Rolling bike protests are global phenomenon; Athens has version

SAN FRANCISCO - Over a couple of gin and tonics, Critical Mass was born in September 1992 as a way for bicyclists to gain some respect from drivers on car-clogged streets. <br> <br> As they lobbied for additional bike lanes and fewer cars, the refrain was ``We are not blocking traffic. We are traffic!&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Ten years later, swarms of cyclists are taking over the streets on the last Friday of each month in hundreds of cities where they feel they&#39;re second-class citizens. <br> <br> Rolling occupations now begin at the Merkaz HaKarmel parking lot in Haifa, Israel, at Parnell Square in Dublin, Ireland, at Plaza del Castillo in Pamplona, Spain, and QEII Square in Auckland, New Zealand. <br> <br> Athens, Georgia, has Courteous Mass, a kinder, gentler version that shares the same concerns. Jason Henderson, president of BikeAthens, says the monthly rides have fostered interest in better bicycle access, and succeeded in ``road diets&#39;&#39; that have trimmed some four-lane roads to three to make more room for bikes. <br> <br> The Courteous Mass crowd prefers not to raise too much of a ruckus, stopping at each light and using just one lane instead of all. <br> <br> Henderson said, ``I don&#39;t think southerners are ready for blocking traffic. It makes people, especially the establishment, feel like a radical left-coast thing is about to invade their city and their way of life.&#39;&#39;

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