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 each have our own bike, including our 3 daughters. They are regular, cheap, Decathlon bikes, because I’ve had too many being stolen over the years…
We also have a very old tandem — see picture — which we got as a wedding gift! We use it for short trips, but it has no gear, bad brakes and uncomfortable saddles, so it’s a treat for special occasions.
How does cycling fit into your life?
I commute from Reading to London nearly every day, so I cycle from home to the station, take the train, and then cycle in London as well, using the TfL rental bikes. Each bike ride is 15 min, so I pedal one hour every working day. It keeps me fit, and on time 🙂
I also cycle for groceries, running errands, etc. As a family, we decided to ditch our car 3 years ago, because we were not using it much. Cycling is our primary mode of transport. But I don’t use it for sport, and never wear Lycra!
Why did you get involved in Kidical Mass?
Several years ago, I had finally managed to convince the whole family to use their bike every day, to go to secondary school or to work, and was very proud of that. A few months later, they all had given up and went back to walking, after various incidents, or just because it’s not convenient to cycle. I realised that not everyone is as confident as I am on a bike, and that we need to empower casual cyclists too.
I also see that transport is changing a lot in most European cities, with the introduction of bike lanes, rental bikes, electric scooters, etc. The UK has a very strong car culture and is late on this.
Overall, Kidical Mass is about promoting transportation methods which are small, silent, non-polluting and non-deadly!
What is your role in Kidical Mass?
I take care of our website, and I am a regular marshal. I’m also the treasurer, but there is not much happening there at the moment 🙂
My husband (and Kidical Mass Reading route planner) Simon works at the European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (ECMWF) here in Reading. We are lucky to have within our friendship circle many weather-adjacent scientists. Within this group there seems to be a high level of enthusiasm for choosing bikes over cars where possible for personal travel. Can’t think why (or rather, I choose not to spend too much time dwelling on it as it’s absolutely terrifying).
Far better to channel that energy into something like Kidical Mass, which aims both to support children who are already cycling, and also to push for structural change that will make cycling a safe option for more families.
We aren’t the only Kidical Mass Reading organisers with links to ECMWF, which was handy this month, because when the forecast for our ride came back with thunderstorms we told them to run it again and get a better result. You, dear reader, may tell me that it doesn’t work like that, but I shall tell you in reply that on this occasion it did. The weather for our ride in Reading (and the one in Wokingham the next day) was glorious, despite scattered thunderstorms at other times.
We had a good turnout, including one of our local councillors – Cllr Dave McElroy of Redlands. He was on foot and accompanied by a very small person who had just learned to ride his pedal bike. We assured them that as long as the little person wanted to keep going the ride would be at a pace he could handle – but that we wouldn’t be slowing down for Cllr McElroy himself! Luckily he was willing to run.
(If anyone is reading this and wondering if you could do the same, our routes are about 3-5k and we tend to go around 7km/h. The speed does vary a bit depending on the cohort of children we have on the day. We won’t leave any families behind who don’t want to be dropped but occasionally with balance bikers we have split the group so they and their parent have a dedicated marshal with them. With some little ones I have wondered if they might have enjoyed it more from sat on a parent’s bike, as 3km is a long way to scoot. We do publish our end points so meeting us there is also an option).
About halfway the littlest rider decided he’d had enough (he’d done brilliantly for someone so new to riding). I offered that he could hitch a ride on my bike, and Balthi (of Christmas reindeer fame) scooped up a delighted Cllr McElroy and the bike the littlest rider had been using. We all rode on in style to our end point, which was the launch of the week-long climate festival in Forbury Gardens. Given how busy it was that’s hopefully a sign of how many people in Reading are enthusiastic about making positive changes for our planet.
If you do join us on future rides unfortunately we won’t be able to offer any lifts to any adults – Balthi and family are moving to Germany (and taking their Urban Arrow with them) and this was their last ride with us. Balthi’s wife Steffi has been our volunteer baker since we started, and if anyone is keen to step into the shoes please do let us know!
Our kids will really miss their kids, they’ve become firm friends through Kidical Mass, which is what it’s all about really.
Well, that and trying to avert climate disaster so our weather-scientist friends can all sleep more easily at night.
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.
