The weather in July has been an absolute scorcher, with almost two weeks of consecutive bright sunshine. I say almost, because for the weekend of Kidical Mass (and our school fair) the forecast predicted an absolute downpour. Yes, we did have a word with our resident weather forecasters, and yet they insisted it wasn’t their fault.
However, perhaps they did manage to quietly flip a few switches, because on the day itself the rain mostly held off. The forty plus riders who gathered to enjoy each other’s company and the ride (oh, and to show the demand for better cycling infrastructure) mostly stayed dryish. Hurrah!
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We took the circular route from the Lido that goes up to the Kennet and back through town. It’s a great option that didn’t exist a few years ago – the developments by Blake’s wharf and the station have included off-road options for cycling which is much appreciated.
There is, however, one pinch point at the top of Chestnut Walk where a boom barrier blocks the road. We’re practiced with this now and use my cargo bike to bring ramps to take everyone around it. Kat (our fearless leader) led everyone in a chant of “What do we want?” “Drop kerbs!” “When do we want it?” “Now!” Never let it be said that we aren’t rock and roll.
We have raised the issue of that particular pinch point with the council before and will do so again. It’s not just cyclists that would benefit from that lovely route being made more accessible, it would make a difference to anyone with wheels – families with pushchairs, wheelchair users and roller skaters alike.
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On arriving back at the Lido lots of vegan chocolate chip cookies were pulled out. Since we lost our original baker (she moved to Germany and thought it a bit far to come back for rides) Kat has been stepping womanfully into the breach, however, she’s always been clear that baking is not her forte. After she shared the rather dark brown colour of her cookies Samuel (our lovely treasurer and website manager) also had a go at some – in theory using the same recipe but they did turn out rather more golden coloured. However, my youngest boy, Mr 5, did try both cookies (perhaps he fancies himself a bake off judge?) and declared Kat’s offering the best. I suspect this might be because it was given to him by Kat’s young boy, who he met through Kidical Mass and is now a firm friend.
Kat (who occasionally moonlights as a cycling instructor, which she is rather better at than baking) then led the kids who hung around after the ride in some games on bikes, which gave their adults a chance to chat. I admit I wasn’t paying that much attention to the games (being more interested in the chat) but there were cones for riding a slalom and it looked at one point like they were playing something resembling duck duck goose which she informs me is to help children learn emergency braking.
Kidical Mass Reading takes a hiatus now for the Summer, but we’ll be back for Reading Cycle Festival on Sunday 13th September and Kidical Mass Wokingham are running a ride in Earley on Saturday 2nd August. If you’re in favour of kids being able to get safely out on bikes then please do join us! And if you’re able to join our team of marshals for some of the rides then please get in touch – without their support we could not run these rides, and we’re grateful for all of them.