Twenty Inch said:
Oh what utter nonsense Chap. What good would a Saturday afternoon ride on the Thames path do for the hundreds of us who cycle in rush hour twice a day? CM says to people "Cyclists are traffic too" - we have a right to be on the road, and to be safe on the road. The anger that sometimes erupts is a function of how cyclists' everyday experience is one of inconsiderate, dangerous, and at times deliberately threatening, driving.
Bloody namby-pamby "don't annoy anyone and then they'll take notice of us, let's be better than them and then at least we'll be on the moral high ground, even as we're under their wheels" - that's really going to work, isn't it?
CM invites people to contemplate a life and a city with fewer cars once a month. Some people get irate, on both sides, but it is generally a life-affirming event, which changes our cityscape for the good and gets a positive message across. There are drivers who will never get it, but we're never going to reach everyone.
Surely if this is a commuting solution, then the rides would be less leisurely, they would be more frequent (Monday to Thursday / Friday), and the dis-organisation would have an aim. Instead, this is a ride held once a month during rush hour, on a Friday. There are some which are held on Saturday mornings so, I think that also works against your commuter point.
If people wanted safety in numbers, then there are initiatives which take place such as the London Cycle Campaigns 'bike train'. This was aimed at luring more commuters onto their bikes, where 2 volunteers - one at the front, the other at the back, would have set routes from the outskirts to key central locations. They would go past safe and convenient (read as quick and direct) routes picking up people as they progressed to the end. Why can't this be emulated in other areas crying out for safer bicycle commuting - i.e. presumably the places where Critical Mass operates. Then there are the genuine organic Critical Masses which take place, e.g. the largish groups of cyclists one can see on key routes across Central London during morning and afternoon rush hour.
Fighting fire with fire is more effective than fighting it with sticks then dispersing. Do you really think the way to fight a more powerful foe is to irk them on a monthly basis and then scatter, hoping that they have learnt their lesson?
Surely the most effective means would be to utilise a united front of considerate, mature individuals who can then articulate their concerns appropriately, bringing on board key members, and exercising the rights and functions of a democratic society. For this, we have MPs, local councillors, cycle organisations (albeit rather ineffective on the campaign front), and (the) media. Compare this to joining in with a bunch of sanctimonious reprobates who annoy everyone around them, including those using public transport.
If CM is a means to envisage a better life without cars, then this once again begs the question of why they host the rides at rush hour. Surely an early morning run would be much more appropriate, or organised trips to car-free developments, or even cities which show consideration to cyclists such as most of those in the Netherlands, or even Paris. These acts would stoke the flames of its participants much more effectively than what it currently does as a petulant adrenaline-fuelled binge.
Critical Mass, is intentionally evasive of their underlying motive, they say that everyone comes to it with their own ideas of what it should be. Now that is complete and utter nonsense. One would be more effective holding an organised demonstration where everybody was allowed to protest their own point; as you can imagine that would be a disaster, as is currently the case with Critical Mass.
