How big does a Critical Mass have to be? In January we were only eight but still it felt a hell of a lot safer cycling in a group. How many of us regularly ride the same route every day at about the same time? Sure the last Friday is important but riding together is not only fun, it’s safer and we get to make our statement at the same time. How many cyclists round Parliament Square in the third lane heading for Brixton every evening between five and five thirty? You could all wait for each other and do the bridge South in formation. I’m sure Brian would appreciate the company whilst you’re waiting. This strikes me as a potentially useful technique for our fellow cyclists in North America to adapt, a kind of Critical Commute. After all we are traffic!

We had one small incident with a autoholic screeching to a halt, jumping out of his vintage Opel and grabbing one of the riders. Him jumping us in the middle of the road caused quite a traffic jam. We soon calmed him down though and he sped off illegally with screeching tires down the bus lane. To give him credit he did grab a guy quite a good bit bigger than he was. Unlike what happened previously in New York, all the small girls riding with us remained unmolested.
Until next month, Long Live Critical Mass!