Last Fridays (of the month, that is), leaves after 6 p.m.
THE monthly gathering of bicyclists making their presence known downtown since 1997. Slowly winds a dozen miles or more. Radically inclusive, thousands attend in good weather.
It is on for tonight for stalwarts February 22, 2013 from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m.
Daley Plaza, 50 W Washington. Under the Picasso (giant rusty bird), at Dearborn, SW of State&Lake train stop, Randolph exit from LFT.
Lakecomers use http://MassUp.us or text WHERE to u@massup.us to catchup.
via Chicago Critical Mass – The Chainlink.
But be careful, and if you are driver please think when you drive. That door you open without looking can mean serious injury or worse.
It was a perfect storm of factors that are all too common when Chicago bicyclists are injured or killed by cars. Dustin Valenta, 27, a delivery biker, yoga teacher and actor was commuting in Wicker Park when a driver opened her door on him, throwing him into traffic. As he lay in the road, another motorist stuck him and then fled the scene.
Valenta suffered a fractured skull, broken pelvis, 23 cracked ribs and a punctured lung but he miraculously survived and is currently alert and in good spirits. The question remains: why would a driver who accidentally struck someone already lying in the road not stop to give aid? Valenta’s family is currently working to bring the hit-and-run motorist to justice: http://chi.streetsblog.org/2013/02/14/cyclist-doored-then-struck-hit-and-run-driver-still-at-large/
Friends have set up donation sites to help cover medical expenses for Valenta, who is uninsured, at Go Fund Me and Give Forward. Cut Cats Courier and Johnny Sprockets bike shop are organizing a benefit event for late February or early March, probably at Bangers and Lace tavern.