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.