> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Mass communications - URL: https://www.smdp.com/mass-communications/ - Published: 2007-02-02T16:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-23T23:59:39.000Z - Author: Guest Author - Tags: Entertainment, Pier, #archive-import *By LORI BARTLETT Daily Press Staff Writer* SANTA MONICA PIER People jump on their two-wheelers and gather here the first Friday of every month for a number of reasons. Some join to get in some exercise. Others seek a way to bond with the community, and still others want to make a statement in the streets. No matter the reason for peddling down, the Santa Monica Critical Mass is about to celebrate its second anniversary after increasing its numbers of bike-riders throughout the Westside. “I started the ride in January 2005 when I got back from my holiday vacation,” said Zack Beatty, a Santa Monica Critical Mass organizer. “Santa Monica and the Westside needed a Critical Mass ride. We needed to get out here... So, February 2005 was the first ride, and there were five of us. I set up a Web page and every month we were building. “By the end of the summer, we were up to 100 people. Last August and September, we had over 225.” The Critical Mass was an idea that started in San Francisco in 1992\. The gathering is a monthly bicycle ride to celebrate the two-wheel lifestyle and assert cyclists’ rights to ride the public streets. There are no central leaders, organization rights or rules. The Critical Mass is not a protest, says Beatty, but a demonstration of sorts. “Taking back the streets as a public resource is really how I see it. These are taxpayer funded streets, and we are kind of marginalized as cyclists, and we are sort of this unspoken underclass to automobile,” said Beatty on Thursday. “(But) at the end of the day, it’s about having fun. “It’s really what you make of it.” The Santa Monica Critical Mass gathers on the first Friday of each month at 6:30 p.m. near the Santa Monica Pier at Ocean Avenue and Colorado. When the riders gather, they take about 30 minutes to organize a route, dispense flyers or just get in a little social interaction. The ride begins at 7 p.m. and takes various routes each month. There is no official ride leader; the course can change during the ride. The Third Street Promenade, Main Street and the Venice Circle are typical destinations. No special bicycle is needed, as anyone with wheels is welcome to join. The ride usually takes approximately an hour and a half and maintains a slow to moderate pace. “We definitely try to keep it as an accessible ride,rather than a fitness ride,” said Beatty.“This is a social exercise.” The ride has become a way for the community to bond, families to get out on the town and an alternative to the typical Friday night scene. The Critical Mass ride is free of charge, agenda and form. The free-form system has a public appeal, and Beatty expects the popularity to continue to grow as the warmer months approach. “It’s brought people together. People are reacting very strongly to it. More than one person has said, ‘Wow, this is the most fun I’ve had on a Friday night since I’ve been in Los Angeles,’” said Beatty. This Friday’s two-year anniversary will be capped by a party at the end of the ride, featuring music, beer, tamales and general bike madness. The party starts around 8:30 p.m. at 2811 Pico Blvd. For more information on the joining the Masses, go to www.SantaMonicaCriticalMass.org. *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on February 2, 2007.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/020207.pdf?ref=smdp.com)