Where: Meet at the Nelson Algren Fountain in the Polish Triangle at the intersection of Milwaukee Ave. & Division Street [MAP]

Ten years ago, Critical Mass was ignited in Chicago—a bike ride combining elements of protest and celebration which has grown to thousands of cyclists taking over the city’s streets on the last Friday evening of each month. To kick off a month-long celebration of Chicago Critical Mass’s 10th anniversary, riders are launching a new Wicker Park Critical Mass ride on Friday, September 7 at 6pm. The starting point is just blocks from where the first Daley Plaza ride ended up ten years ago.

“Like other Critical Masses worldwide, the Wicker Park ride will celebrate the community's unique character with a ‘Taking Art to the Streets’ route to be proposed,” said Jim Redd, a former longtime Wicker Park resident. “We will turn Wicker Park inside out by making it an open air, mobile art gallery, full of art, spectacle and happy cyclists.”

Jim Redd, a founder of the Daley Plaza ride and now operator of an inn in Ecuador, is returning to Chicago to help launch the Wicker Park ride and celebrate the Daley Plaza ride’s 10th anniversary.

The destination of ride will be the Acme Art Gallery at 1741 N. Western Avenue, which will feature a huge 10th Anniversary party and a show of activist Ecuadorian painters brought to Chicago by Redd. “The mountain towns of the Andes have much to teach Chicago about celebration and simple urban design,” said Redd. “Festivals in Ecuador routinely take over the city streets with public spectacle, which could be a natural progression for the future of Critical Mass in Chicago.”

Since the first Daley Plaza ride in 1997, Critical Mass has steadily grown from its initial 150 participants to routinely draw thousands of riders. The vast network of cyclists spawned by Critical Mass has launched numerous grass roots cycling initiatives and pressured the City to enact many bicycle-friendly reforms. “Ten years in the making, the Wicker Park ride will mark a renaissance and rebirth of Chicago Critical Mass,” said Payton Chung, a Wicker Park cyclist.

September 5, 2007, Wicker Park Booster
When it comes to bike rides, is bigger better?
by: MARK LAWTON

Check out photos of the ride by:
- Payton Chung
- on the flipside