With the international action weekend for Kidical Mass coinciding with the coronation weekend, it occurred to me that many of the things we stand for – a greener future, inclusivity and international cooperation – are themes which King Charles might appreciate. So I thought I would write to his office at Buckingham Palace and let them know about us.
King Charles as the Prince of Wales was no stranger to environmental activism. The press reported that as King he would step back from that a little publicly (though I noted that his first official engagement post coronation was related to a climate-relevant research laboratory in Cambridge). We have the advantage of being able to be slightly more outspoken than the monarchy. During Queen Elizabeth’s reign I saw many articles claiming that her hat/broach were a clear statement of her views. Here’s a clear statement of our views:
“Reading’s children deserve safe cycling infrastructure”
I wanted our letter to the King to look beautiful. I raided my children’s stamp collection to decorate the bottom of the letter with bikes (outlined in paint pen), and I put out a call in the Kidical Mass UK Facebook group for some additional photos from other rides. I saw many beautiful images and I’m particularly grateful to Kidical Mass Guildford and Kidical Mass Bridgwater for their pictures of, respectively, a huge number of cyclists and a very patriotic individual. I included these with the letter and a few pictures from our ride.
The younger of the Kidical Mass Interns (my three year old, who was delighted by the spectacle of the coronation) was really excited to help me post our letter to the King. I did however, have to correct a few misapprehensions. No, we weren’t personally going to visit His Majesty to hand over our letter, we would put it in the post box. No, one of the King’s guards wasn’t going to come to the post box to collect it, our friendly local postie would pick it up. The intern remained buoyant despite these set backs, as a trip to the post box is always a fun outing.
The invite extended to the King and his family at the end of our letter (full text below) is a genuine one, despite the vanishing unlikeliness of him being able to accept it. I would like to extend an equally warm invite to you, dear reader, as you too are always welcome on our rides – especially if you share our vision for a more child and climate friendly Reading.
Dear Sir/Madam
On the weekend of Their Majesties' coronation 20 "Kidical Mass" rides took place across the United Kingdom, from Inverness to Portsmouth, involving over 1500 cyclists of all ages. Our ride here in Reading was joyful and involved crowns, flags and sceptre-themed cake pops.
As the Prince of Wales, His Majesty was known for caring about our planet and seeking to safeguard it for future generations. Kidical Mass rides are organised and marshalled by volunteers. We seek to build confidence in young riders and create a community of cycling families, with the long term aim of reducing car usage.
I found one of the most beautiful themes of Their Majesties' coronation to be that of inclusion of all groups of people. The rides hope to draw attention to the need for cycling infrastructure which is inclusive of and safe for everyone, especially this country's youngest citizens.
I know the Royal Family does so much for the reputation of this country abroad. I hope it would please His Majesty to learn that so many of us used the long weekend given to us by the coronation to take part in the rides, which were part of an international action weekend. To tackle climate change, we must all work together.
Though I appreciate His Majesty's schedule will likely make this impossible, we would like to invite him and any young cyclists in his family to join us at any Kidical Mass ride here in Reading. The enthusiasm and determination of the children involved is truly inspiring, and gives me much hope for our future.
Yours faithfully,
Hilary Smart
A few months ago, the lovely Tina from Dee Caf Community Cafe reached out to Kat Heath, our intrepid leader. To start with I got most of these conversations second hand, and there was clearly a level of escalation to them.
Tina was considering getting a cargo bike for the business.
She had one, but had some questions about it.
Tina LOVED her bike and wanted to run a Kidical Mass Ride from Dee Caf. Could we help?
Well, the answer to that was a resounding yes, though there was a bit of groundwork to be done on finding a suitable route! It was a challenge to avoid busy roads and steep hills whilst still being on routes suitable for a big group of cyclists with some rather large bikes.
It was a delight to turn up to the ride and find a really good turnout from the Dee Caf community – there were 35 riders there, almost all new to the rides. The “Kidical Mass regulars” were not many more than the team who helped organise the ride. Tina led the ride on her big business bike, and clearly personally knew most of the families there.
Tina had also invited Mayor Rachel Eden and the Mayor’s Escort (Councillor Richard Davies), and they not only came but also rode with us. I did have a moment of confusion just after the ride had started when someone radioed through that there was a delay because the Mayor had lost her chain.
