Okay, so no one's written anything on Friday's ride, so I guess I'll do ther honors. The ride: There were probably around 70-80 riders at the peak. Temps in the 40s with a light rain, still it wasn't that bad. The Ross Island bridge was quite a change of pace, a proposed route suggested a ride deeper into southeast, which would include Woodstock and Sellwood and over the Sellwood bridge and up Macadam into downtown. While I would definitely like to include these areas for future rides I think this suggestion is a bit ambitious, and that seemed to be the consensus as we rode up Powell (how often do you get to do that?) and turned left up 21st and toward more traditional Critical Mass targets such as Belmont, the Joan of Arc circle and Glisan, by then it had dwindled down to about 30, and up 28th and down Broadway. By the time I left the ride at 7th and Knott, there were about a dozen or so left. The cops: This being my first wintertime ride, I had been under the impression that the PD didn't bother much with smaller rides. Not so. Although it seems their tactics have shifted from bullying to babysitting. There were a couple of arrogant motorcycle cops who were present most of the ride, alternating between condescending sarcasm to riding on sidewalks (which they tell us is illegal for bicycles) At the beginning of the ride around 3rd and Oak or somewhere like that, I nearly flipped over my handlebars coming to a stop as they came zipping toward us the wrong way on a one way street. They then tried to split the ride apart and it began to look like a big takedown might happen, as many of us ended up getting off our bikes and walking them down the sidewalk to avoid some arbitrary charge. This part of the ride is the only place I saw anyone get so much as ticketed though, and if there was any kind of physical abuse or detentions, I'm not aware of it. The bicycle cops were okay, and although their constant presence subdued the enthusiasm of the ride somewhat, they seemed to use a bit of restraint. (my apologies to anyone who might have experienced otherwise) From about 39th and Glisan on, the ride was cop-free. The best part of the ride.