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I had an idea similar to this, based on my experience of Critical Mass cycle rides in London: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Critical_Mass_(cycling) https://en.w

I had an idea similar to this, based on my experience of Critical Mass cycle rides in London: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Critical_Mass_(cycling) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Critical_Mass_(cycling) It was called "Cycle Pods", which would be mini-critical mass rides for commuters. You'd probably need between five and ten riders who cycle the same route each day at a roughly similar pace, so you could register with a route and see whose rides were similar to yours. The other idea was even more loose, where you'd wear something like a tabard with an identifiable "cycle pods" logo where anyone who was wearing one was effectively advertising that they were open to riding with other people. I preferred this version because it's simpler and decentralised. Anyone could make something with the logo on it, so no purchase or registration needed. I love the idea of doing it with kids, but honestly some of the reactions we got from car and van drivers with the Critical Mass rides, even when we were going at a decent pace, were incredibly dangerous, and I'd worry about that with kids unless the police were involved, as they were in this Bicibús. We had to have outriders looking out for car drivers who'd try to drive into the middle of the mass. There's something about cyclists taking over the road that really provokes some drivers.

agumonkey 5y ago
damn I thinking about this for a while and found nothing, you're the first with links toward prior history. Super interesting.
pietrovismara 5y ago
I like the second idea, but you need reliability in order to choose the bike as a transportation to, say, work. You can't afford to wait to randomly meet someone to share a ride with if you need to be somewhere at a specific time. This also doesn't provide the safety a critical mass would provide.
- frereubu 5y ago
  True, but if you see the number of people cycling to and from work in London at the same time, I think pods could form relatively naturally along the way, with people joining and leaving where necessary. The more people found out about it the easier it would be, but it's difficult to know where the threshold is that means it would start to click, and what it would take to get to that point. Hence why it's still an idea in my head!
creato 5y ago
> There's something about cyclists taking over the road that really provokes some drivers. Every critical mass ride I've ever seen blatantly ignores traffic laws, particularly running red lights. I say this as an avid cyclist and bike commuter: drivers are right to be pissed at them (but not to do something dangerous).
- opinion-is-bad 5y ago
  Being stuck at an intersection for 10 minutes as cyclists meander through does not make me want to support their cause. Seeing such a large group act in a coordinated and legal manner probably would.
  - frereubu 5y ago
    As I said above, you can't really keep a critical mass - and therefore keep safe - without ignoring some traffic laws. I'd be interested to know (genuinely, this isn't just rhetoric) how you'd conceive of something like this happening "in a coordinated and legal manner".
  - banannaise 5y ago
    They're protesting against infrastructure and laws that they see as anti-cyclist. Following the laws they're protesting against is generally an ineffective tactic, although it has also been done (with large groups of bicyclists diligently following traffic laws, which causes massive traffic holdups).
- frereubu 5y ago
  The practical reason for ignoring lights is that if you want a critical mass it has to stay together, otherwise it fragments and your start to lose the safety in numbers. If a light turns red halfway through the mass, with 100 people through and 100 people behind, the 100 people in front can't stop and wait for the 100 people behind, otherwise they'd have to sit there and block the road for people coming from the other direction. It's the lesser of two evils. Critical Mass is a bit like Reclaim The Streets - it's partly trying to make the point that cycling infrastructure in cities is generally complete rubbish, and one of the few ways people actually feel safe when cycling is to take over the whole road. People driving cars have this luxury every single day, and if they can't take a small inconvenience like waiting for a mass to pass, which often just means something like missing one set of lights, then quite frankly I'm happy to piss a few people off in the name of making a point. I know it alientates some drivers, but to be honest I very much doubt those people would be persuaded by any rational arguments anyway, and I do know that a decent number of people who watch the mass go past are inspired by it.
jeffbee 5y ago
Anything about a bicycle on the road just makes some drivers' heads explode. I always drive at or below speed limits in cities and the other day in Berkeley, California, a bicyclist was pacing me at 25 MPH on a state road and drivers behind us were going insane. Funniest thing I ever saw, to be honest. That old Goofy cartoon about drivers losing their minds as soon as they get behind the wheel is completely accurate for the great majority of American drivers. We simply should not allow cars in our cities. I fear that American and its cities are going to be left far behind as global cities rapidly realize this and we're still bulldozing neighborhoods for new freeways. Many cities abroad are already way nicer than all American cities, and they are accelerating away from us. It's sad.
chagaif 5y ago
A friend of mine tried together with me to start something similar to what you're describing but for people. We started in the city Bern in Switzerland but added the idea to a wiki hoping someday other people will copy it in other places around the world! Unfortunately it is in German but maybe auto translate is enough? Here's the wiki: http://youcantalktome.net http://youcantalktome.net And here's some pictures of stickers we printed out and handed out: http://youcantalktome.net/pmwiki.php?n=Main.Vorlagen http://youcantalktome.net/pmwiki.php?n=Main.Vorlagen