“How did she manage that?” I asked, thinking it had looked pretty secure round her neck – and was told that it was not the ceremonial chain but her bike chain. She got it back on herself (a feat I’m impressed by, my strategy for bike mechanical failures is to make my other half fix them).
Cllr Davies regularly uses his bike to get around town. I was able to have a pretty detailed conversation after the ride about the issues I see around cycling access from Caversham to the new secondary school being built by Rivermeads. I think he really understood my concerns – it does make a difference when our elected representatives are themselves users of cycling infrastructure.
🧁🧁🧃🧃
After the ride Dee Caf kindly offered free cake and juice to everyone, and the kids set to work with chalk brightening up the pavement with artwork and several hopscotches. It was really special to feel that the ride was built around an already existing community, and to have the hub for that community as the start and end of the ride.
The children seemed to enjoy the ride – several of the families asked when the next one would be. Dee Caf is on the other side of Reading to most of our usual volunteers. We will need some locals to help marshal if we are going to run rides there regularly. Do let Dee Caf know if you’re keen to help – no prior experience required.
Finally, it took me most of the way through this article to realise that Dee Caf is in fact a play on the term decaf. I hope you were a bit quicker on the uptake than me!
On the bank holiday weekend of 6th-8th May there were two very important national celebrations. As I’m sure all of our readers are aware, it was an International Kidical Mass action weekend. Here in the UK over 1500 riders took part in 20 rides, 55 of them here with us in Reading. The more alert among you will also have noticed that King Charles III and Queen Camilla were crowned that weekend.
It was a cause for celebration all round! Several of our riders wore crowns (despite the difficulty of combining these with bike helmets) and our recumbent tricyclist decked out his bike in flags that he had previously used when riding to Henley to celebrate a royal wedding with friends. Steffi, our lovely star baker, and her two young assistants went above and beyond on the cake front, with crown shaped biscuits, red white and blue meringues and sceptre themed cake pops.
Both of Steffi’s daughters cycled the ride completely confidently – I remember on the first Kidical Mass ride her youngest did a small part of the route on a balance bike and most of it in their box bike (the rides are a bit too long to just scoot). My three year old son now rides on the tandem with my husband, and he used to sit in a bike seat. One of the real joys of being involved in Kidical Mass has been seeing the kids’ skills and confidence develop, and having new young people join us.
Of course, developing confidence in young riders and community between families are two of the main points of Kidical Mass rides. The third is to try and campaign for improved cycling infrastructure, and for that we need the rides to be visible. The route we used was the same as the one we took last time through the town centre, and many people noticed us. As the back marker (the person at the back of the ride who makes sure no one gets left behind, and tells the leader if they need to slow down) I had several conversations about what we were doing and why. I hope some of you can join us for future rides. Do bring your friends!
Speaking of friends, one local family had invited some friends visiting from Cambridge. After the ride we had a chat about what drives differences in cycling rates between the two cities. Of course cycling infrastructure in Cambridge is well ahead of Reading, and the topography probably helps too (though with an e-bike all hills are possible, even for an unfit middle aged woman hauling two kids. Don’t ask me how I know).
The Cambridge residents mentioned that they thought driver attitudes in Cambridge are probably more cycling friendly too. Cycling is so common there that drivers are used to dealing with us and are often cyclists themselves. There’s a real virtuous circle, the more we can normalise cycling the easier it becomes for new people to join us.
Part of campaigning for better infrastructure means engaging with our councillors, who make the decisions about what to prioritise in Reading. There were local elections on 4th May and we reached out to all those Reading councillors who had been elected/re-elected to invite them to see our ride. Of course they will all have been very busy with their election campaigns and perhaps looking forward to a quiet weekend, but we were delighted that Anne Thompson of the Liberal Democrats came to see us off.
Anne said
It was lovely to see so many children (and adults) heading out on their bikes today. It was a timely reminder to me as a councillor that we need to keep pushing for joined-up cycle routes in Reading. The current provision is nowhere near enough. Safe cycle paths have to be a priority for our town.
We couldn’t agree more.
If you also agree and you would like to come and join us for our next ride, we will be meeting at the same place (the bike racks by Thames Lido) at 12pm on 10th June, to ride to the climate festival in Forbury Gardens. We hope to see you there!
A very nice ride today, with 55 people enjoying a bit of sunshine on this rainy, coronation weekend. Here are some picture with a lot of bikes, and just as many smiles!
