THOUGHTS ON CRITICAL MASS

So I was able check out the critical mass happening in Santa Monica.  Apparently they meet every first Friday of the month at the Santa Monica Pier.  I'm not sure what I was expecting, but as I rode my bike out from Venice Beach, where I was parked, I was thinking, "Wow these streets are narrow, how are they going to get through."  Anyway, I rode out with my friend King and we were pretty late to the gathering so we had to ask a few people where the group was.  We pretty much wandered around Santa Monica grazing through the road, bike lanes and the occassional sidewalk.  After about 30-40 minutes of riding, we realized that we might not find the mass so we road back to Santa Monica on Main St. As soon as we met up with a few friends for dinner, the mass came through.  The first group was about maybe 30 strong at first.  It was tailed by two motorcycle cops.  I noticed at the cross street, there were two more motorcycle cops just parked at the light monitoring the Mass.  A minute later, another group of bicyclists came through, playing trance music, decorated in neon lights and glow sticks.  Apparently the Santa Monica Critical Mass stops at traffic lights which staggered the ride into several different packs.  Several more groups made their way down Main Street.  We decided to follow one of the last groups, with a mixed bag of cyclists.  A few were riding road bikes, a few took cruisers, one guy even rode a Lefty mountain bike.  We ended up at this circular intersection at Main and Winward Ave where the group congregated, playing more trance and chatting away.  This group left a pretty decent impression in my mind.  They seemed to follow the traffic laws and as far as I can tell, Santa Monica is pretty bike friendly.  I may do this run again if I'm in town.  Just remember to bring lights and obey the laws, especially at the beginning of the run as the police will try to set an example early in the ride.