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Manchester Critical Mass this Friday

i bike mcr | 23.06.2008 15:41

Friday 27th June 6pm
Central Library Manchester

Bike ride around our city to celebrate the bicycle over car culture followed by BBQ in the park

Manchester Critical Mass
Manchester Critical Mass


OH MY!

It's CRITICAL MASS this Friday....how ace is that?

Friday 27th June 6pm
Central Library Manchester

Afterwards we'll have a BBQ and hang out a park, so bring BBQ's, food,
music, drinks etc. (vegan BBQs preferred as then it can be accessible to
everyone!)

A totally ace bike ride around our city to meet other cyclists and ride on
our roads...For a few hours once a month we can show how beautiful our
city can be when bicycles, instead of cars, dominate the roads.

it's such a nice and sociable and fun way to spend a Friday evening on a
bicycle..wow. so ace. and now we're getting bigger and bigger..someone
said they counted at least 150 people on the one last month, how ace is
that?!!. come and be part of our lovely friendly cruise around..to
collectively enjoy the beautiful experience that is riding a bike.

----

People's comments about Manchester Critical Mass

"...it's brilliant. Usually I'm charging around on my bike, getting where
i need to go as fast as i can. Critical mass is different. It's about
enjoying riding. It's the most relaxed ride around the city I've ever had.
Where all my worries and fears float away. And I've met some lovely people
too"

"I was scared it would be some angry bike militants but everyone is so
friendly and the ride is fun no aggro at all. See you next month!"

"it's quite something to have that many peeps riding round at once."

"Critical Mass sometimes has a reputation for being an angry rabble of
cyclists that want to string up any car drivers they see. This is not true
of Manchester Critical Mass, it is a fluffy mass of people that like to
have fun on bikes, there are often have children with us and a bicycle
sound system to add to the party fun atmosphere. As well as being fun and
a social event it is also to show how great a car free city will be. This
is achieved every month by showing motorists an alternative, yet critical
mass Manchester doesn't aim to annoy drivers we want them to join us.."

"I spend all month, every month, riding around behind exhaust pipes and
swerving out of the way from angry, disrespectful drivers, I live in a
world that is dying from climate change..only the other day it was
announced the white rhino is extinct, it tears me up inside. Riding a bike
isn't going to change all of that instantly but I believe that not only
does it mean less cars on the roads but riding a bike also gives a feeling
of connection with one's surroundings and other people and through this we
can start to act in other ways that can create social change"

"Critical Mass isn't a place to vent the anger that comes from having to
deal with cars (I don't think), because it's nice to, instead, spend that
time enjoying riding my bike. Sometimes it can feel so alienating riding a
bike surrounded by so many motorists. Critical Mass shows that we are not
alone and that we are growing. It's the most fantastic piece of direct
action I've ever done- I want there to be less cars on the roads and by
being one less car there is!!!"

(taken from emails we've received)

i bike mcr
- e-mail: info@ibikemcr.org.uk
- Homepage: http://www.ibikemcr.org.uk

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Comments

Hide the following 15 comments

One minute silence on this month's ride

25.06.2008 12:08

This month Manchester critical mass will be having one minute silence to honour Marie Vesco.

"The death of Marie Vesco, aged 19, en route to the Carnival Against the Arms Trade outside the Arms Factory EDO-MBM, has been a blow to everyone involved in the campaign. Marie and her friends were cycling from London to Brighton to participate when her bicycle was hit by a car. Marie was a committed anti-war activist with the Whitechapel Food Not Bombs and the Brixton Reclaim Your Food groups. Her commitment against climate change and war was what motivated her and her 11 companions to cycle from London to Brighton for the protest.

A close friend of Marie’s said, “She was a very warm and generous person who was always laughing and always made people laugh. She had just moved in with her boyfriend and had plans to open a social centre. She was very giving and always lent a helping hand. Things will never be the same without her.”

The fact that she was killed on the roads, whilst cycling lawfully and safely, speaks volumes about the priorities of the British government. Whilst arms dealers are subsidised to the tune of billions of pounds, the relatively small amount of money that it would take to provide safe cycle lanes for bikes is held back.

Andrew Beckett, Smash Edo press spokesman said “EDO’s weapons are used in wars that are fought for oil to fuel the automobile industry that is burning up the planet and responsible for countless deaths. The Smash Edo campaign is ready to give any support they can to Marie’s friends and fellow campaigners.

There was a minute’s silence on the Level where protesters gathered after the demonstration in her honour.

