My August Rides (week 31)

So I feel I cannot support the ‘Flashrides’

I had intended to write about safe cycling again this week. Events dictate that my keyboard is rattled about other matters.

By sheer misfortune I actually cycled headlong into the middle of the Peckham riot in South London on Monday afternoon. I had not been following the news before I departed on my homeward commute, I did not realise that the events of the weekend were far from over.

Ladbrokes & Burger King the day after

As I reached the end of the Surrey canal tow-path at the top of Rye Lane I became aware of a lot more people milling around than usual. As I drew closer (and past the point of no return) I realised that many in this crowd were wearing hoods etc. I had no choice but to just keep going. I cycled through and found myself on a battlefield littered with bricks, stones and broken glass, and confronted by lines of police in riot gear with batons drawn.

Fortunately this was some sort lull in the fighting and the police realising I was a commuter not a rioter allowed me through their lines to continue my journey. I have to count myself most fortunate this could have been very ugly indeed.


The Peckham Peace Window - Messages of Hope

The death of Mark Duggan was a tragedy; all deaths are. But his family and their friends who went to Tottenham Police Station to protest did not go there on Saturday afternoon intent on revolt. So how did it all go so wrong?

The scenes we have witnessed in the media defy belief. Looking back at previous riots and disturbances in London there always seems to have been a clearly identifiable catalyst; some event or incident which lies at the root. The death of Duggan does not seem to me to be such a spark of ignition.

Last December thousands of students joined a ‘protest march’ on the streets of London against the increases in tuition fees. It is generally accepted that the majority of those on this march had joined with entirely legitimate intentions. Yet this peaceful event had soon deteriorated into scenes of terrible violence outside Millbank Tower and elsewhere in the capital.

Cycling activists are concerned, on our behalf, about the proposals for traffic management on Blackfriars Bridge. When it is reopened following the major redevelopment of the Blackfriars Railway Station it is intended to reinstate the 30 mph (currently a temporary 20) speed limit and reduce the number of cycle lanes.

On the last Friday of each month cyclists meet on the Southbank underneath Waterloo Bridge to embark on an event called Critical Mass. I have never joined the ‘Critical Mass’ but I have seen it many times and I have actually been caught in it as a motorist once. It is clear many cyclists in the ‘Mass’ are ordinary folk who have an hour to kill on a Friday night; but some, a sizeable minority, are of the hoody genre, obviously looking for an opportunity to degrade the event into something more sinister. Fortunately, because of their generally chaotic lifestyle, other anarchistic types have so far failed to populate the event with sufficient numbers to completely hi-jack it.

On Friday 29th July a ‘flashride’ was organised to protest against the Blackfriars Bridge proposals. Hundreds of protesting cyclists rode to-and-fro across the bridge for an hour to disrupt other traffic. Few could disagree with their aims. The flashriders’ numbers were bolstered by the critical massers. I am sure that the organisers consider the event was successful. Indeed I think I agree it was.

At the moment cyclists are generally considered a bunch of harmless nutters who dwell together in clouds and dreams. Beards, sandals and bad breath is our hall-mark. I have to agree that this not very flattering. But at least it is non-confrontational.

My fear is that our ‘organisation’, if it can be called that, will be infiltrated by the above mentioned anarchistic types. The outcomes then seem obvious. I believe it was infiltration such as this that fomented the violence at the protest last Saturday evening and all that flowed thereafter.

So I feel I cannot support the ‘Flashrides’ – but I do wish them success.

Finally my stats:

Rides this week: 5
Rides per week: 3.2
Public transport days: 0
Oyster costs: £0.00
Annual Oyster costs: £580*
Commuting miles this week: 121.93
Commuting miles this year: 2435
Annual commuting miles: 3782

*Includes some non-commuting journeys

As you can see this has been another solid week for cycling.

TyT