A Marathon, not a Sprint
When we originally planned March’s Reading Kidical Mass ride, we hadn’t realised it coincided with the Reading half marathon. This was an interesting situation for two reasons:
1. The route we’d originally planned to use was closed for the runners…
2. … which included many people who are part of our marshalling team. Apparently, there’s a big overlap between cyclists and runners!
We reached out to our community to ask for more marshals – we are so grateful to the people who give up their time to get kids out on their bikes – please let us know if you’d like to get involved as a marshal or baker!
There was a flurry of activity of scribbled-on maps exchanged in the KM WhatsApp group (all the cool kids are on it). We want to offer an opportunity for a large group of children to ride safely on the roads, so some routes are just not possible.
Still, we did find a suitable option. The other side of the Kidical Mass operation is to engage with the Council. When we decide we cannot use a route, that gives us very focused feedback for where we need better infrastructure.
Despite the marathon and the rain, we had a great turnout of over 50 riders, including many new faces.
On the ride we were helped by the new bus and bike lane which runs alongside Palmer Park. The route we would have taken (if not for the road closures) would have taken us through Blake’s Wharf, a safe route into town which didn’t previously exist. It’s great to see progress.
But we also saw evidence of where things can still get better – the current bike route through Gas Works Road involves going up a high kerb (we brought our own ramps).
On the zigzag bridge the station marshals must make sure no child falls down the steps, and this time we were very glad we had them.
Campaigning for better infrastructure is a marathon, not a sprint, and I’m grateful to everyone who came along to our rides to add their voices to ours to say that it matters.
Hilary Smart
