(Also posted to the Sydney critical mass list)
Baka Dasai wrote (on usenet's aus.bicycle):
Quoted message said:Went on my first critical mass last Friday, in Sydney. Here are my
impressions.
Thanks for coming. As someone who turns up regularly, and occasionally
gets forced to take responsibility for Mass stuff, I thought I'd respond.
I guess this makes my response an unofficial one from a regular
disorganier.
Quoted message said:First, I can't understand what all the fuss is about. We rode from Hyde
Park to Chinatown, via Circular Quay and the Rocks, and most of the time
we were held up by cars rather than holding up cars. I can't imagine
why any car driver would get upset by what we did, other than from blind
prejudice.
Blind prejudice is a big part of the parliamentarians and radio jockeys
complaints with mass. In Sydney, mostly, Critical Mass is held up by
traffic. Car drivers often get upset anyway, and have attempted to
attack bicycle police (when we've been "escorted"😉 using their cars.
Quoted message said:But, on the other side, I was completely unimpressed by the experience
of the mass itself. It was a poor excuse for a bike ride - coasting
along at about 10 kmh, trying not to run into the person in front,
constantly worried about somebody swerving into me from the side, and
getting annoyed by everybody constantly ringing their bells and shouting
lame slogans at bewildered pedestrians. I was frustrated at the basic
pointlessness of it and there was no sense of accomplishment - the ride
was too slow and ridiculously short.
Ah, well, I think I ought to respond here. Critical Mass in Sydney is
defined by a couple of assumptions. I'm open to them being challenged:
1) Mass is for every bicyclist. This primarily effects the speed of the
mass, to ensure that the rear of the mass (slowest bike) stays up with the
front. At night in Winter, and during rain, this is difficult to check
from the front of the mass. The end result is a 10kmh coast. This is
also perceived to meet the desire to obstruct car traffic by people. The
traffic obstruction angle can be challenged easily, the need to accomodate
every kind of cyclist is a bit more difficult.
2) Bell-ringing and shouting lame slogans is something we seem to be in
the habit of doing. This is open to more immediate challenges. When
we've got a mobile PA, the PA helps as far as the "shouting" of lame
slogans goes. The music also cuts down on bell ringing.
3) Point and accomplishment. This is very much a personal thing. I very
much enjoy mass. But I'd really like to hear about how we could make it
better for you.
4) Slow and short. We planned a 1 hour ride based on a couple of requests
("I'm meeting friends at China town and want to pick up the courier mob at
Martin Place" along side "Lets go via the Rocks to visit past the writers
festival"😉. Routes are generally either historical (January => Bondi.
November => Harbour bridge. Mardis Gras season => Down Oxford St.),
planned on the email list about a week before hand if someone gets a
brainwave, or planned between 5.30 and 6pm by someone forced to do the
job. Longer ranged masses are possible, and have been done.
One aspect of route planning is "how many people turn up" versus "what we
can get away with". ANZAC Bridge in 2004 with about 60 people at night in
winter sucked hard. Its generally believed that the police outnumbered us
on that night. Whereas the Harbour Bridge ride is generally massive and
in full daylight.
For the last while nobody has been flyering / postering about upcoming
Masses either, nor meeting regularly to plan before hand.
Quoted message said:I'm guessing that it works like some sort of support group for people
who are nervous about riding in the middle of the lane, but I don't have
that problem. The attitudes and assumptions of the people in the mass
appeared to be that cycling on the road was dangerous and you needed to
be in a big group to be able to do it safely. I can't think of a worse
way to encourage cycling than to give the message that it's ordinarily
too dangerous.
From an "insiders" perspective, as someone who enjoys corking, and someone
who's been forced to plan routes or lead the route without a PA, I'd say
that the core group Massers are road-occupying commuters tending towards
commuter/transport bicycle nuts. The majority of participants seem to be
bicycle confident too. I've always felt the "big group" safety aspect is
about:
a) criminal law safety, large "unnotified" protests don't get shut
down. Small ones get knocked about by cops (arrests, violence).
b) Road-rage safety when occupying all 3-4 lanes of a major road, safety
in numbers in relation to the potential for a few motorists to either get
out and threaten assault, or attempt assault with their vehicle.
c) Basic road safety by blocking side streets when running red-lights as
the rear half of the group, or avoiding cars entering the mass itself
(corking).
Most people doing a mini-mass to ride away afterwards ride in the usual
"vehicular" manner.
And, personally I ride in the right hand half of a lane to avoid the
"half-lane" overtake manouvre.
Just to note: there was some other criticism about not stopping at an
environmental speech thing on Friday. I was shouting from the front,
planned the route, etc. The first I heard about the desire to stop for
the speeches, was at Town Hall, when we would have needed to block
oncoming traffic on George. I don't mind being militant and holding up
both ways on George, but for that kind of action, people would really need
to bring it up before starting, so that everyone participating in the Mass
can decide if that's an action they want to take.
* * *
But this response is largely justification, rather than solutions. As far
as solutions go:
Where would you like to ride to? (Destination? Route? Major roads to be
occupied to their full width?)
Is a 30 second bike lift during a traffic light cycle a sufficient
occupation for you? Would you prefer to hold one of the traffic lights at
George street for five minutes?
Any ideas on how to ensure the back of the mass doesn't get seperated or
stragglered from the front of the mass at night in winter other than to
keep a 10km coast?
What does mass mean for you politically / protest sense / in terms of
riding and rider education? Is our job to educate riders, block traffic,
educate traffic, obtain media attention, or enjoy a ride?
What relationship should we have with the police? "Don't inform,
don't allow, seek confrontation?" "Don't inform, don't allow, don't seek
confrontation"? "Don't inform, accept bicycle cops as fellow cyclers?"
"Inform, notify as protest at law, don't ride unless escorted?"
How should Mass advertise / promote itself? Should we keep going on as is
based on custom and word of mouth? Should we more actively advertise?
Will we rely on volunteers to advertise?
* * *
Sorry your first mass sucked. I wish it had been better.
yours,
Sam.