Critical Mass Dublin July 2010

One cyclist in Dublin

Assemble Stephens Green 6pm!!

Last Friday Every Month

Danbo!

I may be shot down for this, but would it not be better to not piss off motorists trying to get home on a bank holiday weekend. Raise awareness of cyclists by enraging motorists. (Im cyclist btw)

Morgan

What is this "critical mass"?

Lumen

Stick it to the man! Yeah! You go girl!

One cyclist in Dublin

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uyGxlTmght8

-Chris-

Looks like you had a great turnout last month.

CheGuedara

Hmmm...

A lion cub bike ninja holding bike over its head.

Floral/green imagery all on a background of bikes all of which are greasy side up.

For something that is a dead cert to royally p!ss off motorists on a bank holiday Friday. At rush hour.

This could only bode well...

-Chris-

I remember a detailed thread about CM we had earlier in the year. I really struggled to understand exactly what the desired result was other than "sticking it to the man".

Lumen

CheGuedara wrote: »

A lion cub bike ninja holding bike over its head.

Floral/green imagery all on a background of bikes all of which are greasy side up.

I think it's a pictorial pun. Critical Mass is an expression of modern dandyism, a form of extreme narcissism. Dandy lion, dandelion.

The upturned bicycles represent the fate of the participants as they are run over by unfuriated taxi drivers.

The rest of it demonstrates that extremely poor photoshopping skills are no barrier on the path to righteousness.

One cyclist in Dublin

Being on Critical mass demos in other cities. Not about storming the dail with bikes. Cycling is usually alonely experience, expect at traffic lights. CM good laugh make a few newfriends, bondedinthe abuse of from odd taxi driver.

Most Roads user transports modes are surprisingly patient. Dominanceon Road is cast away for a few minutes.

Critical Mass Budapest, grown very quickly. Amazing video online.

http://vimeo.com/4251572

el tel

Going by that video fom Dublin if that's the turn out I think my weekend club runs could be considered super critical masses. Also going by that video what is the point of taking up the whole width of a road, all of the lanes, at a piss-take pace? I'm not what you would call a big fan of the skills of the average taxi driver however these people are out there trying to make a living and I just think it's pretty damn annoying that a crowd of people should take it upon themselves to wantonly obstruct them from going about their work.

ROK ON

I will be driving outnof dublin for the country on friday evening. If his bunch of hippies blocks the road, then let's just say that I am not a patient man and I am prone to anger.
Critical mass me arse. Cycling is enjoyable, social, fun, transport and sport. It is not a bunch of self righteous pricks willfully holding up traffic. I could give you adozen car free back roads 20km from Stephen green. Why not hold your critical mass there?

Blowfish

-Chris- wrote: »

I remember a detailed thread about CM we had earlier in the year. I really struggled to understand exactly what the desired result was other than "sticking it to the man".

Yep, that's pretty much it. Bunch of hippies pissing off other legitimate road users, just because they can. It really has to be the stupidest attempt at 'promoting' cycling out there.

One cyclist in Dublin

Dublin is one of the most car dependent cities in Europe, and not very cycling friendly. Apart from the infrastructure deficiencies, driver awareness of cyclists is poor compared to most other European cites.

Civic Society we have to elevate how people get about the city in a pragmatic way, as opposed to having a car fetish and being too embarrassed to be seen on a bike while driving your car 2km to buy a carton of milk.

Many European cities, people use a mixture of cars, public transport, and cycling in a much more efficient way. Changing mind sets, ways we live, how do we do this. Legislation, lobbying, local council, education ,Dublin cycling campaign, critical mass. Going to be combination of all these things.

Not to mention te amount fat people and their lazy lifestyle. Preemptive health care. Plus cycling good for head, endorphin release.

Any you keyboard warriors, want to take a break, or in deed clear your heads before another online rant, buzz along to critical mass. You might be more coherent in your criticism.

Long Live the Glorious Bike !!!!*

kumate_champ07

One cyclist in Dublin wrote: »

Dublin is one of the most car dependent cities in Europe, and not very cycling friendly. Apart from the infrastructure deficiencies, driver awareness of cyclists is poor compared to most other European cites.

Civic Society we have to elevate how people get about the city in a pragmatic way, as opposed to having a car fetish and being too embarrassed to be seen on a bike while driving your car 2km to buy a carton of milk.

Many European cities, people use a mixture of cars, public transport, and cycling in a much more efficient way. Changing mind sets, ways we live, how do we do this. Legislation, lobbying, local council, education ,Dublin cycling campaign, critical mass. Going to be combination of all these things.

Not to mention te amount fat people and their lazy lifestyle. Preemptive health care. Plus cycling good for head, endorphin release.

