Kidical Mass Reading

If you were paying attention last week you may have seen that Kidical Mass and friends made the local news (radio and TV) with our “Light up the Night Ride” where over 30 cyclists rode through town together after dark. We were all lit up like Christmas trees (figuratively in some cases and literally in others – my bike and several others were sporting sets of fairy lights).

 The point of our ride was threefold:

1. To highlight the benefit of being well lit.
2. To highlight the need for cycling infrastructure which is well lit (it’s a double whammy for female cyclists if cycle paths feel dark and deserted in Winter)
3. To have fun!

(I feel I would be remiss, having mentioned that well lit bikes are safer than poorly lit ones, to not also mention that black cars statistically get into more accidents than bright ones. Do with that information what you will, drivers of Reading – I’d personally love to see more yellow coloured cars on the roads, they’re very cheering.)

To further ensure that aim 3 was achieved, the end point for the ride was the Fisherman’s Cottage, a lovely pub on the Kennet which has lots of railings outside to secure bikes to, and happened to have live music that evening. The ride itself was great fun. We took in some important local landmarks, including the Oracle riverside (where we rode slowly and in single file at walking pace around pedestrians who gave us lots of waves and smiles – thank you!) and of course the completed parts of the new bike lane on Shinfield Road – it was lovely to be in our own space.

A complaint that’s often heard about cyclists (when we are forced to share space with motorists) is that we are slow and therefore get in the way of emergency vehicles. At one point on the ride we heard a siren and saw blue lights behind us. We had managed to get all 30+ of us to the side of the road and out of the way before the cars behind us had also managed to get out of the way to let the ambulance past them. There are certain advantages to being very narrow on the road. The ambulance breezed straight past us with a wave to the ride leader.

The ride was co-organised and promoted by Reading Cycle Campaign and Avanti Cycling. As it was a ride for adults, the route used busier and faster roads than we would on a Kidical Mass ride, and I was grateful to the very experienced riders from those groups who helped us to hold the lane where it wasn’t safe for motorists to pass the group (some, of course, did try). Still, most motorists were calm and friendly and waved as the group passed them. I think we were quite a festive sight! As Kat mentioned in her radio interview, most cyclists are nice people and most motorists are nice people and by and large we all want each other to be able to get where we are going in a safe and timely fashion.

At the pub, we set the world to rights by chatting all things bikes – the different groups were swapping stories of plans they have coming up (our build-a-bike workshop idea was met with much enthusiasm). As I expected, our kids were the only kids on the ride (they went on the triplet at the front with my husband and I was at the back yelling at him over our helmet headsets if they started going too fast for the group), but they had a grand old time chatting bikes and being included in all the conversations. Littlest even asked to stay and doze in my lap rather than going home at bedtime with his grandfather as had been the original plan. Ah, the joys of a Friday evening with no school the next day!

Many thanks to everyone who joined us – I hope we see you again next year!

On Sunday 26th November Santa Claus is coming to town (Reading, to be precise) on a bike. Last Christmas, Rudolph the Red Nosed R(e)i(n)d(e)er gave Santa a sleigh ride in his bike. This year Santa and Rudolph will lead the Kidical Mass Reading ride on a tandem. The people of Reading are hereby invited to join them for a fun, free and family friendly bike ride.

Come as reindeer, elves, or just as you are, as our marshals help us ride safely through the town. Remember to wrap up warm, especially your hands, feet and ears, so that you don’t end up feeling as cold as Frosty the Snowman. Bring your best jingle bells, and we’ll bring the tunes, and we’ll be riding and rocking around the Christmas tree in the town centre together.

Santa will bring a small present for every child, and after the ride, though we can’t provide mistletoe and wine for the adults (you’ll have to find that when you’re safely home if you’re so inclined), the Lido have very kindly offered to provide free hot chocolate for the children. One of Santa’s elves will join us to offer minor bike repairs and to show the children how to check their brakes and gears.

We will meet on bikes on Sunday 26th November at Thames Lido at 2pm. Children must be accompanied by a responsible adult. We will ride a 5km circular route at the pace of the slowest rider, suitable for anyone on two (or three) wheels, from small children to grandparents. Hopefully after the exercise and the excitement we will all have a silent night!

Kidical Mass Reading exists to help children have fun on bikes, and to highlight the need for cycling infrastructure that works for children. All I want for Christmas is you all being able to ride safely through our town every day, not just when our marshals are present to protect you.

If you miss Santa at the Reading ride he will be visiting Wokingham on Saturday 16th December, meeting at Elms Field at 2pm.

For details of further rides, or for updates in extreme weather (e.g. an early white Christmas), find us here at kidicalmassreading.co.uk or on Facebook under Family Cycling Reading.

We wish you a merry Christmas!

CHALLENGE

In this article there are 12 (sometimes not very well) hidden Christmas song titles. Can you find them all?

Last weekend saw us back on the route of our first ever Kidical Mass, Palmer Park to Forbury Gardens. We’ve been focusing more on circular routes recently, and I hadn’t realised how long we’d been away. When I asked the younger Kidical Mass intern (Mr 3) if he remembered starting rides there, he said no. I suppose just under a year is a long time when you’re three years old!

Speaking of growing, the Kidical Mass movement in the UK is certainly doing just that. Across this September over 30 Kidical Mass rides and bike buses have been recorded, with more than 3,000 participants – at least double the numbers from April. Here in Reading over 40 people came to our ride (which was only two weeks after the last ride), including Cllr Rob White from Reading and Cllr Al Neal from Wokingham. It’s heartening to think that there are so many people out there who share our aims – safe streets and children who are confident to ride on them, in families who are supported by a cycling community.

For our family, this was a very special ride, as it was the first time our three year old has been able to ride his own bike. We took the recommended approach to teaching him to ride – put him on a balance bike first to learn to steer, then when he was ready we added in pedals. This is the opposite to how I learned (pedals first, with stabilizers, that came off later, so I learned to steer properly quite late in the process). I can see why the balance bike route is recommended!

To be honest, Mr 3 has been ready to ride at least part of the route with Kidical Mass for a month or two now, but with Simon and I involved in organising the rides we have needed him on our bikes so we can keep track of him. This time we had a much-beloved grandfather with us who agreed to man mark him. Mr 3 made it all the way along the Kennet before he asked me to pick him up. At the end of it he was very pleased with himself – and so were we!

The weather this time round was great, and it was lovely watching the children play together in Forbury gardens after the ride. The adults, however, had a bit more of a serious conversation. The Kidical Mass Organisers WhatsApp group has had much to say recently on the subject of the new school (River Academy) being built by Rivermeads, and the routes that children will take to it, especially from Caversham. Between the river and the road and the big roundabout there’s a lot of hazards, and we’d like to see these mitigated. If you agree, please do sign our petition.

In that post ride conversation, Nick (our marshal who brings a cowbell to the rides) showed us all how to use a throw rope – one of the things that would help is if the council installed these along the river. He also talked about the danger of cold shock, and how if you fall into water the best thing to do is to float “like a starfish” for a minute or so until your body adjusts. So now we all know that safety advice, and so do you, Dear Reader.

Assuming, however, that we all manage to stay safely out of the river, our family is looking forward to attending the next Kidical Mass ride – all four of us on our own bikes again as the Wokingham team are organising this one. Sat 7th Oct, 2pm, Elms Field. See you there!