Mission Mission

Perhaps this bike ride, completed on Sunday by one Chris Phipps, is the reason the Giants were able to turn their luck around and take the NLCS.  Whatever voodoo may have occurred, the Giants now find themselves in the World Series again for the 2nd time in three years, even if last night’s rain prematurely put out all the mattress fires.  Oh, and if you’re wondering how he did the diagonal parts:

To get the diagonals, I stop the GPS at point A, then restart it at point B and it draws a straight line between the points.

Genius!  And that intense elevation is a great way to burn calories too!

[Photo by Chris Phipps via Zach M.]

In case you haven’t heard, Critical Mass is celebrating its 20th anniversary tonight at 6pm in what is sure to be an epic ride featuring cyclists from all over the place coming to the city to participate.  Regardless of how you feel about the movement, you really have to appreciate the fact that it galvanizes so many people.  Allan seems to love the good-natured fun of the whole spectacle, while I on the other hand (as someone who commutes 20 miles on my bicycle each day) usually already have to deal on a daily basis with tons of shitty, angry motorists who I would prefer to not further piss off lest they proceed to hate me so much that they try to hurt me while I’m riding.  Especially with that riding circles in busy intersections nonsense.

In any case, what allegedly all began as “a bunch of drunk bike messengers who got tired of SF police handing out $20 tickets to cyclists all the time for bullshit minor offenses, like not putting your foot down at a stop sign, so they decided to shut down some key intersections around the city and show the cops they couldn’t just fuck with them” has now become quite the thing, and it’s not going away anytime soon, so you might as well just forget about what you were planning on getting done today and check it out yourself!

Also, non-cyclists?  Perhaps this might be a good day to avoid Market St and take BART instead, alright?

Previously:

• Black Friday Critical Mass Meets Baton-Wielding Riot Police in Union Square
• When Critical Mass rides circles in busy intersections
• Critical Mass Debate: Opposing Viewpoints
• Critical Mass Sacramento
• Critical Mass Seattle
• Critical Mass Salt Lake City
• Critical Mass with Instruments
• Meet Junior: Bicycle Messenger Warrior of the Mission

Chris Six seriously wants to know.

[Photo by Carina]

Just don’t say you live in the Presidio, because that would be a loooooong ride. On the other hand, it’s a lot easier for wasted people to puke over the side of this contraption than out the window of a cab.  Of course, perhaps you might be inclined to skip the cab altogether and simply take a nap on the hood of a parked car instead.

Siiiiiiiic triple insane stunt bonus.  That shadow is pretty rad too!

(Terry Barentsen via Fecal Face via Carina)

Previously:

• Insane bike lane stunt bonus

Not necessarily spotted in the Mission, but that doesn’t mean this isn’t the kind of thing someone around here might deign to don.  Although I’m having some trouble deciding whether this is terrible or amazing, I feel like the world needs to know.

If you’ve never gone on a Midnight Mystery Ride, you’re missing out on one of the most magical free adventures this city has to offer. The mystery route varies each time depending on who hosts it, but the ride always promises to take you through beautiful undiscovered nooks and crannies of the city in the dark before ending in a secret party.

To give you an idea of what’s in store for you, here’s a video that Mission Bicycle produced, of a ride they hosted back in December. (P.S. I’m in this video, nbd.)

Mission Bicycle is hosting another Midnight Mystery Ride this Saturday, September 15, and their general manager Jefferson has promised that it will be “very interesting.” Remember to check back on the Midnight Mystery Ride website later in the week to find out where the secret meetup spot is!

(Thanks, Edmundo!)

Aaaaaaaand, that’s a 12-pack on the rear rack. Critical Mass rules. (And it’s got its big 20th anniversary celebration coming up!)

Let’s rock:

[via The Fog Bender]