Critical Mass

nix_mix

Are people interested in doing Critical Mass cycles anymore?

I think in other countries in Europe where cycling culture is much stronger, there are large critical masses. They are well organised and do what critical mass set out to do... celebrate cycling. It would be cool to have one in Dublin, and we have been going out once a month since September of last year, the largest one has had 80 people in it, but the numbers wained.

Is anyone interested on here, who hasn't been to one in a while? Can you help out? I want to create a Critical Mass that doesn't go out with the intention of pissing off car drivers, but goes out to create a community of cyclists who get talking and thinking about cycling in Dublin, road and cycling infrastructure and having the craic...

Any advice?

Also, if you are interested...

look up critical mass Dublin in facebook, there is a group and events are posted up there...

Happy cycling!

iwillhtfu

nix_mix wrote: »

Is anyone interested on here, who hasn't been to one in a while? Can you help out? I want to create a Critical Mass that doesn't go out with the intention of pissing off car drivers, but goes out to create a community of cyclists who get talking and thinking about cycling in Dublin, road and cycling infrastructure and having the craic...

Plenty of cycling clubs already do this.

If you're really interested in doing the above then get rid of the name "critical mass" it just instantly screams annoying self righteous cyclists acting the arse and thinking they're some how entitled to preferential treatment.

Best of luck with it.

Harrybelafonte

Critical Mass has been a joke for years. Does nothing but perpetuate the negative image of cyclists.

Eamonnator

How do you have one of these cycles, without pissing off car drivers?

nix_mix

Well... I guess it's hard to be on the road in a large group and not piss off drivers. I just mean not going out of the way to block cars, just to have a cycle with some music and cycle around together in a group.

I guess if people aren't into it, I'll probably will stop doing it... I think mass holes seem pretty much the plague of critical masses all around the world.

Eamonnator

@nix_mix
Welcome to the Cycling Forum.
I'm not familiar with Critical Mass Cycling, and I don't do Facebook, so a couple of questions.
When you're on these cycles, do you obey the rules of the road?
e.g. do you cycle two abreast?
and do you stop at traffic lights?
If you do cycle only two abreast and stop at traffic lights, how do you keep everybody together?. If a number of cyclist go through on green and then lights go red, do those, who got through, wait for those stopped at lights? and if so, how do they do that, without blocking other traffic?

Harrybelafonte

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Critical_Mass_(cycling)

nix_mix

Hi Eamon,

We try to obey the traffic lights law by not speeding up for a light changing but waiting to start off collectively. This is a culture that has organically grown from the attendees. It works pretty well because there aren't many people but it would start becoming more of an issue if there were hundreds of people.

The two abreast rule has not been obeyed. We tend to cycle as a block which works quite well in circumstances where there is two lanes and the cars can just over take us. It's hard to control people as it's not really anyones cycle and I can't stop people from doing what they want... I do have the chats with people and try to explain why I think we should only take up a certain amount of space and not intentionally block up the road. Not everyone is interested in my explanation, but I have noticed that when a culture takes root, like the stopping a traffic lights one, then it becomes a lot easier because people just tend to do whatever everyone else is doing.

I mean I think that it would be interesting to do a critical mass with the two abreast rule in play... I'm not really against any of it, if it doesn't endanger people. The block seems safer when it is quite a large group in the city, but if the two abreast thing was good I would try and encourage people...

What is the biggest number of people that you have cycled two abreast with?

Maybe I should change the name... I just want a cycle that isn't necessarily for cyclists... but for people who ride bikes... and I think that those two things are different. I think I have an overly good view of critical masses, but I always felt that they encouraged people out on their bikes who wouldn't always consider themselves 'cyclists'

Harrybelafonte

If you refer to Critical Mass you are talking about what is fundamentally a political movement. Add to that an inability to control who shows up to take part you're looking at having your "event" overtaken by those with stronger, possibly opposing political views. The lack of control also means that you'll lose the interest of many of those who show with a philosophy closer to your own.

Eamonnator

To be honest, I'm still bemused.
What is the purpose of these cycles? Are they protests? if so, against what?
Are they for enjoyment? if I want to enjoy myself on the bike, I go for a spin with mates.
I guess, the largest number, that I have cycled two abreast with, was a couple of hundred. But as a rule, I don't cycle in cities.