Critical Mass

[snorri]

I realise critical mass has its pros and cons, but was struck at the age group involved in this one, not a grey head to be seen!

View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4th-ApAxmk

 

[BigonaBianchi]

All the grey hairs will be at the worthing CM ride 28th November 7.30pm bottom of George 5th avenue.

 

[steveindenmark]

Maybe because all they Grey hairs realise that pixxing off everyone else on the road, does cyclists no favours.

Steve

 

[jayonabike]

True. They don't do cyclists any favours.

 

[snorri]

Regardless of the outcome, I find it interesting to discover that the young people there consider access to the streets is worth getting out to protest about.

 

[oldroadman]

Maybe because all they Grey hairs realise that pixxing off everyone else on the road, does cyclists no favours.

Steve

Common sense. Talk of a demo in London, about the recent fatalities. These are a tragedy and have appalling impact on the victim's families, but will a demo really help?
Facts. For the past three years fatalities in London have hovered around the 16 mark. By any standards that is 16 too many. However consider the increasing number of journeys (in the millions) and the statistics look slightly more likely. The point is that they are not increasing, and lots more relativey unskilled people are on the road (but riding and driving). Will a demo when there have been a string of fatalities close together make any difference to TfL policy and progress - I wonder. Steady political pressure (see BC website for instance) is far more likely to be helpful.
Meanwhile, what can be done. Well some simple riding and driving to the rules of the road would help. Whenever I visit London I come away surprised that more people are not badly hurt. Some of the driving is shocking, even from so-called "professional" drivers. This is matched by some of the most stupid cycling I have seen, which is not clever when you are the potential victim in any collision with a ton of metal. Best help ourselves, because you can't take the moral high ground froma position of being perceived as careless law breakers, which is where we stand now in a lot of the "Daily Mail" types.
Change needs to come, but I can't see how demos and critical mass help the cause in any way whatsoever.

 

[PK99]

This is matched by some of the most stupid cycling I have seen, which is not clever when you are the potential victim in any collision with a ton of metal. Best help ourselves, because you can't take the moral high ground from a position of being perceived as careless law breakers, which is where we stand now in a lot of the "Daily Mail" types.
.

Not just "Daily Mail" types - most of the grey hairs i cycle with would perceive a goodly proportion of cyclists in central London in the same way. A few weeks ago we took a "peleton" of 25plus across Wandsowrth bridge and through central London via Westminster all the way to the Olympic park and back again south of the river with scarcely a problem form any driver and much care and consideration from many who stopped to let the group pass. En route we observed a considerable amount of careless lawbreaking from "fellow" cyclists.

 

[Paul.G.]

Personally I think critical mass and naked bike riding do more harm than good, we should act like normal road users if that's how we want to be looked upon, just my opinion.

 

[theFire]

Personally I think critical mass and naked bike riding do more harm than good, we should act like normal road users if that's how we want to be looked upon, just my opinion.

I was under the impression that car drivers participate in a critical mass event every morning and evening in London at rush hour?

 

[Linford]

Common sense. Talk of a demo in London, about the recent fatalities. These are a tragedy and have appalling impact on the victim's families, but will a demo really help?
Facts. For the past three years fatalities in London have hovered around the 16 mark. By any standards that is 16 too many. However consider the increasing number of journeys (in the millions) and the statistics look slightly more likely. The point is that they are not increasing, and lots more relativey unskilled people are on the road (but riding and driving). Will a demo when there have been a string of fatalities close together make any difference to TfL policy and progress - I wonder. Steady political pressure (see BC website for instance) is far more likely to be helpful.
Meanwhile, what can be done. Well some simple riding and driving to the rules of the road would help. Whenever I visit London I come away surprised that more people are not badly hurt. Some of the driving is shocking, even from so-called "professional" drivers. This is matched by some of the most stupid cycling I have seen, which is not clever when you are the potential victim in any collision with a ton of metal. Best help ourselves, because you can't take the moral high ground froma position of being perceived as careless law breakers, which is where we stand now in a lot of the "Daily Mail" types.
Change needs to come, but I can't see how demos and critical mass help the cause in any way whatsoever.

I bumped into one of the organisers of my local town cycle club a couple of days ago, and in the discussion mentioned that I joined one of the rides he led about 6 or 7 years ago...He said that they Olympics have raised the meeting numbers on a saturday morning from about 20 to about 60.
I went for my weekend ride yesterday morning, and about 3/4 of the way into it rode past the meeting point..sure enough, there were loads of riders heading out on different paced rides. As I'd already climbed about 1100ft by that point in about 15 miles, I decided I'd not join them...but I may next time (normally just go out on my own)
He did say that rider discipline is all over the place with the newer riders.

 

[totallyfixed]

http://bicycledutch.wordpress.com/2011/10/20/how-the-dutch-got-their-cycling-infrastructure/

And a Dutch woman who I think lives and works in Manchester
http://alexbaileywriter.com/ferraris-and-fear-a-dutch-view-of-manchester/

 

[Dan B]

Personally I think critical mass and naked bike riding do more harm than good, we should act like normal road users if that's how we want to be looked upon, just my opinion.

But what's "normal"? Do we really just want 'permission' to use a road system that continue to be designed for the motor car (gyratories, bypasses, dual carriageways, oe-way systems, traffic lights every 100m in town centres, pedestrians corralled off behind railings) or do we want the standards to be redefined so that all road users - car drivers, bus users, pedestrians, cyclists, skatebaorders, the able-bodied and disabled alike, are all considered "normal" and all have both their strengths and weaknesses accommodated in everyday road design?

I'm not saying CM has the answer, but that we need to be sure we're asking the right question. I am pretty sure that "vehicular cycling" is not it, though, if only because it's bloody hard work pretending to be a car on a road where the mean traffic speed is ~30mph plus change

 

[oldroadman]

I was under the impression that car drivers participate in a critical mass event every morning and evening in London at rush hour?

No. that's a mass lemming impersonation - saw a great sign a while back driving along the M40 just before M25 "good morning lemmings" writ large on a fence for all to see.
Perhaps, on the subject of "cyclists", we could go down the bike versus BSO (bicycle shaped object, as sold in supermarkets for about £70, usually assembled incorrectly, weighs a ton, forks wrong way round, etc). There could be "cyclists", i.e. bike riders who know what they are about, and "bicycle pedalling plonkers" (BPPs) who are the ones who wander about behaving like idiots. Mind, some quite fit looking people could be included in that category!

 

[Dan B]

In my world, if you're on a bike, you're a cyclist. If you're on foot, you're a pedestrian. If you're driving a car, you're a car driver. It's a mode of transport, not a religion

OK, for some people it is also a religion, but nothing says it has to be

 

[oldroadman]

Personally I think critical mass and naked bike riding do more harm than good, we should act like normal road users if that's how we want to be looked upon, just my opinion.

There's an idea - all critical mass nonsense rides to be rideden naked, and only in evenings after 20.00, between 1 November and 1 March. With lights of course - just don't shine 'em at any chilled bits of anatomy. That'll sort 'em out..