A lot of women stop cycling when the days get shorter, because they don’t feel safe. To raise awareness for infrastructure that are well lit, we had a very joyful “Light up the Night” ride on Friday evening. Nearly 40 of us, all decorated with colourful lights, rode in town, from the Lido to the Fisherman’s Cottage.
At one point, an ambulance came past the group, after it got stuck behind cars. We were able to quickly and safely go into single file, ensuring it could reach whoever needed help as quickly as possible. And that’s yet another way cycling saves life!
Has your child outgrown their old bike or never had one? Would you struggle to be able to buy a new bike? Would you regularly use a child’s bike to cycle as a family?
Then our workshop is for you! Kidical Mass are excited to be partnering with Avanti Cycling and Stumbles Cycles to offer 6 children, and their carers, the chance to learn how to build a bike!
On Saturday 25 November, from 1:30, we’ll be running a 3-hour workshop at the Weller Centre in Caversham, where children will learn how to put a new bike together. They will also learn basic skills, like: repairing punctures, tightening breaks and adjusting their saddle height. Participants will learn how to check bikes and the basic bike fixes, as well as being involved in building their very own bicycle.
We’ve got places for two 8-9 year-old and three 10-11 year-old, who do not have bikes and will use them. The cost of the session will be £30. If you fit in with the criteria yet cannot afford this, then please contact us.
When you’ve grown out of your bike, or if you don’t end up using it as much as you thought, then get in contact with us and we’ll help unite it with another child who will use it.
We’d love it if the bikes could go to families that might not otherwise be able to afford a bike, so if you know someone who would fit this, then please share with them.
Avanti will also offer a free post-workshop training session to families who come, so they can learn to cycle together safely as a family. Of course they’ll also be invited to Kidical Mass rides, to meet other families that cycle. We really want to be able to help as many children cycle as possible, so please do tell us what else we could do to make that a reality.
If you’re interested in being involved, email admin@kidicalmassreading.co.uk and we can send you the booking form and details. Please let us know if you can’t make it any more, so we can make sure another child can get a bike.
We were 25 brave riders gathering today at Cantley Park in Wokingham. It was a different route than our usual one. And we got just a little bit wet 🌧️
The next one is in Reading on Sun 26th November from the Lido, and the following one in Wokingham will be on Sat 16th December. And they may have a theme 🎅
Kidical Mass was back in Wokingham today, for what must be the sunniest and warmest mid-October ride on record. We welcomed lots of new riders for the first time and had a gorgeous ride around our town, enjoying the sun and the company.
Special mention to our Kidical Mass veteran, soon to have his fourth birthday, who celebrated by riding the whole route on his own for the first time.
Scrumptious home baked cakes at the end worthy of a Hollywood Handshake, though ice lollies might have also gone down well.
We are back again in just 3 weeks, this time meeting at Cantley Park for a different route. We can’t promise the same weather, but will look forward to seeing you all and more.
Today was a very joyful (and dry!) ride from Palmer Park to Forbury Gardens in Reading. It was also a Kidical Mass Action Day globally, with 500 similar rides organised all over the world. Did you miss it? Don’t worry there’s always the next one!
We’ve always been lucky with the weather. But today we were very lucky! There was a thunderstorm alert for the whole day, and indeed, we had a nice show of lightning and thunder in the morning, with pouring rain. And we had showers after the ride. But during the ride itself, the sun was shining nicely. Would the planet try to encourage us, there? 🌍
We were about 40 cyclists today, with quite a few new faces. Especially a 4 year old, with pink crocs, pink helmet and a lot of determination! She had just learnt to cycle, and was training for an upcoming commute to school in September. With her tiny wheels, tiny legs and being still a bit wobbly, she had to work harder than everyone else, but she pedalled on, and was very happy to cross the finish line! 🏆
We also had (I think) our very first flat tyre incident… But a providential pump appeared, some air was pumped, and we were able to continue our ride. Everyone safely reached the cakes — thank you Natalie for these! 🧁
After the ride, we had a few requests for a longer route. We will have a think about it. This would require more marshals. But we are happy that people want more, and we will record that as a success! 🎉
The Kidical Mass rides are taking a break for the holidays. We will see you for our next ones: Sun 10/09 in Reading, and Sat 07/10 in Wokingham. However… we have a lot of ideas for new articles, so come back here soon for more. And have a good cycling summer! 🚲
We currently have four bikes: each of our two daughters has their own Isla Bike, which we are big fans of. They’re light and agile and incredibly sturdy. We bought them second-hand, and apart from a few scratches on the frame they are flawless.
