Critical Mass
The Critical Mass cycle demo occurs on the last Friday of each month here in London, with cyclists from all over the capital gathering near the National Film Theatre (overshadowed by Waterloo Bridge) on the South Bank, setting off to annoy the hell out of aggressive motorists (BMW, taxi drivers, and XR3i gits in particular!) while campaigning for better public transport and management of London's roads in general (better provision for cyclists in the capital would be a start). Here's the pics I took of the July '98 meeting.
 


 

This is before the ride started (everyone's outside the NFT, enjoying the sunshine, intermittent as it was that day).
 


 

Here we are riding over Waterloo Bridge with police motorcycle escort (just in case any motorists decide to get naughty!). The tall building in the background is taht of the London Television Centre (formerly the home of London Weekend Television. I was to meet an employee of theirs later on during the ride).
 


 

I think we're cycling down Holborn in this pic (if you recognize the area, feel free to e-mail me). As you can see, there's plenty of cyclists ahead of me.
 


 

Here we are cycling through Horseguard's Parade (the ride got a little too scenic for some cyclists' taste. "Aren't we meant to be giving motorists grief?" was one comment I overhead). We soon found ourselves outside Buckingham Palace, causing a litle bit of chaos for the employees of the Queen with an impromptu "cycle ballet".
 


 

Here I am standing outside the Palace (taking in the gobsmacked looks from
tourists as all the cyclists whizzed about all over the place).
 


 

This is Fiona, who took the pic of me (she works at the LWT building I mentioned earlier in editing).
 


 

This pic was taken on Park Lane (I think) and as you can see, there's something of a traffic backlog beginning to build up. We still have our ever-present police escort (I wonder if either of the two answers to the name of McGarry and has the no. 452 on his motorcycling overalls?).
 


 

Here I am further along Park Lane.


 

Here's Fiona again (like the trench coat!).
 


 


 


 

 Here we are in Picadilly Circus. We've just taken this spot and as a result, traffic has ground to a halt in all directions (if you're a BMW, Range Rover, or taxi driver, "look away now", as they say on the news just before 'Match Of The Day').
 


 


 

I got these last two pics in Trafalgar Square. We were still holding up traffic, but the cops had decided that we'd had our fun and began to forcibly move us out of the way. I myself got shoved by a local plod, while a bloke with a v.large telephoto lens on his camera was snapping away like his life depended on it. I did one last circuit round the 'Square, then split from the main pack and went my way home.

    Liked what you've seen? Then check out the Central London CM Website for more details of future rides.
 
 

Go to the August '98 photos