Come enjoy a marvelous all you can eat brunch with the FreeWheels crew and learn about our ongoing work here in New York and our upcoming mission to Minneapolis/St. Paul to defend the rights of cyclists everywhere.

Date: Sunday, June 29, 2008
Time: 11:00am - 3:00pm
Location: The Brecht Forum
451 West Street - between Bank & Bethune
(See map at right)

Free Bike Ride with FreeWheels after Brunch.


The crackdown on Critical Mass rides in New York began with the ride before the Republican National Convention when hundreds of cyclists were rounded up and arrested. This year Critical Mass in Minneapolis will come the Friday before the Republican National Convention and there is every indication that the ride will be attacked by the police. FreeWheels has fought against the NYPD's crackdown on Critical Mass for over three years and now we are asking you to help us send aid to Critical Mass in Minneapolis during this year's RNC.

Funds raised at this brunch will be used to send experienced New York-based legal observers to the RNC in Minneapolis to protect the civil rights of protesters, particularly those demonstrating on bicycles.

Over 5,000 riders turned out for Critical Mass on August 27, 2004, just prior to the start of the RNC. The NYPD responded in force, arresting 264 bicyclists and seizing their bikes as "evidence." Since the August arrests, Critical Mass has been the target of ongoing harassment by the NYPD. The NYPD is now serving as a consultant to the Minneapolis Police Department, and large numbers of arrests are anticipated at this summer’s RNC.

As you can see here, Freewheels is developing a new home. But things are still in progress, and the old site is still up, and will be up until things are tidied up here. This will be a nice new home as we've made the leap to actually using modern technology, like blogs and a wiki. More good stuff to come soon.