Post a reply
About
March Critical Mass this Friday
Posted by
@nes
Posted by
@nes
London Fixed Gear and Single-Speed is a community of predominantly fixed gear and single-speed cyclists in and around London, UK.
This site is supported almost exclusively by donations. Please consider donating a small amount regularly.
Meet at 6pm at Central Library M1 (top of Oxford Street)
Bring bikes, drinks, music, trumpets, cocktails, snacks, lights, tool kit, waterproofs, friends, soundsystems....
We hope to follow the mass with a little gathering in the park, so please bring snacks and drinks
Critical mass is a bike ride that happens in our city and cities all over the world EVERY last Friday of the month (rain or shine)
Critical Mass rides began in San Francisco in 1992 and rides spread around the United States and the world with over 200 rides taking place in 2006.
Critical Mass has no leaders, and no central organisation licenses rides. In every city that has a Critical Mass ride, some locals simply picked a date, time, and location for the ride and publicised it, and thus the ride was born. Critical Mass is an idea and an event, not an organisation.
it is a great way to meet other cyclists and to have a fun bike ride.
It is not a fast ride and often children come too, everyone is welcome to come and celebrate the bicycle!
We have some RIDE GUIDELINES that we drew up together in a mass meeting before critical mass in 2007, which are revised at April Critical Mass each year, these include:
If the light goes on red as the ride approaches the lights we stop and wait for green.
If the light changes part way through the ride getting through around 2 people per lane of oncoming traffic stop and cork the road. This basically means that they stand in the middle of that lane holding up their hand/ a sign saying 'thank you for waiting' so that cars will stop and let the ride stay together and go through the light safely. Thanking the drivers when everyone is through.. we are trying to get drivers onto bikes not to hate us!!!
Slower riders and children and people with less confidence ride at the front of the ride and to the left hand side so that they can set the pace and help to stay together and also feel safer as they are less likely to be near traffic.
We don't have a set route for critical mass, instead whoever is at the front at the time can choose where we go, so we take it in turns! just shout left or right or straight on in plenty of time!
When the PEDESTRIAN LIGHT IS ON GREEN WE STOP (traffic light on RED) if the ride has to separate we shout/use walkie talkies to communicate to the front of the ride to wait. This guideline was added in April 2010 at the annual meeting before critical mass.
Have Fun!!!