Several score people from children to elders converged on the south bank of the Thames from 18:00-19:00, under Waterloo Bridge and outside the National Film Theatre Café, to begin Critical Mass London's 12th year of rides with a human-powered vehicular tour of central London.

On the hottest day in May for decades, attire was minimal, and there were even "Critical Mass 11" t-shirts being handed out for free, a legacy of last month's 11th Birthday CM London ride. Many thanks to whomsoever produced these – I just love my "Freedom Rider" long-sleeved black one, although it was way too warm to wear on this particular ride.

Having been a Brompton folding bike rider for the last 10 years, I decided to shoot as many folders as possible, to emphasise their variety, popularity and utility – they travel on every other form of transport and very rarely get stolen. Mine's been on buses, trains, tubes, trams, barges, ferries, airliners, helicopters, taxis and cars; and it's not got nicked because it comes inside buildings with me, be they shops, homes, cinemas, theatres, cafés, restaurants, concert halls, galleries, museums, etc, &c.

Since I was off to see the Laboratory of Insurrectionary Imagination G8 Touring Show in Mile End Park at 20:00, I had to leave this ride at the north end of Waterloo Bridge (see Links Comment below for pic's of that performance).

Critical Mass London happens 12 times a year, on the last Friday of the month. We meet on the south bank from 18:00-18:45, under Waterloo Bridge and outside the National Film Theatre Café. The slow-paced ride around central London is suitable for cyclists of all ages, and any human-power vehicle is welcome, from roller skaters and rollerbladers through wheelchairs and recumbent trikes to multi-person pedal-powered extravaganzas. For more info, and downloadable fliers which you can staple around the frames of parked bikes, please see:
 http://www.criticalmasslondon.org.uk

Critical Mass is an international phenomena, whereby bike owners in our millions in 300+ cities the world over assert our identity as cyclists, and celebrate the freedom we should enjoy as people-and-planet friendly road users -- while affording city users a brief glimpse of how peaceful, clean and quiet our urban streets could be if only we would break from their domination by dangerous, dirty and noisy motorised traffic.

In International Solidarity,

Tim D Jones

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Copyright ©2005 Tim D Jones
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