Critical Mass is dying of self-inflicted wounds

That was one ugly Critical Mass scene Friday night. A group of bike riders, heading the wrong way down a street in the Marina, targeted a woman driving a Zipcar, shouted at her, and then blocked her path when she tried to drive around them. Eventually, one moron hammered the car with his bike lock, shattering a window.

The bike riders provoked the attack, escalated it and then used her attempts to escape as a rationale to batter the car. It had to be a low point in bike-city relations, right?

Not even close. Less than 20 years ago, Critical Mass was a rampaging, hood-pounding, horn-honking confrontation. In July 1997, some 5,000 bike riders took over the streets for hours, blocking intersections and getting into screaming matches with drivers and police.

Some 250 cyclists were arrested, fist fights broke out and two officers suffered broken ribs. It was, the Chronicle story said, “chaos.’’

Which is why this week the Bicycle Coalition nearly fell over its kickstand backing away from both Friday’s incident and Critical Mass. As far as they’re concerned, those were the bad old days.

Because about 10 years ago the Bicycle Coalition wised up. Understand, they never sponsored Critical Mass, but in the early days of the event (it began in 1995) they attempted to mediate between the ride and public officials.

They knew they had a passionate group of true believers, they just needed to mobilize them to do more than block an intersection. So rather than stage another tired rally on the steps of City Hall, the Coalition went inside, worked with politicos and got things done.

“The bike coalition will sit down with you,” said Supervisor Scott Wiener. “They go out of their way to form relations. They don’t go around casting people out of the temple.”

The result? Today, bike lanes are commonplace and increasing, the number of people biking in the city has doubled since 2007, and San Francisco is consistently mentioned among the most bike-friendly cities in the country.

Until Friday, Critical Mass had turned into a pleasant cruise of the city, with a boom box playing dance tunes, good vibes and even a police escort. Because the cops got the message too.

Police Chief Greg Suhr remembers those pitched battles in the ’90s, when the cops would crack down, make arrests and return to their cars to find the tires slashed. They finally realized they were prolonging the conflict, not curbing it. They backed off.

“In both attendance and intensity, Critical Mass is a fraction of what it used to be,” Suhr said. “And our posture has mellowed as well over the years. We essentially escort the group through the city. It has turned basically into a Friday evening bike ride.”

Right up until last Friday, when a rogue element sent the whole event back to the angry, pointless past. The whole conflict was right out of the ’90s playbook.

The riders went on the wrong side of the street, clearly hoping to get a reaction. When someone began honking, they targeted a woman alone in a car (wonder why they didn’t pick a big, burly guy in pickup?) A biker rode right up to the car’s front bumper, and when the driver stopped, the instigator pulled the old bike guerrilla scam, where you bump into the car, then lay your bike down in front of the bumper and shout, “You ran into my bike, bitch.”

Others bicyclists arrived, shouting ensued, and eventually they managed to work into a suitable fury that the guy in the nonviolence T-shirt went over to his backpack, got his U-lock and waited for a chance to smack the car and break the windows.

“The guy was looking for a confrontation and he got one,” Suhr said. “A real profile in courage.”

What’s been interesting is the reaction in the cycling community. The Coalition made it clear it didn’t condone the action, issuing a bare-bones statement saying they encourage riders to follow the rules of the road and “bike politely.” But on Facebook members of the San Francisco Bike Crew, a public group with nearly 1,600 members, were unsympathetic.

“There was a time when SF needed Critical Mass,” one wrote. “That time has run its course about a decade ago.”

“The Bike party seeks to bring the community together,” another wrote. “Critical Mass strives to keep it divided; we will never advance cyclist rights while these two exist in the same city.”

Actually I think they can coexist. Bikes are mainstream. Just check out Market Street during commute hours. But now they’re transportation, not a political statement.

Here’s the weird thing. I know the guy that shattered the window. Not personally. But I’ve seen him and guys like him — the hipster grunge look, the hair-trigger temper and the entitled self-absorption. I’ve seen him bang on the hoods of cars, yell at drivers and even, in one case, spit on a windshield.

The funny thing is I haven’t seen him much lately.