PRESS RELEASE PRESS RELEASE PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 1, 1998
CONTACT: Pierre Grzybowski, 540.951.8859, pgrzybow@vt.edu

Critical Mass Bike Rally

Blacksburg, VA-Virginia Tech's environmental organization, Taking Responsibility for the Earth and Environment (TREE), will hold a Critical Mass Bike Rally, Monday October 5th at 4:00pm. Critical Mass is an organized coincidence where large numbers of cyclists happen to ride together at the same time, through town traffic.

Critical Mass started in San Francisco in 1993, and now takes place in more than 60 cities worldwide. Every participant rides in Critical Mass for his or her own reasons, and there are almost as many reasons as there are participants. However, some common reasons to ride are to promote bicycle safety and awareness, healthier communities, sustainable transportation, and clean air. As in other cities, car use in Blacksburg presents numerous problems, both local and global. Everyday Virginia Tech students drive one or two miles by themselves to campus. When they arrive they wage war with other single drivers over the limited parking, and then complain to the University. On a larger scale, to drive their cars, oil must be drilled, transported, and then burned in the engine, which emits greenhouse and smog producing gases. Bicycling solves all of these problems.

100 riders are expected to amass at 4:00pm at the War Memorial Chapel. The ride begins with several laps around the drillfield before starting the route down Price's Fork to University City Blvd., continuing down Patrick Henry, and then finish cycling down Washington Street. The rally will end where it began, at the Chapel, where riders will share their views on the environmental, economic, and health benefits of bicycling. "Virginia Tech Students complain about parking, spend money on health clubs, and want a clean environment," says Pierre Grzybowski of TREE. "By holding this demonstration we hope to encourage and demonstrate the need for better tolerance and awareness of cyclists."

Bikes are traffic, too!