I've been ranting about cycling in the UK before on this blog, and today I'm going to do it again. I'm afraid I became a bit of a bike fanatic since I moved here. A classic case of 'you don't know what you've got until it's gone', I guess... Cycling is so good, in so many ways and I can't stand it that I get ridiculed for riding my bike!
So last weekend the time had come to put words into action: I joined the Critical Mass bike ride here in Cardiff. Now I might need to explain the phenomenon of the Critical Mass to our Dutch readers here, since in Holland there is no such thing.
The first Critical Mass ride took place in San Francisco in 1992 with the idea of drawing attention to how unfriendly the city was to cyclists. Cyclists will be wearing signs and banners and make lots of noise by ringing their bells. The rides can take on truly massive proportions, with thousands of people taking part in the London and New York rides for example. Unfortunately things can get aggressive. Car drivers get impatient. As it's important that the group stays together roads might get blocked off and traffic lights ignored. (But I always found it's fascinating what happens once people step into their motorized cookie jar on wheels. They suddenly think they're invincible (and invisible - ever noticed how many people are picking their nose while waiting for a traffic light?!).
But in Cardiff things weren't that extreme. I thought it was good fun. It was so nice to be riding together. I felt even more like being in that Smiths video! So I gathered some more music videos featuring people cycling in herds (them being decent songs was another criterion). Enjoy the ride hehe..
The Cardiff Critical Mass takes place every first Saturday of the month. They meet at 11.00 in front of the museum on Park Place. Join their Facebook group!
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