Notes for Journalists

The Company

EDO MBM Technologies Ltd are the sole UK subsidiary of huge U.S weapons manufacturer EDO Corp.From their base in Moulescoombe Brighton, EDO MBM manufacture vital parts for the Hellfire and Paveway weapons systems,laserguided missilesused extensively in Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine and Somalia. EDO Corp were recently acquired by ITT in a multi-billion pound deal. ITT's links to fascism go back to the 1930s. The founder Sosthenes Behn was the first foreign businessman received by Hitler after his seizure of power.

The Campaign

There has been active campaign against the presence o f EDO MBM in Brighton since the outbreak of the Iraq war.Campaigners include students, Quakers ,Palestine solidarity activists, anti-capitalists and academics. Despite an injunction under the protection of harassment act (which failed) and over forty arrests the campaign is still going strong.Their avowed aim is to expose EDO MBM and their complicity in war crimes and to remove them from Brighton. They hold regular weekly demos outside the Moulescoombe factory on Wednesday's between 4 and 6."

nes


Get your act together

25.06.2008 19:25

Who are you aiming for? The vegan mention puts me off. It seems to me you want a small clique of fad concious students and other youngsters who hang around on the University/ Fallowfield/Withington corridor and who want an enjoyable bike based social once a month.

You seem to make no attempt to reach cyclists in all areas of the city, or to make contact with the communities which could most benefit from increased cycle use. There's more to Manchester than Oxford Road and the city centre.

Pete


pete,

26.06.2008 07:06

Pete,

i think the vegan food suggestion is so that it includes everyone. With vegan food, anyone can eat without worrying: veggies, vegans, meat eaters can have vegan bbq. it will be abit bizzare to have 5 BBQs buirning for 1 event (one vegan, one veggie, one with no beef, one with no pork, and a general meat one!) Also the vegan BBQ can avoid people getting upset e.g. religious people who may not agree in eating certain meats, people who believe in animal rights. The group is diverse and it tries to not upset people who may have different beliefs. So having a vegan BBQ was the solution in not segregating individuals, trying to not upset people, and having a more practical BBQ. I don't think anyone will be forcing you to become a vegan!

Manc Critical mass uses a city centre meeting point as most Mancunians and commuters are familiar with how to get there. critical mass being in the city centre makes it more visible to the public too. Critical mass in Manchester was not always as big. it needed years to get to those numbers and having a consistent meeting point helped in getting the numbers of people joining.

If you wish to set up another Critical Mass in another area then that would be great. Critical mass has no ownership. It will be lovely to see critical mass groups in every city, town, village. I'm sure people will be supportive of this! Some people within critical mass have been working on many other cycling groups in different areas within manchester.

As for it being a social group, well, it is sometimes nice for the people to cycle to meet each after the ride. Yes i think some are students (and some may live in the places you mentioned - but hey, we all need a place to live) and others are not but people's background is not an issue. Non-students are welcome.

The point is not to segregate people according to what they eat/where they live. The point is to celebrate the bicycle, raise some issues connected with car culture and at the same time enjoy each others company.
Also this month it is also to remember the life of a young girl (Marie) who was killed by a car while cycling. Maybe i is important to remember Marie and all the cyclists that were killed so unfairly just because they choose to ride a bicycle.

1,2,3


get your act together

26.06.2008 08:32

...and join the critical mass, celebrate the bicycle, enjoy the summer, and ejoy a vegan BBQ.

Join an afternoon of low envirimental desrtuction by riding a bicycle (no carbon emissions, no fossil fuels) and by eating vegan food (no animal cruelty).

I know Pete, you might be put off by the vegan BBQ, but maybe for JUST an afternoon you might be able to change your eating habbits for the sake of low environmental destruction. and who knows if you try the vegan food you might like it, (my 5 year old son fused to not like brocolli but know he loves it when the brocolli is deeped in some olive oil. ) Go on!

10


meanwhile in london..

26.06.2008 19:48

The Critical Mass in London will attempt to go all the way to Brixton to celebrate the life of Marie, who was killed by 2 cars on her way to the demonstration against the arms trade in Brighon, see:

 https://indymedia.org.uk/en/regions/london/2008/06/400604.html

Assemble under Waterloo Bridge 6pm on Friday

cyclistas


Not for me

27.06.2008 11:10

The vegan mention and the comments about the arms trade justified by the tenuous connection that an anti-arms trade campaigner was killed while riding her bike convinces me that Manchesters Critical Mass is just a small clique of the usual suspects.

I'd probably join the ride if it was simply an event to promote cycling in the city. Cycling needs to get away from the lentil munching student peacenik image if more people are to take it up, but I get the feeling that Manchester's critical mass isn't focussed on cycling really.

