You might say the Critical Mass ride has come full circle—or 350 of the 360 degrees anyway.

From a clandestine anti-establishment protest staged across 300 cities around the world to Kelowna’s front door, the popular movement is a way for cyclists to draw attention to their cause, push the envelop a little and, at times, physically stop people from driving their cars.

This Saturday, rain or shine, the organizers of Kelowna’s first major Critical Mass effort are hoping everything from your typical California cruiser to funky folding bikes will fill the streets of the downtown core, pedalling the idea that an average person can do something to stop climate change.

“It’s all about the planet,” explained Tolmi Greaves, an organizer whose environmental activism started with the Capilano College environmental issues committee and now has her working with Science Opportunities for Kids.

Greaves has partnered with local urban farmer Curtis Stone and Kelowna city councillor Angela Reid to organize the ride, which sets out from the Rotary Centre for the Arts in downtown Kelowna at 3 p.m. Saturday and will be followed by a presentation from Reid on her training with climate activist and former U.S. vice-president Al Gore.

The event is all part of 350.org’s Day of Action, a challenge drawing attention to the need to reduce our atmospheric carbon dioxide load to 350 parts per million, the number scientist have determined will reverse the rapid warming we’re experiencing.

“We’re at 387 parts per million and rising quickly,” said Reid, who spent several years running both federally and provincially for the Green Party before being elected to Kelowna city council last year.

For most of human history, the atmosphere has contained in the range of 275 parts per million of carbon dioxide and when scientist from around the world convened at the UN two years ago, they came to the conclusion the planet could not sustain more than 400 parts per million of carbon dioxide and remain the same environment.

It’s expected we could reach this point of no return within the next decade.

The 350 organization is encouraging anyone to do anything they can to draw attention to the cause by organizing events for this Saturday, Oct. 24.

This Critical Mass ride is sanctioned by Kelowna RCMP and 350.org’s efforts have been adopted and endorsed by the David Suzuki Foundation.

The 350.org website breaks down our need for change as a chance to put the world on a diet.

“We’re like the patient that goes to the doctor and learns he’s overweight, or his cholesterol is too high.

He doesn’t die immediately—but until he changes his lifestyle and gets back down to the safe zone, he’s at more risk for heart attack or stroke,” it states.

Critical Mass rides are held the last Friday of every month in Vancouver, where they’ve been known to cause major traffic disturbances but that isn’t the game plan for this ride according to the organizers.

Everyone from the Central Okanagan Mountain Bike Club to Kelowna’s Cycling Coalition have been contacted to get on board.

Information on 350. org can be found at www.350.org.

jsmith@kelownacapnews.com