(Originally posted to Greater Democracy

This afternoon, I received an email from Brad Johnson about the Critical Mass bicycle ride this evening. He wrote,

The Critical Mass bicycle ride tonight will be the first real demonstration of NYPD tactics during the RNC. Critical Mass was going to have a post-ride party, but the cops and the Coast Guard intimidated the owners of the space into cancelling it.

Furthermore, the police hand-delivered a lovely letter threatening the riders with mass arrests -- for a ride that has gone on every month for the last 10 years without incident.

If you to be involved or monitor the proceedings, you should head over to the Time's Up space at 49 East Houston Street (btw Mott and Mulberry) during the day or go to Union Square at 7 pm.

The letter: http://www.times-up.org/images/nypd-to-ta-re-cm.jpg
Posts on this: http://the-cunctator.dailykos.com/story/2004/8/27/121244/624
http://nyc.indymedia.org/feature/display/103268/index.php

Some people would say that the first real test already happened with the arrest of ACT UP Aids protestors, or other recent activities.

However, this is also, perhaps, the first real test of how the media will cover things. Following the link that Brad provided, I’ve tuned into Indymedia radio. They are playing music interspersed with cell phone calls to various bikers on the ride. They are reporting that the bike ride is 45 blocks long, that the police are estimating two to three thousand bikes. They are reporting that there are lots of people along the way cheering, that the group has been split into two different groups, that it is the largest Critical Mass ride ever.

There are reports of a biker having been hit by an SUV, rumored to have been driven by rapper Foxy Brown, and rumors of someone being arrested, but by the sounds of it, the event has come off very peaceful.

Meanwhile, I tuned in the local television station, which reports ‘hundreds’ of bicyclists participating.

For the next week, everyone will be trying to get their message out, many different ways. Some of it will be broadcast on the mainstream commercial media. Other messages will come out on IndyMedia, the blogs, and who knows where else.