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http://www.flickr.com/photos/carltonreid/8008925880/
Can't be London as most of them have stopped at the lights! Must be staged.
One pic destroys almost every wonky stereotype about people who ride bikes in London27 folks on bikes: some in helmets, most not; some in hi-vis, most not; some on fixies, most not. None on the pavement, none going through the red light. Two cycle chic women; otherwise mostly men, but not one in Lycra. Maybe 2 pairs of sandals but only one hippie. Perhaps oddly there's not one folding bike to be seen, and no Boris bikes either.
Most of these folks are probably going to and from work so it's safe to assume they're tax payers and rate payers. That means they pay for roads just the same as motorists pay for roads because all roads are paid for by tax payers and rate payers. ipayroadtax.com/no-such-thing-as-road-tax/who-pays-road-tax/
Check out the Advanced Stop Line box: in that space you could fit two cars. Look at how many bikes fit in the same space! www.bikehub.co.uk/news/sustainability/iconic-waste-of-spa...
Planners and politicians need to look at this pic and work out just what kind of transport infrastructure is going to be needed in the next 50 years. Private cars and thundering HGVs have no place in cities! www.roadswerenotbuiltforcars.com
+++++
Superb cross-section of bikes there. And what a beard on the Rick Wakeman lookalike 😯
Can't be London, as no-one looks to be wearing their sisters jeans.
Proof right there that the 'Critical Mass' concept is actually becoming popular and effective.
I dare say you'll get someone from Manchester or wherever who's never been to London ranting on about how disgraceful and terrible it is, that some folk actually ride bikes, very soon though. Great to see so many cyclists in London these days; it's actually now getting difficult to find somewhere to lock your bike up in some places!
Of course, all those cyclists are pereventing that poor BMW, taxi and motorbike drivers from going about their lawful business, and should be shot, or something. Isnt' that the accepted position on here? that cyclists are 'scum' or something?
Have a nice weejkend folks!
Bikes as transport! Yay!
Cyclists stopping at red lights! Yay!
The blonde at the back...... 🙂
It certainly made me smile. Things are going the right way I feel.
lose the speech marks and capitalisation and you might be right, lots of people riding their bikes seems to be getting noticed and (hopefully) making cycle use safer, good stuff indeed. Bit cheeky of you to claim that was all down to CM thoProof right there that the 'Critical Mass' concept is actually becoming popular and effective.
I want to know what's in the box 😀
The brown trousers on that guy in the front look a bit tight though.
Oh and one more thing - the motorbike is not using the cycle box which makes a change 😀
none going through the red light
In all fairness, if they had gone through the red light, they would not be in the photo, would they? 🙂
Anyway - Bristol Gloucester Rd is like that at rush hour. Bikes have the upper hand, it's great.
the hippie is tracksranding on a brompton, bonus niche points for him
london is a cycling city these days and its great
the only odd thing for me in that pic is that the bmw isnt stopped in the cycle box
a bug in the BMW revealed the following tirade . . .
* cyclists think they're * olympians, look at this * hippy, . . .ginger**, ten of them just jumped the *light, . . . **
Proof right there that the 'Critical Mass' concept is actually becoming popular and effective.
I know what youre driving at but that picture isnt really CM though is it..
The concept of CM is (thankfully) not the same as those silly big rides.
Indeed mr grips.
Poor attempt at latching CM on to the REAL CM there, [s]Fred[/s]Mike.
I want to know what's in the box
Organic hummus, obviously.
Probably representative but two things to bear in mind
1 - the nodders with helmets that look like a melted coolbox have jumped the lights
2 - so have the hipsters
Proof right there that the 'Critical Mass' concept is actually becoming popular and effective.
How's the East-end today Fred?
I know what youre driving at but that picture isnt really CM though is it..
It's not much different actually. A mass of cyclists large enough to create a protective 'bubble' of safety for the cyclists. i'm assuming that group dispersed further on down the road though, unless it was actually one single group together.
The concept of CM is (thankfully) not the same as those silly big rides.
What, like London to Brighton? The Tour of Britain? The Olympic road race and Time Trials? They caused serious disruption to trafic, those events. For most of the day, too. I wouldn't call them 'silly' though; it's nice to see cycle events on our roads.
Brilliant photo!
I dare say you'll get someone from Manchester or wherever who's never been to London ranting on about how disgraceful and terrible it is, that some folk actually ride bikes, very soon though.
It's odd that one of the key points raised in the CM thread has sailed clean over the head of one of the thread's key contributors. You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?
Well done to everyone who rides their bikes!
It's not much different actually. A mass of cyclists large enough to create a protective 'bubble' of safety for the cyclists. i'm assuming that group dispersed further on down the road though, unless it was actually one single group together.
True & a good point, however these guys arent being a bunch of ass-hats which CM tends to mostly comprise of, sadly..
Great to see that London cyclists are inspiring those in other cities:
I went down to London last week for a course. We lived in London for just over ten years, but left about six years ago, when we decided that if we were going to have a family, we'd prefer to raise our children somewhere a bit less frantic.The tube was pretty much how I remembered it - people crammed shoulder to shoulder, in some cases, face to face, like cliched sardines. I stood, uncomfortably, with my fellow commuters, ipod glued to my ears, trying not to catch anyone's eye.
