like that. Anyway, the film! If you get a chance, see it! Its a documentary about New York's Critical Mass, and the troubles they have been having with the police since the Republican National Convention. It also sheds quite a bit of light on the times we are living in, and the state of our rights in the face of increasingly repressive police and government tactics. Its also a little bit humorous in parts. One moment which got a laugh showed an angry young male motorist cursing at the "beatniks" to get out of his way. The correlation between beatniks and biking is unclear. In any event, that's what makes this whole topic so interesting to chew upon, because the perception is so mixed up.
One would think bicycling, more so than driving, would be proof of one's good intentions in the world. I suppose anything is suspect if you do it in a thundering herd (which is the beauty part, really, I so love riding with the thundering herd! Its exhilerating, believe it!), but I've been on the el at rush hour too. And its not nearly as much fun. (Not the same thing, I know. And no one is ever even tempted to do it naked, as has been known to happen at the Mass, but it wasn't actually going on in NYC, but still.)
Biking. It seems benign. Who knows.
In any event, it made the troubles at our ghost bike memorial ride look a little puny! It was bad enough 4 people got arrested, but at least our locks weren't cut, and our bikes thrown in a heap and carted off in a truck! Whoa.
Really, if ya get a chance, watch it!
The extra added bonus was, a young man who was there in NYC in the mass spoke to us, as well as 2 of our very own Sidewalk 4, the arrestees from our January Ghost Bike ride.
The big follow-up to the story!
Look what happened in NYC! (sorry I think you gotta log in to the NY Times but you can also see it in the Village Voice.)
Posted by at February 16, 2006 07:42 PM