How many cyclists here have been on Critical Mass?

[aurora green]

Me and my entire family were Critical mass regulars for years and years. We often went on our tandem, with trailor bike extention for our eldest child, and our youngest on the crossbar seat.
In the winter we'd give the kids hot waterbottles to hold onto to keep warm.
It was always such a brilliant feeling being on a such mass ride.

I kind of did begin to get a bit bored of it though, mostly when the police tried too much to control it, stopping the traffic for us etc. I far preferred us stopping the traffic ourselves.

I am inspired to go again though. We simply cant let the police throttle this harmless event.

 

[Major Tom]

Me and my entire family were Critical mass regulars for years and years. We often went on our tandem, with trailor bike extention for our eldest child, and our youngest on the crossbar seat.
In the winter we'd give the kids hot waterbottles to hold onto to keep warm.
It was always such a brilliant feeling being on a such mass ride.

I kind of did begin to get a bit bored of it though, mostly when the police tried too much to control it, stopping the traffic for us etc. I far preferred us stopping the traffic ourselves.

I am inspired to go again though. We simply cant let the police throttle this harmless event.

Good old days eh?

This month - you have to be there.

 

[tobyjug]

Have you ever been on Critical Mass?

Whether I have been on Critical Mass or not is irrelevant. A large number of people turning up at the same time in the same place with the same aim, is not spontaneous.

 

[Onket]

I've been quite a few times, not the last 2 though. I'm planning to go to the one at the end of the month.

 

[Major Tom]

If you expect me to believe that, you are much mistaken. A lot of arranging seems to be going on for a spontaneous event.

I was part of a group who organised to take the lead and steer the CM - and we managed it a few times. It's a case of getting enough of you to the front and literally leading. It really does have a life of its own.

People turn up without being organised. Particiapants print and distribute their own leaflets. I did all of this. That's how I know there's no organisation behind this.

There is not a pre-planned route, though sometimes a pre-planned destination.

Why do you think that it needs to be organised?

 

[lighterthief]

You're right there. This month more than any other is pretty important.

Why?

 

[Major Tom]

Whether I have been on Critical Mass or not is irrelevant. A large number of people turning up at the same time in the same place with the same aim, is not spontaneous.

The 'same aim' is cycling - its what the roads are for.

This thing has grown over the years with no marketting, but spread by the word of mouth of those who take part. A regular meeting time and place enables the no-organisaiton part of it.

What the fuck is there to organise?

If you haven't been on CM, then I don't see how you can begin to undertsand the nature of it.

 

[tobyjug]

I was part of a group who organised to take the lead and steer the CM - and we managed it a few times. It's a case of getting enough of you to the front and literally leading. It really does have a life of its own.

People turn up without being organised. Particiapants print and distribute their own leaflets. I did all of this. That's how I know there's no organisation behind this.

There is not a pre-planned route, though sometimes a pre-planned destination.

Why do you think that it needs to be organised?

What you have described in an organised event, leaflets being printed and distributed.
You must live in a different planet if you think you fool anyone into thinking it is not an organised event.
It would appear from contributions here and elsewhere that causing an obstruction to other traffic is the aim.

 

[Major Tom]

Why?

in the wake of police attempt to criminalise the 12 year old critical mass
cycle rides, here is a pdf flier (two on an A4 format) to print and
distribute widely to try and creat a thousand cyclist critical mass for the
28th october

Generic media critical mass leaflet.pdf -
https://www1.indymedia.org.uk/media/2005/10/324882.pdf

see articles at
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2005/10/324825.html
and
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2005/10/324763.html
for background on this repressive act by metropolitan police, and then help
make the next critical mass the biggest in history by downloading, printing,
and widely distributing the enclosed pdf document.
this is an A4 printout, double sided, that can be cut in two to create two
A5 fliers.
please distrubute at your local cycle shop, library, health food store,
newsagent, community centre, etc. etc. etc.
let's get a thousand cyclists on friday october the 28th
concerned cyclist

The more interesting of the subsequent discussions will be the one that
includes the Met's explanation of why they now consider that Critical Mass
rides fall within the ambit of the law covering processions.