For us adults, we own a regular touring bike that I bought about 8 years ago. Components are optimized for low maintenance, to serve for daily commute and transportation needs, even when you don’t have the time to keep it in tip-top shape.
And lastly our trusty Urban Arrow Family cargo bike, to ferry the kids or shopping (or both). It has electric assistance, which is really great for a hilly place like Reading. My wife and I have a similar leg length and we can share the bikes without needing much adjustment. We own also various child seats and a trailer, which have been used less and less since we bought the cargo bike.
How does cycling fit into your life?
Cycling has been the main means of transport my entire life. Growing up in Germany I cycled to school by myself and used it to go to friends, if necessary paired with a local commuter train that gave me an amazing range, long before I reached any legal driving age. As a student, I lived in a mid-sized German city where cycling was cheaper, faster and more convenient than public transport or driving. Only later we got a car and used it mainly for longer distance travel, especially since having kids.
Now, we do most of our daily trips by bike, so a typical day might look like this: I do the morning school run (with the cargo bike) and cycle on to the office. My wife works from home and uses the other bike in the afternoon to meet me at my workplace (conveniently on the way) to swap bikes and pick up the kids and continue to play dates, a play park or simply back home.
Occasionally there is even a friend coming along, riding with three kids in the cargo box, which is something we couldn’t even do by car without planning child seat logistics ahead.
With this, and many other family outings and trips in between, we ramped up more than 5000 miles on the cargo bike in the three years since we bought it.
Why did you get involved in Kidical Mass?
We moved to Reading four years ago, expecting to be able to continue our cycling habits as before. Suffice to say that I was slightly disappointed – virtually no dedicated cycling infrastructure beyond a few disconnected bits and pieces, which meant I had to use the road where I encountered surprisingly many aggressive and hostile drivers. In short, it didn’t feel safe. It was entirely unimaginable to let my kids cycle in this environment the way I did growing up.
A few months later, the first COVID lockdown happened and traffic nearly disappeared. We bought the cargo bike and went cycling frequently, exploring the landscape on beautiful country roads. None of that is possible in the same way any more but it showed what it could be like. So, when Simon told us about the initiative to set up Kidical Mass, we were immediately on board and have been since the first Reading ride (sadly missed a few in-between, though). Back then, our little one was still on a balance bike but managed to ride about half the length on her own, before enjoying the rest comfortably in the cargo bike, watching her older sister pedal along with the group.
What is your role in Kidical Mass?
I’m filling in when needed and able, so you may have seen me as a regular participant with our kids, as a marshal, test riding a route to see if it works for a long bike as ours, or carrying loudspeakers and cake, to spread joy during and after the ride.
Thanks to our cargo bike, I also frequently end up as a people carrier, be it for a dad whose bike didn’t fit in the car but only his daughter’s (and cycling to the start point from home wasn’t safe!), or for a city councillor and even Santa!
We were 45 cyclists of all ages this morning in Wokingham, under a beautiful sunshine, as part of the Wokingham Bikethon. Everyone enjoyed the ride, as the video and photos can attest.
A hot and sunny weather for our ride today, but the breeze kept the 30 of us in shape, and we all arrived safely at the Reading Climate Festival in Forbury Gardens.