Any you keyboard warriors, want to take a break, or in deed clear your heads before another online rant, buzz along to critical mass. You might be more coherent in your criticism.

Long Live the Glorious Bike !!!!*

that's all well and good but why go out and block the roads?

One cyclist in Dublin

To drawing attention to how unfriendly some streets in the city are for cyclists. Not to mention cyclists are TRAFFIC as well.

Taking away motorized transport dominance for a few minutes is a physical world statement that cyclists are traffic as well.

DirkVoodoo

One cyclist in Dublin wrote: »

To drawing attention to how unfriendly some streets in the city are for cyclists. Not to mention cyclists are TRAFFIC as well.

Taking away motorized transport dominance for a few minutes is a physical world statement that cyclists are traffic as well.

There are better ways of doing this, annoying people on their way home from work or making long journeys across the country is not the way.

Making people aware of cyclists is already being done on a daily basis by people who commute as part of the traffic, not people heading out to disrupt it a few times a month.

el tel

One cyclist in Dublin wrote: »

Any you keyboard warriors, want to take a break, or in deed clear your heads before another online rant, buzz along to critical mass. You might be more coherent in your criticism.

All of the criticism levelled here is perfectly coherent. What aspects of it don't you get? The ears of the self righteous would appear to be cloth.

Stark

One cyclist in Dublin wrote: »

To drawing attention to how unfriendly some streets in the city are for cyclists. Not to mention cyclists are TRAFFIC as well.

So are tractors. Don't see what good having a convoy of those round St. Stephen's Green would do. Consideration to other road users is a two way street.

petethedrummer

I'm all for rallies, demonstrations, blockages and parades. I don't particularly care what the cause is. I think we should do more of it. Not that i've been on many...possibly not any. Tell a lie, I joined a critical mass by accident once because I was going the same way.

One cyclist in Dublin

Defo alot of the criticism on this tread very constructive, good old democratic debate, apart from the lazy labels appied.

What I know of critical mass I have read off wikipedia pages, I am not a spokesperson or an expert in critical mass. London Critical mass has done a lot for cycling.

Point remains, cyclists are traffic, they are not bloacking the road as they are traffic. I know many cycling advocates who disagree with this method of cycling advocacy. I think diversey of tactics is a strenght not a weakness in cycling advocacy.

Reason I take part is because I was almost killed by a car driver who did not notice me on a road (I correct road position).


Hope this forum provides interesting debate. Retire form this forum. Last but not least critical mass video from Belfast.

http://vimeo.com/11063099

Stark

You should all take your clothes off and make it a bit of fun.

tomasrojo

I also think Critical Mass is counterproductive, and I have no intention of ever joining in one of their rides.

The best way to promote the cause of cycling is not to be a nuisance when you're travelling by bike. Beyond that, there are forms of advocacy and activism that don't involve deliberately thwarting people who are trying to get away for the weekend.

Point remains, cyclists are traffic, they are not bloacking the road as they are traffic.

I agree that cyclists are traffic. So does the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic, and our very own Road Traffic Act of 1961. You already have the right to use the road (with a few exceptions; see below), so you can tick that off your list of objectives now.

Tractors and taxis are also traffic. Deliberately congregating in large groups, occupying entire lanes and proceeding at a slow pace specifically to hinder other road users is most definitely blocking the road. When taxi drivers or farmers stage a protest, this is exactly what they do: they block the road.

As mentioned above, you already have the right to use the road -- but not where there is an adjacent cycle track. Counter-intuitively, if you succeed in getting more cycle tracks built (which I assume is one of your goals, since you mention infrastructure), you will increase the number of roads which you don't have a right to use (see Statutory Instrument 274/1998)
http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/1998/en/si/0274.html

a pedal cycle must be driven on a cycle track where one is provided.

Lumen

petethedrummer wrote: »

I'm all for rallies, demonstrations, blockages and parades. I don't particularly care what the cause is

Excellent, I'll see you at the first rally of the Union of Paedophile Priests. Like, they have rights too.

rughdh

Don't get me wrong, I love a good mass meself. I have just gotten a present of a box set of Fr Todd Unctious masses. You know, the first series: "When good masses go bad...".

Reason I take part is because I was almost killed by a car driver who did not notice me on a road (I correct road position).

I'm almost killed at least twice a week on my commute, by motorists who don't notice me on the road or do but don't regard a bike as traffic or for whatever other reason. A protest will not change the behaviour of these muppets and will piss off the sound motorists who have no problems with sharing the road with other users.

Not to mention te amount fat people and their lazy lifestyle.

Cycling at a snail's pace is hardly a cardiovascular activity. You'd lose more weight playing golf. I]Nowt against golf, it's just not a serious workout[/I Besides, I've cycled over 7,000km so far this year, yet I'm overweight. Laziness is something else altogether and is impossible to quantify scientifically. It's just a word used as a stick to beat people with, really.