 

[aurora green]

Why?

They're trying to criminalise it
Looks like this month will be a real test.

 

[Major Tom]

What you have described in an organised event, leaflets being printed and distributed.
You must live in a different planet if you think you fool anyone into thinking it is not an organised event.
It would appear from contributions here and elsewhere that causing an obstruction to other traffic is the aim.

what i said is that there is no organisation (group) behind this event. I think that you accept this now.

Not an obstruction as it keeps moving.

I wish I lived on a different planet from you.

 

[tommers]

I've meant to come along to one of these for years, but never got round to it. I might change that this month.

I've had car drivers tell me stories about how cyclists held them up, but it was only recently that I realised how often I am held up by cars, vans and lorries. I probably cycle at "full speed" for less than 30% of my journey. I'm so used to this that I haven't even noticed before. But if I move out more than a few feet from the kerb I suddenly get horns beeping and angry motorists trying to sideswipe me to get past. If this shows people that bikes have just as much of a right to use the road as a car does then I'm up for it.

 

[citydreams]

It is not a protest. It is a ride. We are traffic.

I've been on critical mass rides for several years.

In that time I've seen too many occurences of violence conducted agaisnt cyclists by taxi drivers, van drivers and other gas guzzling vehicle owners that thought they were justified in ramming, spitting, swearing, hurling abuse and even so far as punching cyclists. The police have often had to wade in to prevent a mob of cyclists from coming to the resuce. There have been several times where it has got out of control. But I've never seen any reason to place any of the blame on the cyclists.

A few months ago TfL's centre of cycling excellence were asked to support the critical mass as a bike ride. AFAIK it was due to go on their website. Critical Mass is the best place for new cyclists to gain confidence on the roads.

It is not organised because there is no route.

Why should anyone have to inform the police about their intention to travel through london?

 

[sherriff rosco]

I am inspired to go again though. We simply cant let the police throttle this harmless event.

I`ll see ya there then....

I went to this because I used to cycle thru London traffic everyday and saw the general attitude of car drivers towards cyclists...." get out of the way you poor person... " is a summation of most of their attitudes.

I have been knocked off so many times by "u" turning taxis , cars not indicating ...I have a two inch scar in my arm where someone opened their car door in the middle of Old St roundabout to get out..FFS ..the list goes on and on...

So I have something to protest about and I wouldn`t tell the police the route , destination or any particulars as it is aimed at causing MAXIMUM DISRUPTION to car drivers . I don`t like seeing buses or taxis muddled up in the middle of a mass but they are not a solution to the problem
.
Spontaneous it must stay and if people like tobyjug ( who obviously don`t live in London ?) think that`s wrong then maybe you should join me and my daughter on our pushbike for the ride to her nursery everyday...that`ll open your eyes to what car drivers do in London...

.p.

 

[Sigmund Fraud]

Only been on it twice - had a blast both times. Problem for me was always getting out of work in time of a friday.

 

[christonabike]

Never been but am now

That stuff about the New York CM is fucking amazing, police doctoring evidence, and of all the arrests, 91% were thrown out

Cor blimey

 

[Major Tom]

Why should anyone have to inform the police about their intention to travel through london?

If the Met had their way we'd have to inform them of our intentions to fart.

The Met fail in their duty to protect cyclists in London, and as such should not complain when cyclists take action like this. Cycling en masse IMO in order to take back our rightful place on the roads.

 

[Major Tom]

Only been on it twice - had a blast both times. Problem for me was always getting out of work in time of a friday.

Why not take the phone number of someone who's going to go on the ride, phone for location of CM after coming out of work?

 

[tobyjug]

.
Spontaneous it must stay and if people like tobyjug ( who obviously don`t live in London ?) think that`s wrong

The only thing I have stated as being wrong is the lack of courtesy in not liaising with the police before the event.
Called the event spontaneous is just total bollocks if leaflets with a date and time of the event are being distributed it cannot by definition be called spontaneous.

