Cycle swarm

A mob of bicyclists -- maybe about 120 -- rode down Main Street in Cambridge about 7:45 p.m. yesterday as I waited to turn left toward Boston. The horde was not made up of spandex-clad speedsters in single file, but rather a youngish lot who spread out across the road and moved at a leisurely pace. (Photo from a similar event in New York City.)

I turned onto Main and was dismayed to see the group ahead cycling onto the Longfellow Bridge, which was my destination as well. They moved slowly and cars full of angry drivers and passengers added up behind them. When a woman fell off her bike several of her compatriots quickly hopped off their cycles and spread them out in a protective formation. The cars all stopped, and the woman driving next to me started screaming that the cyclists were sitting down. Thankfully that wasn't true.

I stayed calm because I was in no hurry and getting angry would have solved nothing. Maybe the ride had a point -- and I am likely to agree with that point (cycling is healthier and better for the environment than driving, for example) -- but the method involved just generally irritated most onlookers.