Just been to London...

[thomas]

Well I went to London with a mate yesterday to do a bit of shopping for my holiday. I was planning on seeing what Critical Mass was like but in the end my bike went to the bike shop for a service so I didn't .

I was watching the cyclists up there and the amount of red light jumpers is unbelievable! I swear 99 out of a 100 did.

Saw some bad driving too. I though I was going to be a witness to an accident at one point. A cyclist was in front, going straight on when a merc (indicating right) started to undertake. I thought the merc was going to cut the cyclists up and knock them over. A bus got in the way but the cyclists came out the other side fine - pheww.

Later on a bus started tapping the horn to some lady for no good reason and she just mouthed where the driver could go

I was planning on seeing what critical mass was like. Has anyone done it and what are your thoughts on it? I think I'll try out the next one.

 

[Radius]

Yes I've done it and was on it yesterday. It can be fun to have the many hundreds of cyclists on the roads, a good atmosphere. On the other hand, the 'pace' if one could call it that is frustratingly ridiculous, often with spells of not moving at all, often owing to the more 'militant' of the cyclists getting involved in one incident or another, or people stopping to commemorate cyclists that have been killed (as yesterday, which was a nice tribute, with some friends and family present).
I think it's worth going to, it's not like many other things you experience, but it can be rather dull as well at times...

 

[thomas]

I think it's worth going to, it's not like many other things you experience, but it can be rather dull as well at times...

I think you summed up what I assumed it would be like pretty well! Well, I'll be sure to be on the 29th May ride....try and get some footage of it through my helmet camera, so if you see a guy with a massive helmet camera on the side of his helmet it might be me

 

[Radius]

I'll keep a look out if I'm there

 

[zimzum42]

I stopped going on CM a long time back for two reasons already mentioned above.

The speed is stupidly slow, and the route taken, albeit random, is often fairly retarded.

Whilst paying tribute to killed cyclists is fair enough, there is an element at CM who take the politic a bit too far, stopping outside BP's head office to chant slogans and the like. Whilst there is no stated aim of CM other than awareness of cyclists, for me it's not about the environment or the war in Iraq or whatever, so it's annoying to be stuck behind a group of anarchists or whoever trying to make some lame duck point on a Friday evening.

It's nice going down Oxford St and being cheered by pedestrians, and my favourite is going up and down park lane and being able to get some speed up!

 

[Will1985]

I was going to post something similar to this about my trip into Oxford yesterday. I was dropping a rider back near a college and witnessed some of the worst cycling I have ever seen.

I have come to the conclusion that Oxford students may be intelligent, but they are brainless when it comes to riding two wheels.

As a driver, it was a scary experience. Normally I am very aware of surroundings and constantly looking in mirrors, but there were a couple of occasions when bikes came out of nowhere, weaving between cars or hopping off the pavement. One guy squeezed past a deliberately small gap I had created on the left then wobbled across in front of another cyclist who had to brake and stop, then straight across the path of an oncoming car - he probably had no idea of the carnage he was creating.

St Giles Road had plenty of kamikaze cyclists swinging across the road without looking too.

 

[thomas]

Whilst paying tribute to killed cyclists is fair enough, there is an element at CM who take the politic a bit too far, stopping outside BP's head office to chant slogans and the like. Whilst there is no stated aim of CM other than awareness of cyclists, for me it's not about the environment or the war in Iraq or whatever, so it's annoying to be stuck behind a group of anarchists or whoever trying to make some lame duck point on a Friday evening.

Yep, I don't cycle for any alleged eco-friendiness....I honestly couldn't care less so I'm sure that'd annoy me too.

Maybe I'll just start my own chants "We Love you BP...."

Think I'll give it ago and see. One question with it though, is RLJing...what happens there - just stick in the 'critical mass' and get through them or wait or...?

I have come to the conclusion that Oxford students may be intelligent, but they are brainless when it comes to riding two wheels.

Darwin maybe...kill off the people who are too clever

 

[Radius]

One question with it though, is RLJing...what happens there - just stick in the 'critical mass' and get through them or wait or...?

Depends on the traffic and size of the junction. If it's small and there's little to no cars, the mass goes through and some people wait up to 'cork' (hold up) the cars while the group passes. If this takes a long time it can lead to drivers running over bikes, and other incidents of that nature, as on Friday.
On a large junction with flowing traffic they normally wait until it's green for us, but then hold the traffic up since they're invariably not all through when the lights change to red again.

 

[Danny]

I was watching the cyclists up there and the amount of red light jumpers is unbelievable! I swear 99 out of a 100 did.

Saw some bad driving too. I though I was going to be a witness to an accident at one point. A cyclist was in front, going straight on when a merc (indicating right) started to undertake. I thought the merc was going to cut the cyclists up and knock them over.

I am regularly down in London for work and am also struck by the number of RLJs.

Given the appalling behaviour of many car drivers I have some sympathy with cyclists who want to get ahead of traffic at dangerous junctions. However this sympathy does not extend to the many cyclists who seem to think they can also ignore red lights at Pelican crossing and simply plough through pedestrians trying to cross the road.

 

[thomas]

Given the appalling behaviour of many car drivers I have some sympathy with cyclists who want to get ahead of traffic at dangerous junctions. However this sympathy does not extend to the many cyclists who seem to think they can also ignore red lights at Pelican crossing and simply plough through pedestrians trying to cross the road.

Yep, though illegal most of the RLJing I saw wasn't inconsiderate. The cyclists didn't inconvenience any of the cars. Maybe with peds it was a little less considerate, weaving around them.

 

[Array]

I'm in two minds about CM. I agree with it in terms of generating awareness of cyclists and their right to be using the road, but I think that the attitude of a few people on the rides (with their own agenda) often just serves to widen the gap of understanding, sympathy and compassion between cyclists and drivers.

Most people are just out enjoying the ride, but it's the few trying to wind everyone up that always stand out, which is only going to make most drivers that want to dislike them hate cyclists even more.

 

[Crankarm]

I've no interest in CM. If I want to ride in a group I will do so with my local club or other proper cyclists who I know respect the rules of the road and other road users including pedestrians. There is no way I want to be associated with this type of rabble. They are bad news for cyclists and cycling.

 

[Radius]

Almost as a big a generalisation as motorists often make about cyclists?

 

[yenrod]

I've no interest in CM. If I want to ride in a group I will do so with my local club or other proper cyclists who I know respect the rules of the road and other road users including pedestrians. There is no way I want to be associated with this type of rabble. They are bad news for cyclists and cycling.

In some ways yes and in others no.

I feel this only works coz its in london.

It wouldnt be the same in a sleepy scottish town.

 

[Crankarm]

No I don't agree. I got caught up in a CM a few years ago as a cyclist when I lived in and commuted in London. It was pretty scary. There were loads of anarchists around intimidating pedestrians and people who had got caught in their cars who looked literally terrified. Most of the CM people are rent a mob who will turn up to anything where they can cause civil disobedience fight with police and smash a few windows. The noise from their whistles was deafening . Nope these people do nothing but harm for the image of cycling. Far better cycling be promoted by team GB Hoy, Kenny, Staff, Pendleton, Romero, Cooke, Armitage et al and stories such as those of Jane Tomlinson who used cycling to fund raise for cancer.

http://www.britishcycling.org.uk/web/site/BC/gbr/gbteam_home.asp