We cycle round the city to celebrate the bicycle:
It's
for anyone that rides a bike;
It's a celebration of getting round the city without polluting it;
It's about every journey being an adventure instead of just sitting on
a boring bus or in a stressful car;
It's about cyclists riding together to demand more respect from other
road users;
It's a way to meet other cyclistas;
also at that time on friday hundreds of cities around the world do the same thing...all get together for critical mass. its beautiful to know that as you ride with your mates through your own city that all around the world thousands of people are doing the same thing..
Critical Mass sometimes has a reputation for being an angry rabble of cyclists that want to string up any car drivers they see. This is not true of Manchester Critical Mass, we are a fluffy mass that like to have fun on bikes, we often have children with us and a bicycle soundsystem to add to the party fun atmosphere. Our aim as well has to have fun and socialise etc is to show how great a car free city will be. This can be achieved by showing motorists an alternative yet critical mass manchester doesn't aim to annoy drivers we want them to join us..
here's some more info about cm
What Is CM?
Critical Mass is often described as an 'unorganised coincidence'. It happens
when a lot of cyclists happen to be in the same place at the same time
and decide to cycle the same way together for a while. Very often, those
taking part enjoy it so much that they decide to get together at the same
place and time the next month and the month after and so on, and to get
other cyclists to join as well. Manchester Critical Mass has been around
for years, and has sometimes had over 200 or more people attending. In
the summer it usually get quite large, and takes on a more carnival
atmosphere.
:: What Happens On CM?
Each one is different and they follow no set route, with the direction
being spontaneously chosen as people cycle along. Anyone is free to join
or leave the ride as it pedals along. The ride lasts usually around a
couple of hours (depending on the weather!) and usually ends in a fun
event(ranging from pub, to social centre to park!) Most of all, they are
peaceful, safe and fun!
Critical mass can be used as a good form of protest as well, ;Bikes not Bombs' ran in america throughout the iraq war, and im manchester when the war started a critical mass managed to block sdome petrol stations and cause some havoc. But usually its very peaceful
:: Who Can Come On CM?
Critical mass is for absolutely everyone and anyone! It transcends any
barriers of colour, gender, class, age, political alignment, species,
ability, feeling of identity, smell, look, scene or culture. All this
means that YOU would be very welcome on critical mass One important thing
to remember is that to come on critical mass you don't have to adhere
to any type of political ideology. You don't have to belong to any sad
political party or dogmatic ideology! You can just be yourself. As it
isn't organised by anyone group of people critical mass attracts all sorts
of beliefs and schools of thought. It can be said that critical mass is
an apolitical event, although many people believe that there is
politics in everything, in the traditional sense of the word critical
mass is definitely not political!
Another thing is that IT'S NOT JUST FOR BIKES! Skateboards, roller blades,
wheelchairs, pogo sticks - in fact any form of non-motorised, non-polluting
is very welcome! In the past people have brought all sorts of thing's
to mass, from bikes with wings to circular, 8 person recumbent!
So be imaginative.
Critical mass aims to include as many people as possible, if you are at all worried that you won't "fit in", share your thoughts on the discussion list and test the waters.
:: What Are The Aims Of CM?
There is no single aim of CM, although there is a shared wish to see less
car-dominated cities and more people cycling. There are as many aims of
CM as there are participants. Each individual comes there with his or
her own idea of what it's about, and the sum of this makes up the mass.
Some of
the aims may be:
* To raise the profile of cycling in towns and cities,
* Campaigning for better provision for cyclists,
* Creating a car-free space in the centre of our cities,
* To raise awareness about pollution and other problems caused by cars,
* Having fun,
* Meeting friends,
* Getting our own back at the motorists,
* To demonstrate opposition to car culture,
* To meet that cool person you met last month,
* To cause disruption,
* To meet new friends,
* To show off your new bike,
* To ogle other people's bikes,
* To feel good about being safe on a bike on roads which are usually
dangerous,
* To feel reassured that there are hundreds of other active cyclists,
* To create a vision and experience of a possible future,
* To meet friends and go for a beer later.