 

[Major Tom]

The only thing I have stated as being wrong is the lack of courtesy in not liaising with the police before the event.
Called the event spontaneous is just total bollocks if leaflets with a date and time of the event are being distributed it cannot by definition be called spontaneous.

Leaflets with date and time are distributed by participants, not an organisation. There are no official leaflets. I know this because I did htis for a couple of years, with no backing, no instructions, entirely off my own back.

Without the leaflets the Mass would continue anyway as it is the same time and place every month.

You know nothing about this mass, nor anything about cycling in a major city, so why do you feel the need to continue your pointless disruptive trolling?

 

[rubbershoes]

i went on it quite a few times years ago. probably around 1992. i was commuting by bike then and found it really empowering. walking through piccadilly circus holding my bike above my head seemed like a good thing to do at the time

you haven't grasped the idea of it have you tobyjug? one aim of CM was to make the authorities take notice of cyclists other than we ended up under the wheels of a bus. if they could, the police would route it so that it caused no disruption to the rest of the traffic. who'd notice is then?

 

[citydreams]

it cannot by definition be called spontaneous.

You're still missing the point.. The route is spontaneous, therefore it is, by nature, spontaneous.

 

[Major Tom]

if they could, the police would route it so that it caused no disruption to the rest of the traffic. who'd notice is then?

I wouldn;t mind if they did the same with cars. We all have to put up with disruptive, obstructive, dangerous and toxic motorised vehicles driven by a minority, coming through the areas where we live, travel and work, and send our children to school.

My cycling journey to work would take 30 minutes without the traffic, but usually ends up being around 45 to 60 minutes. When I walk to the nearest train station it takes twice as long as it would if I didn;t have to wait to cross the road half a dozen bloody times. My bus into Lewisham would take 20 minutes, but ends up taking nearly an hour in the endless queues of commuter traffic.

Are the authorities interested in the Critical Mass of cars and lorries that disrupt us going about our legal business every day?

 

[christonabike]

I do like the concept of the whole thing, get it to a "critical mass" where it is difficult for cars to move around the city

On my ride to work, at certain parts of the journey, you can see car drivers getting arsey about the number of cyclists on the road

And these are the ones obeying the law, cycling up to the front of the queue to stop in the cycle areas at traffic lights
It's the sheer numbers that make it possible


Not a new cyclist, just new to London cycling - love it

 

[Major Tom]

That's another very valid point. On parts of my journey where there are large numbers of cyclists it can start to look like the CM. Some drivers behave like right cunts in this situation. CM is important because it teaches motorists that they do not own the road.

 

[Sigmund Fraud]

Why not take the phone number of someone who's going to go on the ride, phone for location of CM after coming out of work?

Good idea.

Tobyjug - fuck off darling and stick to Parish council business you Walter Mitty twat.

 

[Mr T]

I used to go regularly in London, but since moving to Liverpool a few of us in Liverpool Social Forum have tried to get one up and running here without much success. And I've been so busy the last couple of weeks that I completely forgot about it last week, at the one that could have been good with all the new freshers here (!)

 

[maomao]

I was always to knackered when I was a courier. The end of a 300+ mile week and you want me to ride around with a bunch of hippies. However, I always meant to go and if this month's going to be a biggie I shall come.

 

[tobyjug]

Good idea.

Tobyjug - fuck off darling and stick to Parish council business you Walter Mitty twat.

Fuck off youself, the local parish council are very similar to you lot. I don't get into battles of wits with unarmed people.

 

[shoddysolutions]

I was a regular Critical Masser when i lived in London back in '99-'00, I think it was just re-emerging from a long dark night of the soul, or something. There used to be someone would turn up with a sound system on a trailer which was always a giggle ('Fat Bottomed Girls' anyone?) and I went on the Mayday rides too

Here's me with a few of Tobyjug's friends