Kidical Mass Reading celebrated Halloween with a themed ride on Sunday 20th October (it was a little early because we have realised that running rides in the school holidays and expecting people turn up is a Fools Errand). We invited attendees to come in costume if they wished (not was also fine of course, and our favourite characters are always families who ride bikes).
Our own boys have recently discovered Quidditch and wanted to dress accordingly. My husband (and Kidical Mass ride leader) Simon enjoyed hunting for a branch and some sticks with Mr 5 (the artist previously known as Mr 4, he recently had a birthday) to make a “Nimbus 2000” and we had great fun (if slight time stress) working out on the morning of the ride how to attach it to the back of the tandem so it looked like Mr 5 was riding it. Simon sportingly agreed to wear a golden snitch picture on his back so our young Seeker could be following it, and Mr 8 (who also recently had a birthday) had a hoop on a stick on the back of his bike to form a Quidditch goal so he could be Wood, the Gryfinndor keeper.
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I recycled an idea from the very first Kidical Mass ride in Reading and went as Room on the Broom (this time with soft toys instead of children as passengers), because I still think that’s the most appropriate costume for a long tail cargo bike.
Despite our persistent badgering of the marshals who work in weather forecasting (there are six of them, which you’d think would be enough) the rain was only due to clear up in time for the actual Kidical Mass ride, and not for the marshals recce beforehand. Nonetheless, the marshals managed to accomplish their most important job on the recce, which was to place the ramps that would mean we could take the ride around the barrier blocking the end of Chestnut Walk (we continue our campaigning work to get a permanent workaround put in here, as it’s otherwise such a lovely car-free route into town).
With the rain we were worried turnout would be very low, so we were delighted that 34 people came along. Probably the most gratifying were the granddaughter-grandfather team who showed up. He informed us that he had been told they were going to come along that afternoon as she had enjoyed the last ride from the cycle festival so much. We were delighted to have them both!
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We also had a family with a child on a scooter – her bike currently needs some work. They initially planned to only join the first bit of the ride around Kings Meadow, but actually having done that they kept with us for the whole ride. There was some great scooting going on there! I think the biggest difficultly for the scooter was on Kings Meadow itself, with the tree roots breaking up the path. It’s tricky for bikes, but worse for scooters. And to anyone whose bike needs light maintenance we recommend the free Dr Bike sessions funded by the council.
I enjoyed the ride around Blake’s Wharf – the grey day meant that for the first time I noticed that the fountains are lit from underneath. It really is a lovely spot. Coming through town we cut down to Garrard Street from Friar Street rather than navigate the big junction at the top (literally) of Greyfriars road, which was a lot less stressful! The taxi drivers queuing on Garrard Street were very smiley and waved at the children, which boosted everyone’s mood.
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Then back through the tunnel under the station (hooray!) and we arrived at Thames Lido, where our friendly marshalling team handed out sweets to our young trick-or-treating riders. Huge thanks, as always, to the marshals who turn up to make sure the rides are safe and fun for all riders.
By this point the rain had cleared so we hung around for a while whilst the kids played. We chatted about the ride, parenting, and where in Reading we’d love to see additional drop curbs installed (we’re a niche interest group, I know). After that, Kat (official spokesperson), Samuel (treasurer and webmaster) and Jeroen (bike statistics mastermind) headed off to work on a presentation to Green Party members, on what getting around a city CAN look like if there are the will and resources to make bold changes.
If you’d like to be part of demonstrating that there is a desire for change in Reading (oh, and also if you’d like to ride with Father Christmas) then do come and join us for our Christmas rides. We’ll be meeting:
- in Reading: by Thames Lido at 2pm on Sunday 1st December
- in Wokingham: at Elms Fields Playground at 2pm on Sunday 15th December