When I emerged, blinking in the sunshine of Chancery Lane, I was amazed to see so many cyclists. I remembered London as being full of traffic, with only brave or crazy cycle-couriers weaving in and out of the cars, vans and lorries, risking death to deliver a package on time. But here were ordinary people, commuters, men, women, old and young on cycles of all descriptions Some on sporty racing bikes, some on old-fashioned sit-up-and-beg bikes, others on trail bikes or those strange-looking ones that look a bit like bob-sleds where you're almost lying down.
And blow me, when they hit a red light, if they didn't start talking to each other. And laughing. Strangers saying good morning. Sharing a joke. Good God above! What's going on? This isn't the London I remember. If strangers start talking to each other, why, anything could happen!
I've never ridden a bike on an English road, but recently I acquired a bike, and I'm planning to get it serviced and give it a whirl. I'm nervous about traffic in Norwich (for some reason drivers here don't seem to know where their indicators are!) but if people can cycle in the biggest, baddest city of all, surely I can do it here. And judging from what I saw last week in London, it could be good for more than just my health!
What we will need will be more bike racks/locking points. Lots of railings have been removed in London over the last few months, which leaves us with less secure objects to lock our bikes to. And what few locking points are provided, often end up being swamped. I counted over 20 bikes outside a pub i was in the other night, locked up to just 6 or so hoop things. i had to travel a fair bit down the road just to find a spare hoop!
True & a good point, however these guys arent being a bunch of ass-hats which CM tends to mostly comprise of, sadly..
Let's not start that nonsense off again please. The vast majority of riders i've seen on CM rides are no different to anyone in that photo, or any other cyclists. Feel free to judge without knowledge if it suits you though.
What we will need will be more bike racks/locking points.
Perhaps campaigning for this could be a focus for CM.
wait for it, any time now....
I'm glad there aren't that many cyclists getting in the way where I ride 😉
Let's not start that nonsense off again please. The vast majority of riders i've seen on CM rides are no different to anyone in that photo, or any other cyclists. Feel free to judge without knowledge if it suits you though.
You say that as if Ive never been on a CM ride..
Buy hey ho feel free to judge without knowledge if it suits you though.. 🙄
i'll race the whole bally lot of them BWAHAHAHA! 😉
You say that as if Ive never been on a CM ride
Not at all. Uou\'ve merely interpreted my comments as such, is all. I'm merely pointing out that the vast majority of CM riders, like all cyclists, are just ordinary fairly decent folk, rather than tthe 'asshats' you seem to have blanketed them as. Such attitudes aren't helpful, or progressive in achieving aims i think we'd all agree on, ie cycling needs to be safer for all cyclists.
Perhaps campaigning for this could be a focus for CM.
I shall mention this to London Assembly member Jenny jones on the nxt CM ride, if I get the chance, and she's on it as she was the last one. We have a mutual friend, so hopefully we might get some sort of discussion started. Many local authorities seem to be wising up for the need of secure locking points, but we definitely need more in certain areas, especially in town.
What, like London to Brighton? The Tour of Britain? The Olympic road race and Time Trials?
Well as I understand it, CM rides are deliberate attempts to raise the agenda by going out with as many people as possible, and they can be used by the more militant elements to disrupt traffic and be a general pain in the butt.
The photo is critical mass as a [i]consequence[/i] of people making a decision about how to commute, rather than a publicity stunt.
Feel free to correct me.
Feel free to correct me.
Come along to the next ride, find out for yourself. It's the best wa to become informed about it i'd say.
when borris does them all the roads get shut down and they are called skyrides, he even brings along kelly brook
i think its something of a reciprocal relationship between general cyclists and CM, they feed off each other*, for all we know that pic couldve been taken at a cm event
- *(i mean that in a non- zombies sense though)
yay thats great to see 😀
We were in Knightsbridge for the Olympic men's road race. All the people we spoke to said how brilliant it was to see the place free of traffic & so many folk out on bikes, enjoying the streets. They should have more traffic free days seemed to be the opinion.
of the 27 people on show, 25 can be seen clearly, 1 cant be seen and 1 a bit hazed. Of the clearly shown 25 people, 13 are wearing helmets therefore MOST are wearing helmets. Proper road safety, good job Londoners
of the 27 people on show, 25 can be seen clearly, 1 cant be seen and 1 a bit hazed. Of the clearly shown 25 people, 13 are wearing helmets therefore MOST are wearing helmets. Proper road safety, good job Londoners
And no lycra!!!!
Organised rides eg London to Brighton are nothing to do with CM, which seems to be a collective of socially dysfunctional individuals who have decided that riding a bike makes it acceptable to behave in a very selfish manner. They're no friends of cyclists, just a bunch of idiots with egos and a desire to be an arse on a bike.
Yes London! Went to Amsterdam a few weeks ago and could not believe how few cars there were right in the centre of the city, and how many bikes there were! Absolutely loved it. Quiet, stress free and just made me want to get on a bike and join in!