Who were the bicycle riders in Beverly Hills,Ca. on 5/17/2008?

Question

on 5/17/2008 at approximately 11:45pm there were about 200 bicycle riders with lights flashing. It was not the 1st time ive witnessed this, ive also seen the same thing in marina del rey in the evening. Theres lights and music and decorations of some sort.

Answer 1

Sounds like it was a Critical Mass ride.....people put those together nationwide, often monthly.   They've been a huge problem in some areas and there have been arrests, bad publicity for cyclists in general, and injuries from traffic accidents.  It started out as a semi-decent idea to promote cycling and fair treatment/respect by motorists, and then it morphed into something more youthful and angry and anarchistic.  It's not something that any bike shop in our area wants to be associated with anymore.  Because of the problems, most of the CM rides are kinda secret and "unorganized", so finding out when they're going to happen will require you to ask around and talk to the right people.   Some rides are posted with flyers, though.  

Google "critical mass" or punch it into Youtube and you can see alot about it.