Riding Bikes and Raising Social Consciousness Essay example -- Persona

Riding Bikes and Raising Social Consciousnesst separatelyers comment This student invites his readers along for a bicycle ride, immersing us in the sights, smells, sounds, and physical sensations of a phenomenon unique to San Francisco. Along the way he educates us about the political and hearty significance of the ride plainly in such a genial, inclusive way that we may not even realize right away that weve been taught a lesson in social consciousness-raising. criti cal mass n. 2 an amount necessary or capable to have a significant effect or to achieve a result. Random House Websters College DictionaryOn the last Friday of each month, Tom, an amiable Jesuit Brother who loves cycling, my best friend, Ron, a few ungainly freshmen, and I would all meet at school most 500 p.m. We would all be dressed differently me in my jean shorts, a ratty tee shirt, and my purple helmet everyone else in a combination of unrelenting jeans, sweaters, jackets, and red or white helmets. The colors of our helmets, clothing, and bicycles constituted at to the lowest degree a perfect rainbow. Wasting no time, we would begin our migration, a run away against the fog and its pursuing damp chill, to dominate the streets of San Francisco for one dark as a unit, a voice, a symbol, and a mass. On this one night of each month, cars become the minority, the police blocking the intersections to allow the steady carry of 1500 cyclists to flow continuously like a giant, fluid serpent, oozing around the skyscrapers. Fueled by whoops, shouts, high-fives, clanging bells, screeching whistles, rattling chains and fenders, and the mesmerizing, profound symphony of blinking red lights, we would pedal all over the metropolis for our own personal reasons and causes, but also for the ... ...Golden Gate Park by the well-maintained Victorian houses of the Castro and Lower Haight. Once on Kennedy Drive in the park, the built-in Mass was about half its original size, since many people had collap se off and gone home along the course of the ride. When we finally got to the Polo Field, everyone laid their bikes down on the damp grass. The sun had already set, but at that place was just enough light in the sky to give it a dark blue color. The temperature was moderate (in my opinion), but many were putting their jackets and sweaters hind end on, including Ron and Tom. The freshmen found us almost immediately. They said they had had a blast and managed to placate right at the front with the hotshots. Good for them. I, on the other hand, was mirthful to stay at the heart of the mass, where we were a part of something important and wonderful. We were a critical massa velo de force.