In an extraordinary development no police turned up for the September ride. Not only that but they were notable for their absence throughout the ride and the weather was perfect.
At first riders seemed hesitant to brave the traffic without police and they got off to a very slow start. There must have been at least 500 riders straggling slowly across Waterloo bridge, as if in search of leaders prepared to take the initiative while looking to the loudest sound system for some sort of guidance. Then they started to dive down the Strand Underpass, whooping joyfully, and things returned to normal.
Riders did an admirable job of corking throughout the ride, blocking side-streets to let the Mass pass without drivers nosing aggressively into it, a job usually undertaken by the cycle police. On previous rides police made those with cycle sound systems turn them off in the SOCPA zone, an undemocratic area around Parliament, but this time there was no such restraint and the sounds played at full volume for the short time the ride circled Parliament Square.
Several of the usual Friday evening traffic jams were encountered in the West End and the Mass had to filter through them slowly, to the sound of horns and remonstrations from frustrated drivers. Arriving outside Buckingham Palace, with the flag up indicating the Queen in residence, the ride congregated for a time and circled up close to the Queen Victoria Memorial with joyous cries to a background of dance music.
Why the police didn't turn up for what was a highly successful ride remains a mystery. Was this to do with the impending House of Lords appeal against the police on 20th October or was it some kind of an experiment to see if those 'leaderless anarchists' on bicycles would run amok without police supervision and cause traffic chaos or even worse?
http://criticalmasslondon.org.uk
Riders did an admirable job of corking throughout the ride, blocking side-streets to let the Mass pass without drivers nosing aggressively into it, a job usually undertaken by the cycle police. On previous rides police made those with cycle sound systems turn them off in the SOCPA zone, an undemocratic area around Parliament, but this time there was no such restraint and the sounds played at full volume for the short time the ride circled Parliament Square.
Several of the usual Friday evening traffic jams were encountered in the West End and the Mass had to filter through them slowly, to the sound of horns and remonstrations from frustrated drivers. Arriving outside Buckingham Palace, with the flag up indicating the Queen in residence, the ride congregated for a time and circled up close to the Queen Victoria Memorial with joyous cries to a background of dance music.
Why the police didn't turn up for what was a highly successful ride remains a mystery. Was this to do with the impending House of Lords appeal against the police on 20th October or was it some kind of an experiment to see if those 'leaderless anarchists' on bicycles would run amok without police supervision and cause traffic chaos or even worse?
http://criticalmasslondon.org.uk
Comments
Hide the following 3 comments
Where were the police?
27.09.2008 23:35
Anti Policestate
Critical Mass without police
28.09.2008 16:57
A Critical Mass without police does mean going slower at certain points, to keep the road ours by being together and safe as well as minimising the need to mass up. There was good corking and blocking on Friday but not enough riders appeared prepared to do this (they probably have not appreciated we can do it when the police are not there - and do it better - but it does require more happy riders joining in every now and again and not always riding through without a thought or thinking someone else has got it covered for the whole time the mass passes or that someone else will cork). Both of these factors are important as the nights get darker. Upping the lights and high-vis might also be a good idea. Let's hope a police-free ride was not just a one-off. Tell a friend to come along at the end of October!
Freedom Rider
Lightened.
12.10.2008 13:53
Doug