[CMI-CM] Critical Mass Ride this Friday!

[Arun Bhalla]

Yeah, it's a short month, so the 4th Friday has come a little quicker
than usual.  It's been nice weather lately, and I hope it'll stay the same
on Friday.

Last month's ride had approximately 20 participants, including a few 
rollerbladers.  We took Wright to Springfield to Neil/Walnut/Washington/Neil
to Market Place Mall and rode around there a bit.  We returned via Market
to Washington to 4th to Green, back to Alma Mater.  A block or two north
of Market and Bradley, we were stopped by a Champaign police car, which
called in a couple cars for support.  Apparently some drivers had phoned
the police due to our presence on the streets, but we were pulled over
because many of us lacked appropriate lights, even though we made sure
to keep those with headlights in front and those with taillights in the 
rear of the procession.  One member of the group surrendered his ID to the
police, which was then checked and returned while another police officer
lectured the group on bike safety and the rules of the road.  Proper
lights and signals must be used by all members of the group, they warned.
[Incidentally, it's typical for cyclists riding without lights to be
pulled over in Champaign north of University Avenue.]  The ride was a little
over an hour long, with about 15 minutes of the ride spent with the police.
Quite a nice turnout (and weather) for January!

Ride on,
Arun