University students and residents of Chapel Hill and Carrboro gathered at the sundial in front of Morehead Planetarium at 5:30 p.m. to participate in the first Critical Mass bike ride of the school year, an event that monthly will promote biking as a cleaner alternative form of transportation.
Sara Peach, media coordinator for the Student Environmental Action Coalition, said she was disappointed in the turnout. She said that she expected 40 to 50 people to participate but that the event only garnered 15.
Even with the lack of participation, riders managed to fill both lanes of traffic heading west toward Carrboro and back.
"When we see a public bus behind us, usually all the bikers move to the left lane, then the bus goes through and the bikers return to the right lane so they are taking up both lanes again," she said. "The reason we ride in Critical Mass is to promote cleaner, greener transportation, and since public buses are a cleaner form of transportation, we don't want to hold them up."
Friday's Critical Mass event fell on the 10th anniversary of the first ride in San Francisco. Since then, the event has spread to 300 cities worldwide.
Erik Ose, a resident of Chapel Hill, said he usually participates in rides and fully supports the event.
"I think it's important for the community to demonstrate that Chapel Hill is overly dependent on cars for transportation," he said. "People who ride bikes should stand up and be counted. It's something simple that you can do to show you support alternatives for car-reliant forms of transportation.
"As small as Chapel Hill is, it makes no sense for people to use their cars to travel everywhere, even short distances."
Lara Kent, a senior member of SEAC, said she looked forward to the event all week. "Critical Mass raises awareness of people in cars who don't realize that people on bikes have a right to be on the road," she said.
