critical mass september

"What is Critical Mass?

Critical Mass is a bike ride plain and simple. The ride takes place on the Last Friday Of Every Month (in Chicago anyway). A Critical Mass is created when the group of riders comes together for those few hours to take back the streets of our city. The right of the people to assemble is guaranteed in the Constitution, and Critical Mass helps people remember that right. The Mass itself has no political agenda, though, no more than the people of any other community do. Critical Mass is open to all, and it welcomes all riders to join in a celebration of riding bicycles. Why? Because bikes are fun!


Sure, as with any community, you'll see people of all types. Some people see Critical Mass as a forum for grassroots political change. Some people see it as a protest against cars. Some people just like to ride. The Mass, however, is just that...a bunch of bike riders. You can drive a car the whole month and ride in the Mass. You can be an anarchist and ride in the Mass. The point of the Mass is the Mass, nothing more. Critical Mass has no leadership. It is a ride where no one is in charge. At any time, riders are free to leave, stay, stop, or even help out. Everyone is responsible for themselves and the Mass. Learn how to get involved!


Once you realize that, you're free to enjoy the exhilaration that is a large bike ride. It's quite a sight to be parading down Michigan Avenue with thousands of fellow riders, wishing pedestrians and drivers a "Happy Friday!"

Chicago Critical Mass is a community, yet it's also part of a worldwide Critical Mass community as a whole. Critical Mass rides take place all over the world each month, and Chicago is proud to join in to proclaim our love of bicycles. If you love bikes, and you want to show others how you feel about cycling, come join us!

For more information on the origins of Critical Mass, please see the excellent Wikipedia page on the subject.

 How did it get started?

It started in August 1992 in San Francisco when a group of bicycle commuters decided to ride home together.

 

Why is it called "Critical Mass"?

The name "Critical Mass" comes from Ted White's bike-umentary Return of the Scorcher. This video shows intersection crossing etiquette in China's big cities. Cross bike-traffic waits until it has enough riders, i.e., a critical mass, to push it's way through the intersection. "

http://chicagocriticalmass.org/about

Designed by Chris Drew, Maria Wohadlo for the September, 2010 Ride

 we sure did have some fun. believe it or not i have never ridden in a critical mass before. it was something i have always meant to do but would forget every month until it was to late. however it has been a big part of the lives of some friends of mine. some have even gotten engaged during critical mass: my friend Michelle Simon

if you guy read the article you should watch the video is really cute. i was unable to re-post it here.

well it was a blast. the same giddy feeling overtook me as it did with the naked bike ride. i have no idea how many people rode this last week.. i would say over five hundred. it was quit something.

what a really noticed was the pedestrians and the car drivers reactions. some people lit up and cheered us on. other remained numb. i wonder how these people go about their lives? something unexpected is happening to you on your friday commute home or where it is your going. and you remain numb? come on people embrace the unexpected!

i look forward to next months on october 28 for it will be a halloween ride. halloween is my favorite holiday! i adore fall. i just hope i don't have to work!

promised fairytale eggplants

in my last post i was kicking myself from not photographing the visually striking fairytale eggplant....

we all know how i am fascinated with purple food.


the other day went like this.... i have been working seven days a week for a few weeks now. true that some days its only for about 5 hours or so but still it's seven days a week. random hours too. some days i work at eight in the morning and other days i work till ten at night. to help me out and just be a sweetheart in general k has been making dinner and having it ready for my arrival home when i work late. that way we can actually spend like two hours together before we both need to go to bed instead of that time being taken up by having to make dinner and such.   

so the other night for dinner k decided we really must finish up the rest of that scrumptious tomato sauce. side note: now that its gone i miss it so so much and need five pounds of tomatoes again so i can make it asap! so he recreated the pesto stuffed tofu stakes.

when i walked in the door the house was swarming with mouth watering aromas. the tofu was sizzling in the fry pan. on the counter sat two gorgeous fairytale eggplants not yet knifed. k came up behind me and handed me a camera and told me here was my chance to photograph them for my blog. he had read the last post. he actually reads my blog!    

i think he might be a keeper

tomatoes

labor day turned into the the day of tomatoes for me.
lets begin

in the morning i was on my way to go get me hair cut. i had promises of bagels for jen. i take my bagels with hummus and slices of tomato. so i picked these three things up at the store. when i got to jen's she had a tomato in the fridge that was in more need of being consumed then the one i had brought. mine was kept jen's was eaten.

later in the day i had a late lunch with my parents before my dad had to catch a flight back to florida. my mom presented me with a huge zip lock bag of red ripe tomatoes. when asked where they were from she replied with from a friends farm.

upon arriving back to k's he opend up the fridge and showed me a giant yellow heirloom tomato the dill pickle had gifted him earlier that day.

what to do with all these tomatoes? something grand had to happen.

the next day, which also happened to be my first day back to jcys, i found the answers. after flipping thought cook books i came across summer time tomato sauce and then pest stuffed tofu steaks with summertime tomato sauce in vegan planet. it was more perfect then i could have hoped for. k had made a big batch of pesto from two basil plants on sunday while i was at work.

so the two of us lovingly spent the evening in the kitchen listening to tomatoes simmering and tofu frying along with wait wait don't tell me and sound opinions.

to add to the tofu we had picked up some fairytale eggplant that k prepared while i worked on quick boiling the tomatoes to remove their skins. the fairytale eggplant was from the dill pickle and i must say i have never seen eggplant quite like it.  i wish i had been mindful enough to photograph it for you before we chopped it up. maybe ill try to pick up some more in the coming days.

and of course we needed to add a portable mushroom to our meal.

the month of september has brought with the cripes clean air of fall and newness. the tomatoes had locked the flavor of summer deep within them. as the simmered it unlocked and released into the juices. this meal was a heartwarming way to tast the summer and say goodbye one last time.