I don't feel mistakes were made. You can make zero mistakes, and still have the police and city lie about your event to portray it in a negative light. The main thing to avoid is appearing hostile, unfriendly, or confrontational. Try to defuse confrontational situations, and encourage people to speak up when confrontational people take advantage of the crowd to get away with things they otherwise would normally never try. I dont think we have the support of Bike Shops and hence growth is hanpered in that respect.
Some people are vehicular cyclists, and bike for transportation.
Others are recreational cyclists who like to show off their pretty gear and talk tough, but they're woosies. It's the kind of rumor people who don't like CM start, to add to defamation of the event. Hundreds of people are killed in cars every day. Focus on the REAL issues, not the fake ones. Bike advocacy groups are often on the recreational end of the spectrum, and shy away from issues like air pollution, helping vehicular cyclists, promoting space for people not cars, and other environmental and social issues that CM is a natural place for such dialogue.