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A New Age of the Bike

Jon Day

On the night of the Olympic opening ceremony several hundred cyclists were kettled by police when they ventured too close to the stadium. They were taking part in Critical Mass, a leaderless, spontaneous bicycle ride celebrating cyclists’ right to use the road that has taken place every month for the past 18 years.

Olympic exceptionalism meant that the police were able to impose a section 12 order (which allows them to control ‘processions’ in order to ‘prevent serious public disorder, serious criminal damage or serious disruption to the life of the community’) over half of London. The Critical Mass cyclists were warned that they wouldn’t be allowed north of the Thames, or anywhere near the stadium in which Britain’s cycling heroes were taking their turns.

When the peloton did cross the river the policing was robust. Passing cyclists who had nothing to do with Critical Mass were knocked off their bikes and detained. In the end 182 cyclists were arrested and kept on buses for hours without water or access to toilets. Photos, fingerprints and DNA were taken. Nine cyclists were eventually charged with breaching the order.

The police have argued that Critical Mass is a planned protest, and that as such the organisers should have submitted the route and sought approval before they set off. In 2008 they took to the courts to try to outlaw the rides. Critical Mass argued that it had no leaders and no planned routes, and the House of Lords agreed, finding that they didn’t need to notify police in advance as the rides were ‘commonly or customarily held’. (The same couldn't be said of the Olympics.)

Yesterday – a week after Boris Johnson announced a £1 billion scheme to usher in ‘a new age of the bike’ – five of the Critical Mass nine were convicted of breaching section 12 of the Public Order Act. The next Critical Mass will take place on 29 March.

cycling

Comments

  • 15 March 2013 at 6:43pm
    David Gordon says:
    Whether for cyclists in particular, or demonstrators in general, I am utterly mystified by kettling. In what way is their, or our, confinement without access to food, water, or somewhere to pee acceptable? Why have judges (who I respect) not found against it, and why do police (who I do not respect) think it is a good idea? Maybe the word "kettling" is just right. I can feel my resentment boiling up.
  • 16 March 2013 at 12:07am
    Simon Wood says:
    Critical Mass are a pain in London. They block roads and hold up ordinary people. Cyclists are a pain - they think the city owes them a living. I have been cycling in London since 1978 and to this day I am harassed and disrespected by other cyclists who can't ride properly and are overpleased with themselves. "Join us!" Critical Mass have called to me many times, like a bunch of crazy nudists, as I cycle home in complete and mutual empathy with pedestrians and drivers.
  • 16 March 2013 at 8:00pm
    bat020 says:
    Worth noting that the Met aren't getting it all their own way when it comes to public order policing. The trial of student protesters Alfie Meadows and Zak King ended in not guilty verdicts for the pair of them earlier this month. The defence successfully argued that violent police tactics on the day had provoked the disorder, and that Alfie and Zak were merely defending themselves.

    Alfie was nearly killed in December 2010 when a police officer hit him on the head with a baton; prompt emergency surgery saved his life. Yet grotesquely he found himself in the dock charged with violent disorder. See http://gu.com/p/3eb2e for more details.