Despite the weather being schizophrenic, it didnt know if it was raining or sunny, a large contingent of cyclists showed up for the first Critical Mass of the year in Dublin. Temporarily moved to a Saturday afternoon until the clocks go forward/its bright enough in the evenings again, we kicked off at about 2.20pm from our usual assembly point of the Garden of Remembrance on Parnell Square.

Cycling down O'Connell Street, we passed by other 'Saturday specials', i.e. other radical groups who only come out at the weekend. In front of the GPO there was a diverse mix, from Falun Gong, to Saoirse/Republican Sinn Fein, to Youth Defence (militant anti abortion group), to the guy in the middle plaza with the huge big speakers on his car calling for the abolition of the Euro and the re-introduction of the Punt (some solidarity shout outs went his way).

We looped back around the D'Olier/Westmoreland St block, and quite spontaneously, we came to a complete standstill at the Westmoreland St/Aston Quay junction. We just sat there for quite a long time, with motorists keeping their horns pressed down continuously, making a huge cacophony of noise (which we cheered to and applauded). We handed out leaflets explaining what we were doing to motorists and pedestrians.

A Garda (Irish police) motorbike then snaked its way through the blocked traffic in the distance towards us, so we continued on down Aston Quay. By the time we got to the turn at Parliament Street we had three police motorbikes following us. Going down Dame St the Garda had been radioing back and forth to each other, so by the time we got to College Green, they started getting heavy with cyclists on the right hand lanes, attempting their usual tactic of herding us into the left hand lanes to allow traffic to pass.

Our large numbers however meant that they couldnt get us all to drift the way they wanted, and despite a bit of shoving and agressive driving on their part, we managed to hold the entire road and continued on up back across O'Connell Bridge. We finished up at the Garda Station in O'Connell Street, raising our bikes in defiance at their methods. By the time we finished (about an hour after we started) there were seven Garda bikes 'escorting' us, as someone remarked this was more than Clinton had during his visit!

A reporter from the Sunday Tribune was there (dont know if it was covered though), along with a camera crew from Network 2, RTE's second TV station. The ride will be covered later in the year as part of a magazine programme aimed at young people.

The Critical Mass will continue throughout the year. Cycling is a cleaner, greener alternative, and in a city like Dublin which is jammed every morning and evening, promotion of it as the way forward for the city is all the more urgent. It is a genuine answer to traffic congestion, especially seeing as the city is relatively small compared to other European capitals.

Contact the Dublin critical mass at:  dublincriticalmass@yahoo.com

How did the Galway and Limerick Critical Masses go?