Fewer riders than in new york city, but then we have fewer republicans, too.

I'm guessing we started out with 45, and ended with a dozen. Not counting the continuous police escort of about 6 cycle-cops.

Only one person took part in 'critical tits', although she promised more for next month. (Not counting Lief and that other guy who always ride topless, and in their skivies.)

The cops had us tightly corralled, down to one lane and obeying all traffic laws. That depressed a lot of people, and many took off early.

We rode up to Bloor, then over to the Manulife grocery store, where we dropped off a good-sized collection of food. It was a little sketchy there, we worried about them turning around and selling the food as soon as we left.

When I was at the front of the ride, Mr. Cop in charge started talking to me, and thanked me on how peaceful this mass was. Said as long as we stayed in one lane, he wasn't going to ticket anyone, not even for light infractions. And no way were we going to be able to shake them.

Don't know his name, though someone on the mass (he shall remain nameless) called him "pickle". He was the guy who gave a ticket to that Torstar (or was it the sun?) reporter last year.

All this buddy-buddy made me quite uncomfortable, though I did learn some interesting things:

. the cops are paid time-and-a-half to go to court; this is not a new policy, it has been in effect for decades.

. cops are not required to ride their bikes in traffic while not in uniform. (Nor, of course, are they required to live in toronto).

. coincidence that we seem to have new cops out with us, it just depends on who is on shift that night. Jim Hutcheon and B. Young will be back.

. the crackdown on us is directly related to that night where Fantino got caught in traffic, and claims that some cyclist swore at him. Fantino has instructed the cops to give us "every ticket possible".

. I asked what they would do if we stopped off at the Black Bull and drank, instead of riding, and he said they would stick with us, up until 3 a.m., when their shift changes.

. I asked what would happen if we changed dates, or locations. He said they'd get phone calls, and they'd be on us again.

I took the ride down to Harbourfront, because I wanted to catch Broken Social Scene play there, and when they were sure that that is what we were doing, they actually left the group early, and peeled off.

-=-

I had some good conversations with people about what we should do about critical mass. Right now, the cops are winning this particular cold war, and I don't think that is a good thing. CM still serves an important service in toronto, and to have it be so effectively shut down both pisses me off, and depresses me.

I'm (somewhat) actively searching out people who would like to nurture the ride again, especially for next year. "A thousand wheels in 2005".