Friday night, 31 July 2026, the pavement in front of FX Sudirman was\nsuddenly filled with hundreds of bicycles. There were brightly coloured\nfolding bikes, gravel bikes, fixed gear bikes, road bikes, and even\nunusually shaped cargo bikes. Some cyclists stood in groups chatting,\nwhile others were busy arranging their bikes or waiting for friends.\nAmidst the flow of people heading out to spend the evening in the\nSudirman area, the crowd was conspicuous.<\/p>\n
Passers-by glanced over several times. Some slowed their pace,\nlooking at the sea of bicycles filling the side of the pavement, then\nwhispered to the person next to them. They seemed equally trying to\nguess what was happening: a community event, a cyclist gathering, or\nperhaps the starting point of an activity about to begin. There was no\nstage, no large banners, and no visible figure standing as a leader to\norganise the crowd. All that was visible were people with different\ntypes of bicycles, gathered at the same time and place.<\/p>\n
That night, the crowd had not come merely to show off their bikes.\nThey were waiting for Critical Mass Jakarta, a mass cycling movement\nheld routinely on the last Friday of every month. The movement invites\ncyclists to take to the streets together to show that they are also road\nusers with equal rights. In Jakarta, this activity has been ongoing\nsince 2012 and continues to be a recurring monthly agenda.<\/p>\n
What sets it apart from ordinary cycling events is the absence of a\nleader commanding the group. Even as the crowd in front of FX Sudirman\ngrew denser, some participants still did not know where they would be\ncycling that night. The information announced via the Instagram account\n@criticalmassjakarta<\/span> only listed\nthe meeting point, the time, and an open invitation for anyone to come.\nThe route was not something that had to be known by everyone from the\nstart.<\/p>\n As eight o\u2019clock in the evening approached, the wait ended in an\nalmost simple manner. From the middle of the crowd, a cyclist suddenly\nshouted, \u201cyuk jalan yuk\u201d (let\u2019s go). There was no brief meeting, no\nlayered instructions. The gathered cyclists began to pedal and one by\none left the meeting point. In moments, the streets around Sudirman were\nfilled with a moving stream of bicycles.<\/p>\n The group then traversed several roads in Jakarta, passing through\nthe Sudirman area, under the Semanggi bridge, and towards the HI\nRoundabout. From the roadside, the sight once again presented a contrast\nfamiliar to the city: bicycles moving in unison among much larger and\nfaster motor vehicles. But that night, their numbers meant the cyclists\nwere no longer seen as small individuals moving alone at the side of the\nroad. They became a single mass that was hard to ignore.<\/p>\n For Critical Mass participants, gathering in large numbers is not\nmerely about filling the streets. Their very presence on the road is\npart of the message they wish to convey. Highways are not exclusive\nspaces for cars and motorcycles. Cyclists also use them, whether for\nsport or as a daily mode of transport.<\/p>\n In Jakarta, Critical Mass Indonesia originated from the fixed gear\ncommunity and has continued to thrive through communities and\nparticipants who come and go. The movement is not confined to the\ncapital. Similar activities are regularly held in several other cities,\nincluding Bandung, Yogyakarta, Tangerang, and Bekasi. On Friday, 26 June\n2026, for instance, hundreds of cyclists joined Critical Mass on Jalan\nAhmad Yani in Bekasi City.<\/p>\n There is no single type of bicycle required to join. Among the\nJakarta group that night, folding bikes stood alongside gravel bikes,\nfixed gears, road bikes, city bikes, tourers, and even custom bikes. The\nvariety of bicycle types actually demonstrates who can be part of the\nmovement. They do not need to come from the same community or ride a\nbike with specific specifications.<\/p>\n In the midst of the crowd was Aria Praja Sukanda, 30, who arrived on\na silver Marin Gestalt gravel bike. The barista at Aneka 57 Caf\u00e9, who\nworks in the Radio Dalam and Pecenongan areas, was participating in\nCritical Mass Jakarta for the first time. He learned about the activity\nfrom Instagram, where posts about the large group of cyclists appeared\nseveral times on his explore page.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is my first time joining. I found out from Instagram when it\nkept appearing on my explore page, a big group like this. I happen to\ncycle often too, so I became interested in joining and wanted to get to\nknow friends here,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n For Aria, his interest was not just about experiencing cycling in a\nlarge group. He is already accustomed to using a bicycle in his daily\nlife. When he does not take his motorbike to work, he chooses to pedal\nfrom Manggarai to Radio Dalam. The distance of about nine kilometres, he\nsays, can be covered in around 30 minutes because he is used to it.<\/p>\n This habit means the issue of road space is not just something he\nhears about from others. He experiences it when cycling alone. One of\nthe concerns he brought to Critical Mass is the condition of bike lanes,\nwhich are not always clear. For him, the problem is not simply about who\nis allowed on the road, but how road users can share space without\nmaking other users feel unsafe.<\/p>\n \u201cI often see people selling on the roadside and cars parked in the\nbike lane, so I get a bit obstructed,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Aria has enjoyed cycling for two to three years. In a week, he cycles\nat least three times, usually on Fridays, Saturdays, and Wednesdays.<\/p>",
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