Critical Mass: Chicago July 2011

I found that the more bike blog and bike websites I have been reading, the more I heard about an interesting subject called critical mass bike rides. I saw some videos like this and this. This one also.  So I decided I would give it a try this July. All I have to do is go catch the Metra to Chicago right after work. The Chicago Critical Mass Ride gathers on the third Friday of every month at Daley Plaza at the intersection of Washington and Dearborn streets. It was lass than a mile ride to there from Union Station. I took a few videos while I was at Daley Plaza waiting for the ride to kick off.

The above video shows the plaza was fairly empty when I first arrived. The below video shows only a short time later.

Someone came around and was handing out the July copy of The Derailleur. Also someone was handing out some free reflectors with an LED in the center for increased visibility while on the ride. What an excellent idea! I first got the idea to do this ride in July when I was perusing the chainlink website after registering there. They had a link there to the homepage of the   Chicago Critical Mass.The CCM website has alot of info for newbies to get the feel of what they should as a new participant in the ride and what is expected of them. Great site.
    Here is a few still pictures I took while waiting on the ride to start:

The riders are leaving Daley Plaza

Here is a 15+ minute video of the beginning of the ride: