Videos: David Bowie Bike Ride, Last Week’s Critical Mass
Gothamist
May 7th, 2010
By John Del Signore

http://gothamist.com/2010/05/07/videos_david_bowie_bike_ride_last_w.php

To round out the first week of Bike Month NYC, here are a couple of pro-cycling videos. The first is from last night’s David Bowie bike ride, during which a group of glam cyclists pedaled and danced around with Ziggy blasting from mobile speakers. Why, you ask? Well, their ride through the East Village was intended to “raise awareness for creating a more sustainable NYC,” according to Time’s Up. “Bowie has always had cutting-edge fashion concepts and music ideas much like Time’s Up! pushing the boundaries on sustainable change,” says Bill DiPaola, director of Time’s Up.

The second video, below, covers last week’s Critical Mass ride, which took place the day after former NYPD officer Patrick Pogan was found guilty of lying on the police report after his infamous rough arrest of a cyclist during a 2008 Critical Mass ride. Two spoilers: The Critical Mass theme song accompanying the video is… something. (Sample lyric: “Take it to the max, Critical Mass!”) Second: The NYPD scooter detail assigned to patrol the ride actually seems to have mellowed out a little, and even escorted them through the Park Avenue Viaduct around Grand Central Terminal! In an email, cyclist Barbara Ross told us, “Hopefully they’ll tell their high-ups making the decisions to chill out. Remember it’s just a bike ride.”