Critical Mass

dublin | rights, freedoms and repression | news report Thursday October 01, 2009 14:07 by Conor. M dublin-critical-mass at googlegroups dot com

'we are traffic'

The first critical mass in Dublin for years was a great success, but more importantly, it was great craic. In the doom and gloom of it all it was nice to take to the streets for a different reason.

Meeting up

The cm left the meeting point at around 6.45, Friday 25th Sep.

There were between 45-50 people. We rode around the city (as you do) as pedestrians looked on ammused. It was the most fun you can have on two wheels. But there is another aspect to having a cm.

We stopped for a moment at the spot the 51 year-old man was killed by a truck. The fact the man was killed was not because he was not wearing a helmet or a hi-vis, it was because the roads in the city centre are simply unsafe for cyclists.

As the new bike sceme got off to a succesful start, one wonders how people who have never cycled the roads in Dublin could manage to navagate through the 'bike-unfriendly' city. One way to assert your rights on the road and to cycle them safely is to cycle them, together!

We made our presence felt, and the mass certainly did not go unnoticed as we took the roads back for the short time we were there. But, it is not all serious. The people who took part had a great time. It was fun and nice to see the roads heavy with bike traffic. At the end of the mass we went to a park to relax and have a chat. The atmosphere was positive and friendly, and some passed around treats and tea!

The next mass should be bigger and better. The only was this can happen is if YOU get involved!

Watch this space...

CM Dublin