I’ve just discovered that there is a large Critical Mass following where I
ride and work and live near in Newcastle Upon Tyne. There are large areas of the region, mostly urban which are deeply anti-bike as in the nature of the road, the way traffic use it.

Do you guys think critical mass can/could work in every city? Does it work at all?

A little early for a beer, I think. How about a nice cup of tea?

Is there?

What is it?

What part of Newcastle?

I know there is a spirit of protest in Newcastle (Jarrow, anyone?) but I’d never have had them down as lentil eating antiestablishmentarians.

Anyway, we haven’t had a CM thread for a while, so let’s see if it’s a topic that still has legs….

What do you mean ‘work’? What’s it supposed to actually do?

the problem with CM is not the message but the delivery.

Create awareness of the poor poor cyclists who feel hard done by.
The OP view is that we often shout a bit too much. but.. then i don’t ride in London. The Newcastle lot are gaining momentum, last friday of the month.

The question is… does Critical Mass achieve it’s goal? as in successfully campaigning for the rights of cyclists as road users.

lets ride really slowly around a city centre and piss drivers off. I commute in Newcastle on a daily basis, I wonder how many of the critical mass riders do?

There are large areas of the region, mostly urban which are deeply anti-bike as in the nature of the road, the way traffic use it

No more so than any other city, what ‘areas’ do you mean?

Personally i’d single out areas where bus lanes have been added. In the case of Suburban, it would be places featuring traffic calming causing traffic to meet more closely.

My commute is relatively simple, straight line from burbs to centre

Critical mass is that like Chain reaction , do they have good deals on bike parts. 🙂

My view having been on a few CMs in London several years ago is that they do more harm than good. Not so much because of the idea of it and the annoyance to drivers but more because the ones I’ve seen (and I’ve seen many more than I’ve been on) are largely frequented by the stereotypical sandal-eating lentil-wearing hippies, environmental protesters, agressive anti-capitalists and even some people looking for a bit of aggro that makes it very easy for non-cyclists to write them off as a bunch of wierdos and different to them. When non-cyclists see cyclists as being like themselves – eg normal – THEN I reckon the causes start to gain traction.

As above – it’s the delivery that’s wrong, not the message.

IN the UK the general population has little sympathy for protests/protestors, they are more often seen as a nuisance and inconvenience. Whether it be cyclists, railway workers, firemen, BA staff, the general perception is not a supportive one.

In other European countries there is a lot more empathy and respect for those on strike. Until we also adopt this outlook protests in the UK will raise awareness through publicity (good or bad) but will have no real power to bring about change.

I’ve just discovered that there is a large Critical Mass following where I ride and work and live near in Newcastle Upon Tyne.

There is? They must be hiding it well…