Critical Mass takes high road this month after August’s attack

Critical Mass riders bike down the Embarcadero in San Francisco, Calif. on Friday, Sept. 25, 2015. The monthly bike ride takes place on the last Friday of the month. Critical Mass riders bike down the Embarcadero in San Francisco, Calif. on Friday, Sept. 25, 2015. The monthly bike ride takes place on the last Friday of the month. Photo: James Tensuan, Special To The Chronicle Photo: James Tensuan, Special To The Chronicle Image 1 of / 13 Caption Close Critical Mass takes high road this month after August’s attack 1 / 13 Back to Gallery

For the first time since a video of a cyclist smashing the window of a driver’s car went viral and cast a pall over the event, hundreds of riders gathered at Justin Herman Plaza Friday night for Critical Mass, a monthly protest ride through the streets of San Francisco.

They came on road bikes and tandems, mountain bikes and fixed gears, with babies in tow and tall cans of beer in hand, but they all came to raise awareness to the dangers that cyclists face riding around the city.

“Critical Mass is really the only time I’ve felt safe riding my bike on the streets of San Francisco,” said Lauri Green, a 32-year-old San Francisco resident. “There’s safety in numbers, and it feels like recently there has been a lot of hate against bicyclists, which is lopsided because we are the vulnerable ones on the roads. We are the ones that can get killed by cars.”

The gaggle that set off from the plaza around 6:30 p.m. — some in spandex, others in business attire and a few in nothing more than riding shoes — were in high spirits as they headed down the Embarcadero as fans heading to an AC/DC concert at AT&T Park whooped and hollered.

The mass was anything but critical of the encouragement, whooping and hollering right back and even exchanging high fives with a few drivers who stuck their hands from their cars as they patiently waited for the menagerie to amble past.

That was a far cry from the last go-round, however, after a now notorious incident, which was caught on video during an Aug. 28 ride and posted to YouTube, brought back memories of more turbulent times for Critical Mass.

In the video, about a dozen cyclists can be seen riding against traffic on Marina Boulevard near Lyon Street when one cyclist stops in front of a dark station wagon and yells, “Hey! Stop that! No, no, no, no, no.”

As more cyclists surround the Zipcar, one man accuses the driver of hitting his bike while others hurl insults and expletives. The driver eventually begins to back up and tries to drive around the group, only to be blocked again.

Finally, the driver slowly maneuvers around the group when one rider, purported to be Ian Hespelt, begins swinging his bike lock at the car, smashing the driver’s side window.

Hespelt was arrested Sept. 5 near AT&T Park after two police officers recognized his bicycle and distinctive handlebar mustache and has since been charged with four felonies, including assault with a deadly weapon and false imprisonment.

Danny Bittiker, 30, who’s been attending Critical Mass rides for the past five years or so, said that he’s seen his fair share of aggressive antics at the monthly rides, but those who engage in that kind of behavior are among the few, not the many.

“Some cyclists do antagonize drivers,” he said. “But it’s definitely the fringe types and it’s pretty rare.”

None of those shenanigans was on display on Friday night’s ride as the group got a warm reception nearly everywhere it went.

Crowds outside of bars in the South of Market area cheered as the riders passed by, tourists wandering through the Financial District stopped to take bemused cell phone pics and an entire tour group waved in unison from the top of a double-decker bus as the cyclists collectively shifted into low gears to climb over a hill in North Beach and pedaled off into the night.

“It’s a way for us to feel like we’re taking back the streets,” Bittiker said. “Taking back a little bit of the city.”