One of our two current UEL undergraduate research internship projects is looking at Cycling Activism and Advocacy in London. Maria and I will be attending the LCC Big Ride tomorrow, and asking participants to fill in our short online survey (questions include why they’re on the ride and their experience of cycling in London). It should be an interesting day.
The Big Ride Survey is available online here.
Our paper on ‘group rides’ (Constructing Mobile Places Between ‘Leisure’ and ‘Transport’: A Case Study of Two Group Cycle Rides) is now available online from Sociology for those with journal access. If you haven’t got access, feel free to email me for a personal copy, or you can read an earlier version on the papers page.
Here’s the abstract:
This article contributes to a growing literature examining the sociological significance of mobile places, exploring mobile place-making through an analysis of the practice of weekend group leisure cycling. These rides represent a mobility practice where the main aim of participants may be ‘leisure’ but most infrastructure used is designated for ‘transport’. Using ethnographic methods, the article provides an analysis of rhythm, positioning and communication on two group rides, one from Hull into the East Yorkshire countryside and one in London. External (including motor traffic flow and route type) and internal (including group composition and experience) factors shape the relationship between the riders and their ride, and hence the mobile places that they co-create. The article argues that cyclists riding in groups create distinctively flexible social spaces. These group cycling practices variously challenge, mimic and adapt to the motorized orientation of much road space.
I visited the 2010 Skyride yesterday; “visited” because we weren’t just participating, we were also passing through to get somewhere else (Tate Britain). It was interesting to see the Skyride from this perspective, because it’s set up as a self-contained event rather than as a transport corridor.
We got to the entrance point at Tower Hill by cycling along Cable Street, recently rebranded as a Cycle Superhighway.
When we got to the end of Royal Mint Street, there was a sign to Skyride, but without a clear indication of how to cross Mansell Street, which was backed up with motor traffic. On getting across, we joined the ride. It was a fun and rather surreal experience. While most people on the ride did not look particularly sporty (apart from the branded yellow bibs which around half seemed to be wearing), the set-up was as if for a sporting event, with barriers, support staff, and marshals with megaphones shouting a range of encouragements from “looking good, ladies”, and “keep going there” to “cycling is really good exercise”. Overheard conversation: Dad to child “This is the easy bit”, child (withering) “It’s ALL easy, Dad!”
Tunnels on Lower Thames Street. I’ve cycled along here on normal days and the motor traffic can be quite intimidating. A very different feel with only cyclists and skateboarders.
Near the “entertainment zone” there were a lot of barriers and signs showing people which way to go for family areas, refreshments, stalls, etc. This felt very much like being at a big organised event, whereas some of the other sections of route felt more relaxed and informal.
The nature of the route meant it wasn’t immediately obvious how to leave. There were barriers and a one-way system in operation, and while one can squeeze round barriers as a pedestrian it’s a bit harder with a bike. In the end we cycled the wrong way back down Whitehall, got off, crossed the cycle traffic, and got onto St Margaret Street. When on “normal” roads again we quickly found the motor traffic, backed up two lanes wide. Overtaking on the outside, we wiggled through Millbank and squeezed through over the roundabout by Lambeth Bridge… back to normal service.
I attended August Critical Mass, which was the first time I had been on a Critical Mass ride for a while. It was smaller than I expected, but lively. People gathered on the South Bank chatting and (in some cases) putting on zebra costumes; the ride left around 7:20pm and headed over Westminster Bridge to Parliament Square.
After circling Parliament Square the ride went up through Bloomsbury before heading down Oxford Street and around Hyde Park Corner to Buckingham Palace.
There were several short stops to rest and wave bikes in the air.
I generally find Critical Mass an enjoyable experience; one which can feel quite different depending on the group and what else is going on (for example, during the large anti-war protests, the ride took on an anti-war character which was however not supported by all riders). It’s rare to have the opportunity to feel so safe on the roads, and to be able to ride the city streets sociably, using the full space available rather than lanes or gaps. There is a carnival element – today, the group at the front of the ride broke into choruses of “YMCA”, with those who could ride without hands doing the actions! This was popular with pedestrians. Whooping and cheering also made the ride feel like a mobile party.
At the same time, there’s always an undertone of conflict, as there was last night. Pedestrians are usually curious and intrigued, and overt hostility generally comes from drivers rather than from those waiting for buses. Usually motor traffic is not held up for long, and drivers in Central London must be used to frequent delays for a range of reasons. However, the existence of Critical Mass acts as a reproach to the usual hegemony of the motor vehicle. It is an “improper” use of the streets as public space. Usually streets are of necessity heavily regulated to cope with – and generally to prioritise – large volumes of motor traffic; a recent addition to this being the traffic lights at Holborn which now count down to discourage pedestrians from crossing part way through the green phase.
It will be interesting to compare last night’s Critical Mass with the “official” annual traffic-free Skyride, which takes place on Sunday 5th September.
This is a typical image from London’s Critical Mass. Hundred of cyclists gathered in an iconic London location. We are paused on Parliament Square. Cyclists are lifting their bikes in the air. Music is playing, people are cheering and bells ringing. Someone lifts one of the new Cycle Hire bikes in the air, which cannot be easy. But it is worth it as it is greeted with even more cheers, whistles and laughter.