agumonkey 5y ago

damn I thinking about this for a while and found nothing, you're the first with links toward prior history. Super interesting.

pietrovismara 5y ago

I like the second idea, but you need reliability in order to choose the bike as a transportation to, say, work. You can't afford to wait to randomly meet someone to share a ride with if you need to be somewhere at a specific time. This also doesn't provide the safety a critical mass would provide.

frereubu 5y ago
True, but if you see the number of people cycling to and from work in London at the same time, I think pods could form relatively naturally along the way, with people joining and leaving where necessary. The more people found out about it the easier it would be, but it's difficult to know where the threshold is that means it would start to click, and what it would take to get to that point. Hence why it's still an idea in my head!

creato 5y ago

> There's something about cyclists taking over the road that really provokes some drivers. Every critical mass ride I've ever seen blatantly ignores traffic laws, particularly running red lights. I say this as an avid cyclist and bike commuter: drivers are right to be pissed at them (but not to do something dangerous).

opinion-is-bad 5y ago
Being stuck at an intersection for 10 minutes as cyclists meander through does not make me want to support their cause. Seeing such a large group act in a coordinated and legal manner probably would.
- frereubu 5y ago
  As I said above, you can't really keep a critical mass - and therefore keep safe - without ignoring some traffic laws. I'd be interested to know (genuinely, this isn't just rhetoric) how you'd conceive of something like this happening "in a coordinated and legal manner".
- banannaise 5y ago
  They're protesting against infrastructure and laws that they see as anti-cyclist. Following the laws they're protesting against is generally an ineffective tactic, although it has also been done (with large groups of bicyclists diligently following traffic laws, which causes massive traffic holdups).
frereubu 5y ago
The practical reason for ignoring lights is that if you want a critical mass it has to stay together, otherwise it fragments and your start to lose the safety in numbers. If a light turns red halfway through the mass, with 100 people through and 100 people behind, the 100 people in front can't stop and wait for the 100 people behind, otherwise they'd have to sit there and block the road for people coming from the other direction. It's the lesser of two evils. Critical Mass is a bit like Reclaim The Streets - it's partly trying to make the point that cycling infrastructure in cities is generally complete rubbish, and one of the few ways people actually feel safe when cycling is to take over the whole road. People driving cars have this luxury every single day, and if they can't take a small inconvenience like waiting for a mass to pass, which often just means something like missing one set of lights, then quite frankly I'm happy to piss a few people off in the name of making a point. I know it alientates some drivers, but to be honest I very much doubt those people would be persuaded by any rational arguments anyway, and I do know that a decent number of people who watch the mass go past are inspired by it.

jeffbee 5y ago

Anything about a bicycle on the road just makes some drivers' heads explode. I always drive at or below speed limits in cities and the other day in Berkeley, California, a bicyclist was pacing me at 25 MPH on a state road and drivers behind us were going insane. Funniest thing I ever saw, to be honest. That old Goofy cartoon about drivers losing their minds as soon as they get behind the wheel is completely accurate for the great majority of American drivers. We simply should not allow cars in our cities. I fear that American and its cities are going to be left far behind as global cities rapidly realize this and we're still bulldozing neighborhoods for new freeways. Many cities abroad are already way nicer than all American cities, and they are accelerating away from us. It's sad.

chagaif 5y ago

A friend of mine tried together with me to start something similar to what you're describing but for people. We started in the city Bern in Switzerland but added the idea to a wiki hoping someday other people will copy it in other places around the world! Unfortunately it is in German but maybe auto translate is enough? Here's the wiki: http://youcantalktome.net http://youcantalktome.net And here's some pictures of stickers we printed out and handed out: http://youcantalktome.net/pmwiki.php?n=Main.Vorlagen http://youcantalktome.net/pmwiki.php?n=Main.Vorlagen