There are plenty of ways to enjoy pootling about on a bike. I think this sort of thing, apart from missing the point and inciting violence in itself, just attracts the chronic activist who may or may not know one end of a bike from another and I'd be concerned that it could end in tears.

Why can't you folks just take up mass tea drinking, or something, instead. I think there might be a tea festival somewhere in the country this summer.

Harrybelafonte

One cyclist in Dublin wrote: »

To drawing attention to how unfriendly some streets in the city are for cyclists. Not to mention cyclists are TRAFFIC as well.

So you are drawing attention to how unfriendlly some streets are by making them unfriendly, right?

One cyclist in Dublin wrote: »

Taking away motorized transport dominance for a few minutes is a physical world statement that cyclists are traffic as well.

No it's not, it's a statement that if cyclists don't get what they want, everyone should suffer.

This isn't a protest, it's the usual farcical strongarm tactic people few as democratic demonstration.

1. CM states that it wishes to draw attention to the fact that its actions remind "motorists" that "cyclists" have the same rights to use the road by taking away their right to use to road. How does that work? I remember taxi drivers doing this in certain parts of the city during the year and the public reaction. It's a confrontational act that will not glean any public support, which I would argue is the most important part of any "democratic" protest.

2. CM makes no effort to clean up its own house before pointing the finger at other groups. They believe in punishing the driving public for not respecting them while that same driving public sit every day and watch numerous cyclists break red lights, refuse to signal their intentions, won't use lights and basically not act in a safe manner on bikes. So we have one part of the road using public lecturing another part of the road using public despite the fact that both groups contain elements that refuse to act courteously to other road users.

3. CM increases the gap between "motorists" and "cyclists" and does nothing to garner respect between the two groups which is exactly why it'll never work as a movement. People don't like being punished, especially if there's no carrot at the end of it.

4. CM as a form of protest does nothing to address the government or provide suggestions to policymakers who have the power to make real world changes.

Anyway, considering the usual pi$$ poor turnouts CM has had for a long time now I don't see what results it'll achieve. There were more people on bikes at the lights at O'Connell Bridge at 9.15 yesterday morning than last year's CM.

Cycling Week as an inclusive event has a better affect than CM.

DualFrontDiscs

Lumen wrote: »

Excellent, I'll see you at the first rally of the Union of Paedophile Priests. Like, they have rights too.

I think there would be clear benefits to having a public display of this nature

Chips Lovell

Hi, I've a few questions:

I'll have to drive up from the Midlands to take part in Critical Mass. Will the organisers be providing car parking?

Is there a tea stop? If so, how many sandwiches am I likely to get?

petethedrummer

Lumen wrote: »

Excellent, I'll see you at the first rally of the Union of Paedophile Priests. Like, they have rights too.

Sounds like fun.

Junior

OP - You need to go see all our feelings on CM in this thread here

Has anything changed since then ?

el tel

One cyclist in Dublin wrote: »

Defo alot of the criticism on this tread very constructive, good old democratic debate, apart from the lazy labels appied.

That's interesting considering you were the only one who applied the lazy label, to overweight people if i recall correctly.

HivemindXX

DirkVoodoo wrote: »

Making people aware of cyclists is already being done on a daily basis by people who commute as part of the traffic, not people heading out to disrupt it a few times a month.

^
This sums it up.

A lot of the talk by CM supporters (we're just out for a cycle, not deliberately disrupting, we're TRAFFIC!!!, etc) is kind of insulting to our intelligence. If you want to go out for a social cycle and enjoy the camraderie there are plenty of places and times you can far, far better achieve that. CM riders are not TRAFFIC they are protestors. The purpose of CM is to disrupt, presumably to draw attention to something, but you guys are pretty vague on what. At least if you honest about that you'd have something.

I won't be attending except accidentally as part of my normal, day in, day out cycling around the city.

Now if someone wanted to organise a weekly mass cycle around the Doughiska cycling atrocity I'd be all for it (although it would be a bit far for me to attend!). The difference being that that would be drawing direct attention to one appallingly bad bit of infrastructure. One that the local authorities seem to think is a model for future infrastructure which is something they need to be corrected on.

niceonetom

Down with this sort of thing.

TinyExplosions

niceonetom wrote: »

Down with this sort of thing.

Careful now....

Mr. Presentable

CM in NY. Watch the cop!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32-ldyQ3fRE

-Chris-

Jesus, that's a pretty hardcore shove!

briano

One cyclist in Dublin wrote: »

Critical Mass Budapest, grown very quickly. Amazing video online.

http://vimeo.com/4251572

Not wanting to be pedantic or anything, but that CM ride was

1) On a Sunday
2) On Closed Roads
3) Had the approval of the City (you can see police blocking off side streets)
4) Had organizers/marshals (?) in high-vis along the route.