Pete


...another one

27.06.2008 14:22

Pete, the fact is that Marie died while cycling. If this is not an issue for every cyclist AND every human being, then i'm not quite sure what IS a cyclist's issue!



sue


pete!

27.06.2008 14:27

Pete,

1)lentils are not cooked on the barbie (bbq).
2) please do not try to create uneccessary conflict. What people choose to eat (yes including lentils) is their own choice
3) if a cyclist being killed is not an issue relevant to cyclists then what is?
4) why are you so bothered if someone is a student or if someone eats lentils or if someone believes in peace? Why is this SUCH a bit problem to you? Can't you enjoy a cycling event with a peace-loving student?? why?

cyclistas


for pete

27.06.2008 16:11

not pete


Wrong image

27.06.2008 19:20

Many people are very image concious these days, and only associate themselves with trendy things. Ban the bomb vegans who are big on green issues might be trendy people to some students and youngsters around the university areas but to the majority of the population of Manchester they are seriously untrendy. Perhaps that's why Manchester's critical mass is so small. Having seen the critical mass several times it doesn't look representative of the many cyclists I see on the city's roads every day, which in my experience consists mainly of a mix of commuters like me travelling in from the leafy suburbs and young men on cheap mountain bikes pedalling around the poorer areas.

Pete


trendiness??

27.06.2008 20:16

"but to the majority of the population of Manchester they are seriously untrendy"

he he sorry i did not realise that it was a "trendiness" issue!

But come on, Pete, are you seriously saying that people have to get trendy to make the critical mass popular? It is not a Nike advert. It is just a bicycle ride with people wearing reflective jackets! the aim is not to make it into a cat walk of trendy fashion to satisfy the the majority of the population......

from my experience i did not notice that there was a dress code and to be honest in the times that critical mass became better attended i saw a nice range of people including commuters from leafy suburbs. Also i dont think anyone debates what kind of cyclist to allow in the critical mass: in my time i have seen environmentalists, students, commuters, joining critical mass. The common denominator was that all the people were there cos they like to cycle.

As for trendiness.... well this is not really an issue!!

Also the group is not a fixed group - there are NO memberships. It is a bike ride that starts from a specific place at a specific time. Whoever turns up is the critical mass. so you cannot really generalise cos everytime new people appear, others who used to go to critical mass do not, and some people are more regular than others...but thats does not matter cos what it is is a bike ride. You get on your bike and ride. Then you can have a drink or a snack. Thats it.

cyclistas


Trendy

28.06.2008 12:08

No, Im not saying critical mass has to become trendy. I'm saying that if it seriously wants to attract more people it should resist demonstrating to everyone what it currently thinks is trendy, which includes veganism, ban the bombism, climate change issues and all the usual concerns of students and other earnest youngsters.

Veganism and ban the bombism have nothing to do with cycling, and many ordinary people are tired of the keener type of climate change bores. I've seen the Manchester critical mass and it is tiny. I'm not surprised given its image.

Pete


pete (again)

29.06.2008 09:29

pete, i don't think anyone is saying that Manchester critical mass SHOULD be consisting only of vegans and should become active in other political campaigns.

What was proposed was that the critical mass remembers the death of Marie who was a cyclist attending critical mass and who was killed while cycling. As she was not known by everyone, some info about her, her cycling passion, and life was given so that people from Manchester could have a minute of silence to reflect on yet another death of a cyclist.

Dear Pete, if you cannot comprehend that a the death of a cyclist is such an unfair event, and so sad, then i feel like i cannot have a further conversation with you. it seems that you have shifted Marie's death into a personal arguement regarding eating choices, trendiness, etc. All we proposed was a minute silence for Marie but you turned it into an attack against vegans etc. It would be much more considerate if you chose to discuss your issues on veganism, and politics with the Manchester Critical mass directly

cyclistas


an idea

30.06.2008 10:20

critical mass is a bike ride and has no ownership to anyone. So if Pete, you wish for more/different people to attend maybe you should design flyers and organise events that will attract the people you wish to attract. Critical mass is within the DIY culture, so is a fluid group and therefore no central organizer. So, maybe start a campaign to involve people from the leafy suburbs, or do a few events. Noone is a director or events officer and everyone can contribute, initiate, as much as they like.

I'm sure that the more people become "active" the better.

1,2,3


dear me pete

07.07.2008 21:41

you are coming across as very bitter and angry. I think you had an interesting point to- make about the image of critical mass and how it may vary. But your point has got lost behind an aggressive, or patronising tone, that belittles the actions of others.

You may have started an interesting converstion, I think you are partly right and partly wrong, but I can hardly be bothered to join in, due to your tone.

cycle safe

have a nice day


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