'' there 's still a long road to travel before that sign reflects the reality , bicyclists say . Motorists often see bands of bikes on the streets on the final Fridays of each month as cyclists across the nation gather for evening group rides called Critical Mass. . The purpose , advocates say , is to make cars and trucks more aware of bicyclists . But to some drivers , Critical Mass participants are nothing more than spandex-wearing , stop-sign-running Lance Armstrong wannabes who slow traffic . ` They think they own the road ' It 's somewhat symbolic of the tension on the roads . `` The roads were made for cars , '' KTAR-FM radio guest host John Hook said in Phoenix , Arizona , last month . `` And bicyclists share the road , but sometimes they think they own the road . '' One caller to the program was a long-haul truck driver who accused many bicycle riders of failing to respect the law and not riding with the flow of traffic . A caller who identified himself as Jeff said he witnessed an incident in which a pack of bicyclists almost hit a car
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Professor Peter Furth has ridden his bicycle to work at Northeastern University each day for the past six years . The two-mile trip through the Boston suburb of Brookline , Massachusetts , is usually without incident . Furth 's journey is worlds apart from his former Boston commute , which for 13 years was a battle with drivers who wanted him on the sidewalk . `` I 've had motorists that drive a couple of inches from my elbow , trying to scare me , '' he said . Furth would catch up with drivers at stoplights and ask them whether they knew how close they 'd come to hitting him . Invariably , they would say , `` Yes , move over . '' It 's a cultural thing , he said . In the town of Cambridge , motorists see bicyclists all over the place and are considerate . In Brookline , only every now and then does someone honk or yell . In the southern part of Boston , it 's not quite war , but the relationship is n't very friendly . Although the street signs say `` Share the road ,