So, yes, CM budapest looks amazing. Inclusive, well organized and a great tool for getting Cyclists out and socializing. It also looks like it is the complete opposite of what you are doing.

SleepDoc

Hang on a second. The speed limit in the city is 30 kph, so how will motorists be unduly inconvenienced by bikes (whatever number of them) travelling at a reasonable pace??

Cabaal

This appears to send the wrong message to me, your only going to piss of motorists if you block streets. How about just a load of cyclists showing how much faster it can be to get around the city?

ROK ON

@Cabaal. Excellent idea.
A series of timed commutes covered by media may do more.
Get folk to drive/bus/cycle to work on alternate days and keep time.
Get a radio program to follow your progress.
A far more thoughtful and productive method of showing the utilityof the bike.

niceonetom

ROK ON wrote: »

@Cabaal. Excellent idea.
A series of timed commutes covered by media may do more.
Get folk to drive/bus/cycle to work on alternate days and keep time.
Get a radio program to follow your progress.
A far more thoughtful and productive method of showing the utilityof the bike.

I think RTE actually did something like that on Capital D. The wrap-up on it was something like "the bicycle was the fastest but, of course, you'd have to be totally insane to ride a bike in Dublin."

niceonetom

I think the OP should adopt better tactics when posting this stuff online. He/She is getting battered here.

CM supporters should agree to all converge on the forum at a designated time of high use and relentlessly bombard it with slow and pointless posts that don't actually go anywhere.

When other forum users get irritated by this they should be greeted with a to inform them that this is both a celebration and a protest. With this tactic hearts and minds will soon be changed, I have no doubt.

Cabaal

niceonetom wrote: »

I think RTE actually did something like that on Capital D. The wrap-up on it was something like "the bicycle was the fastest but, of course, you'd have to be totally insane to ride a bike in Dublin."

So its been done, all we need is to re-do it and this time actually put a positive spin on it instead.

blorg

nipplenuts wrote: »

CM in NY. Watch the cop!

There was quite a scandal over that; the officer, Patrick Pogan, also lied in his deposition when laying charges against the cyclist, basically made up a whole load of stuff that the cyclist had assaulted him and it was self defence. He lost his job and was convicted of filing false documents (barring him from ever working in law enforcement again) but acquitted of assault.

blorg

SleepDoc wrote: »

Hang on a second. The speed limit in the city is 30 kph, so how will motorists be unduly inconvenienced by bikes (whatever number of them) travelling at a reasonable pace??

They won't go a reasonable pace though, what would be the point of that, the point is to piss off motorists remember!

Nietzschean

SleepDoc wrote: »

Hang on a second. The speed limit in the city is 30 kph, so how will motorists be unduly inconvenienced by bikes (whatever number of them) travelling at a reasonable pace??

for one commuters tend to go far slower than 30km/hr, though in friday traffic not many will be going that speed in the city anyway. Regardless, these things are supposed to go at a slow pace for cyclists, which if your a driver is first gear territory and hugely frustrating. They should just go do it on a sunday and no one will care... or how about that giant park we have in the city...great place for them.....

Morgan

I think the Bike To Work scheme will do more to advance these aims than "Critical Mass" ever will.

Nietzschean

niceonetom wrote: »

I think RTE actually did something like that on Capital D. The wrap-up on it was something like "the bicycle was the fastest but, of course, you'd have to be totally insane to ride a bike in Dublin."

Didn't top gear do that in london too? car vs bike vs boat or something?

-Chris-

niceonetom wrote: »

I think the OP should adopt better tactics when posting this stuff online. He/She is getting battered here.

CM supporters should agree to all converge on the forum at a designated time of high use and relentlessly bombard it with slow and pointless posts that don't actually go anywhere.

When other forum users get irritated by this they should be greeted with a to inform them that this is both a celebration and a protest. With this tactic hearts and minds will soon be changed, I have no doubt.

I think you'd set a record for fastest locked thread in the history of Boards... :P:D

briano

blorg wrote: »

There was quite a scandal over that; the officer, Patrick Pogan, also lied in his deposition when laying charges against the cyclist, basically made up a whole load of stuff that the cyclist had assaulted him and it was self defence. He lost his job and was convicted of filing false documents (barring him from ever working in law enforcement again) but acquitted of assault.

IIRC the cyclist was no angel himself, he had been done for manslaughter a few years earlier or something to that effect?

edit: That is not to say that Rogan was anyway justified

Chips Lovell

Nietzschean wrote: »

Didn't top gear do that in london too? car vs bike vs boat or something?

Car, bike, speed boat and public transport. Bike won.