If you see hundreds of smiling children biking around Lake Merritt this Saturday, it's because they're participating in this month's East Bay Kidical Mass, an event organized by local cyclists to promote safe and fun biking for youth.
At the end of the circuit, expected to last at most a couple of hours, there will be free cold treats, like soft serve ice cream and popsicles, as well as spongy waffles with fried chicken.
To keep the ride safe, all cyclists will take over the main roadway, blocking car traffic for a short amount of time, and some cyclists will block off local streets to prevent collisions.
While Kidical Mass is a relatively new event in Oakland, it's been around for close to 20 years elsewhere, and the name is a riff on critical mass, a bike protest that began in San Francisco over 30 years ago and has since spread to cities across the world.
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