Cycling in Warsaw
I joined my first Critical Mass ride in April. Here’s somebody’s video filming the whole thing.
Critical Mass is a social movement, enabled by volunteers, which aims to highlight the demand for cycling in urban and rural areas.
In Warsaw, it was ran in co-operation with the local police, who installed rolling roadblocks.
I felt an overwhelming sense of joy at being able to ride through some of Warsaw’s busiest roads in total safety, seeing plenty of sights.
Particular highlights were going through tunnels: people whooping and cheering just to hear their echoes in the cavern struck me as touchingly human; how we all rejoiced in the act of making noise.
It was a ride for all ages and bicycles: kids on trikes, people on handcycles and recumbents, plenty of cargo bikes too.
I took part using the city cycle hire scheme, which offers free rides for 20 minutes, thereafter very cheap for subsequent hours of hire.
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On this blog I repeatedly rail against the perils of car-centric design. Try cycling for yourself. Join a Critical Mass ride at the next opportunity.