Some things may feature more strongly than others, but any combination
of
the aims above and lots of others can be reason enough for anyone to come
to CM.
:: Who Are The Organisers?
A favorite question of authoritarina minded individuals (read cops, journalists
etc.)
Nobody organises CM in the sense that they control the event - what happens
at the ride is up to all the individuals. However, as with any project,
some individuals are usually more involved than others, for example in
printing and distributing leaflets and other publicity. However, they
only do the work, and don't have any authority over anybody else - their
only power is to make suggestions. The mass is most successful if everyone
gets involved and does these things of their own accord - it takes the
pressure off the few and makes CM more of the spontaneous event it is
meant to be.
:: Is It Legal?
In theory, CM is nothing different from a bunch of cyclists taking a slightly
convoluted way home from work, or just cruising around the streets, all
of which is perfectly legal. Section 209 of the Highway Code advices cyclists
to not ride more than two abreast, and to ride in single file on narrow
roads when in traffic. However, this advice does not have force of law,
and the whole section is titled 'Safe riding' - presumably it would be
acceptable to ride more than two abreast where this is safer.
It is also acceptable to ride more than two abreast when overtaking.
Logically - though I don't know what a court would think - if you are
moving at the same speed as the car in front of you or your group then
you could not reasonably be considered to be causing any delay to the
car behind. And, in London, as the average rush hour speed has been proved
to be less that 2mph, it wouldn't been to hard to go faster that motorised
traffic.
However, it is worth remembering, the whole thing about the police is - they don't actually need a reason to do something. Therefore they can break up Critical Mass and stop it happening if they want to - they don't need a reason. Most people seem to forget that the police are an unchallenged force in society, they get away with murder.
There is a huge list of reasons the police would give for breaking up
a CM - from obstruction to breaching the peace, what's the best to remember
is that if they want to - they will and only we can stop them getting
away with it. The best way of preventing from things happening with the
police is to
look out for one another and act as group, instead of as individuals.
If one person provokes the police and they get angry with her / him, we
should stick up for that individual, although what they have done might
have been stupid, we never let a friend get arrested.
Arrests on Manchester CM's are very rare, if they do take place the most
obvious charge would be obstruction, which carries a maximum of a £1000
fine (very very rare!) and no prison sentence. So there isn't much to
worry about :)
:: Why Are You Blocking Traffic?
Critical Mass participants don't block the traffic - we are the traffic!
Cyclists are just as much traffic and have just as much right to be on
the roads and travel at their own speed as anyone else. Moreover, cars
clog up the streets twice a day 29 days a month, so a lot of cyclists
doing the same on a limited scale once a month cannot be a great source
of complaint. Indeed, Critical Mass often finds itself held up by the
traffic jam caused by motorists going about their 'usual' business.
On a more positive note, although some people may want to block the rest
of the traffic for the sake of it or to get their own back at motorists,
for most slowing up some traffic is incidental to their primary aim of
raising the profile of cycling, having fun or creating a car-free space.
This cannot be done without blocking out cars from the mass.
What Critical Mass does achieve, is to make people take notice of cyclists
as road users. If it is good-humoured and not aggressive, it can put cycling
and transport issues on the agenda where they would otherwise be ignored.
Some degree of confrontation may be perceived as necessary. Some say that
the whole point of CM is confrontation. Not too inflammatory, not at all
violent, but the whole point of CM is to make completely clear the fact
that the bike is a force that can replace the car as a viable means of
transport. The CM as a demonstration is not going to make many people
think unless it also puts them out, hence confrontation is utterly necessary.
On the other hand, an over-confrontational attitude is likely to lead to even more hostility towards cyclists. It is particularly pointless to cycle slowly on a two- or three-lane dual carriageway when you only have the numbers to fill one lane (15-30 people).
critical masser has put up some videos of our masses, click here to watch!
here's some more info about cm
