Some of the cyclists of
Bengaluru decided to organise an event called 'Critical Mass' on the evening of
28th November in the city. They would like to reclaim the roads of their city
for cycles and other forms of non-motorised transport. All over the world, the
Critical Mass (CM) is done on the last Friday of the month. Even though it was a
working day, the idea was to spread the message in a live form to a large
commuter base. If it were to be on a weekend, it would simply be a weekend
leisure ride. CM helps in recognizing the importance of respect that cyclists
who commute daily deserve. The first Critical Mass event was organised on 25th
September 1992 in San Francisco, USA. Over the years, citizens of 300-odd cities
across the world have embraced the concept. It is known by different names, such
as bike-lifting, corking and mass-up in various cities. Some Critical Mass
events across the world have participants not only on cycles, but also on
skateboards and wheelchairs.For more about Critical Mass see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Critical_Mass
 i/Critical_Mass India is still not convinced about
promoting cycling as a means of urban transport but Amsterdam (Netherlands), New
York, San Francisco, Chicago and Portland (in USA), London (UK) and Paris
(France) boast of a flourishing bicycle culture. There are some Indian cities
like Pondicherry, however, where cyclists form a large part of the traffic on
the roads.
Go Green message on one
participant. Pic: Deepa Mohan. Bangalore's maiden Critical Mass started out on rather a damp note, with the rainy weather making the twilight arrive earlier than usual. When I arrived at Lalbagh West Gate, I found several bikers (as these cyclists like to call themselves) already there. Many of them are young men who commute regularly from home to work and back on their  cycles,
and do long weekend rides for recreation as well at the weekends. There were a
variety of mountain and road bikes that they came riding to the venue on; brand
names like "Trek","Merida", and "Strida" spoke of their owners' commitment to
serious cycling. I spoke to several of the young men like Go Green Rao, and the
young woman, Nupur Sista, whose email on the Bangalore Bikers' egroup had
sparked off the whole event. It helped that Delhi was also having a Critical
Mass event simultaneously. Unfortunately, the Mumbai event was put on hold due
to the terror attacks of last week. One unusual supporter and attendee at the
event was Nagendra Babu, the MLA from Mahalakshmi Layout. A keen cyclist
himself, he wants to make his constituency the first one in Bangalore to have
cycle paths, to popularise cycling among children. Several people who cycle, but
not necessarily commute to work, and several non-cyclists, too, came along to
show their solidarity with the event. Bikers setting off on the 'Critical Mass'
event, Lalbagh. Pic: Deepa Mohan The police constables posted at Lalbagh took
objection to the participants' cycles being parked on the pavement before they
cycled off. As more cyclists arrived, they shifted their starting point to the
bus stop just past the Lalbagh West Gate. At about 7 PM, thirty cyclists took
off, in single and double file, in orderly fashion, along a route that was only
just made up! The route ultimately  taken was: Lalbagh West Gate - JC Road - Hudson Circle -
Kasturba Road - Anil Kumble Circle - MG Road - Brigade Road - Residency Road -
Bangalore Central - Garuda Mall - Vellara Junction - Adugodi - Forum Mall. The
bikers dispersed, finally, at about 8.30 PM The map of the route. The cyclists
of Bangalore hope to make the Critical Mass a regular event, and hope that
cyclists of all types will join in and help them succeed in getting the message
over to the administration, that cyclists too, matter. To see a list of other
Critical Mass events, visit http://www.criticalmass.wikia.com/Deepa Mohan 02 Dec 2008 Deepa Mohan is a freelance writer who fell in love with Bangalore when first she moved from Chennai, and has been both enthused and worried over the rapidly changing city. She is also a Bangalore metroblogger. Subscribe to: Posts
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