I attended my first CM on Friday after being outraged by Vicki
McReery's death on Blackfriar's Bridge. I enjoyed the freedom of
owning the streets again, being in such a large, well-tempered
(mostly!) crowd, and getting a free tour of London's sights. I'm
planning to be there next month.
I'd like to bring my kids (age 5 in a seat and 8 on a bike) next time.
It'll be a bit of an adventure for them, of course, and it's certainly
the safest way to cycle the capital until they're in their late teens.
However, I didn't see many children on the ride I was on. Two or
three very young ones in seats or trailers, and a couple of early
teens with their dad. Most others seemed to be 18 to 30-ish, with a
smattering of over-the-hill folk like myself and quite a few very
fit-looking pensioners. The 7-17 range seemed very under-represented.
Why is this? Are kids these days just apathetic, or are other Friday
night entertainments more attractive? Or is there a real or percieved
threat for children that I didn't see? I don't really want to be
there with kids if a CM turns ugly.
So is it a good idea to expose my innocent sprogs to these radical
lefties, or should I leave it until they're older? All opinions
welcome.