Typesofmassrides
Masswomen’srides
Aswellasshowingthevarietyof womenwhowanttocycle,these ridesoftenaimtohighlightthe specificsafetyconcernsthat womenfacewhencycling–sometimestakingplaceafterdark.
HavealookatManchester’sLightup theNightrideandLondonCycling Campaign’sFreedomRidesfor inspiration.
Amorelight-heartedversionisthe FancyWomenBikeRide,which beganinTurkiye.Thedresscodeis ‘fancy’–womenwearwhatever makesthemfeelfabulous.Mencan joininsupport,aslongastheydress smartlytoo.
Festiveglowrides
Themedridesduringthewinter monthsareafunwaytoprovethat peopledocycleallyearround.How aboutdecoratingyourbikewithfairy lightsforaChristmasorDiwaliride, ordonningfancydressfor Halloween?
KidicalMass
Asthenameimplies,it’samassride forchildrenandfamilies.Theseare reallyjoyfuleventsandkidsfindit excitingtocycleontheroad,often forthefirsttime.
KidicalMassisaninternational movement,withavisionthatchildren andyoungpeopleshouldbeableto movearoundsafelyand independentlyonfootandbybike.
Related,butonasmallerscale,are bikebuses,wherefamiliesjoinupto cycletoschooltogether.
CriticalMass
ManyCriticalMassridesspringup quitespontaneously,simply promotingaregularstarttimeand location,withthepersonatthefront decidingwheretogoalongtheway ratherthanhavingasetroute.
Astheothertypesofridesdescribed abovetendtoinvolveabitmore planningandorganisation(atleast forthefirsttime),thosearewhat we’llfocusonmoreinthisguide.
Whotogetinvolved
Tomakeyourlifeeasier,you’llwantsome otherpeopletohelpyouout.
Ifthere’sacampaigngroupwhereyoulive, somepeopletheremightbekeentohelp. Socialcyclingclubsarealsolikelytohave experienceoforganisingridesandevents.
ForKidicalMass,talktootherparentsyou knowandgettheminvolved.It’susefulifthey havekidsatafewdi erentschools,tohelp promotetheridemorewidely.
Whentodoit
Pickadate,soyouhaveadeadlinetoaimtowards.Forthefirstride,youmightwantto giveyourselftwoorthreemonthstogetthingssortedandgiveyoutimetopromoteit.
Youmightwanttocoincidewithexistingawarenessdays,likeBikeWeek,CleanAirDay orCarFreeDay.KidicalMasshaveglobalweeksofactioninMayandSeptember.
Check itdoesn’tclashwithotherbigeventswhereyoulive.
Thinkaboutthetime ofday.Doyouwanttheroadstobeasquietaspossiblefor children?Doyouwantlotsofshoppersoutandabouttoseeyou?Doesitneedtobe darktohavethedesirede ect?
Willyouwanttomakeitaregularevent?Repeatingiteverymonthcanbegoodtohave afrequentpresence–oryoumightwanttojustdooneortwoayearandfocuson makingthemasbigaspossible.
Chooseyourroute
Landmarksandfeatures
Youwanttobefairlycentralandvisible.Arethereanylocallandmarksthatwouldlook goodinphotos?Couldyougopastthecouncilo ces?
Youmightwanttoincludesomeroadsthat needacyclepath,toshowthere’sdemand forit.Ifit’sa‘lightupthenight’styleride,youcouldusesomeplaceswherewomen mightnotfeelsafecyclingalone,toillustratetheproblems.
Ifthere’sagreatnewbitofcycleinfrastructure,youcouldcelebrateittoshowthe contrast.Butmostofthetime,it’seasiesttosticktotheroadforamassride.
Gatheringpoints
Pickastartandendpointthatare easytogetto,withenoughspacefor peopletogather.
Youcouldthinkaboutsmallerfeeder ridesfromafewplacestojointhemain rideandheadbackafterwards–especiallyifit’saneveningridewhen peoplemightnotfeelcomfortable cyclinghomealone.
Routeconsiderations
Keepitunderaround6km/4miles–youwanttobedonewithinanhourtomakeit easyforpeopletotakepart.Rememberamassofpeoplemovesslowly.
Left-handturnsaresimplertomarshalthanright-handones.
Tryandavoidpinchpointsandbarrierswhichmightbedi cultforpeopleridingnonstandardcycles.Sharingasped-upvideoofsomeoneridingtheroutecanbehelpful forpeoplewithaccessibilityneedstodecideifitwillworkforthem.
KidicalMassridesrequire someextra thought:
Ifyoudon’thavesmallchildren,ask someonewhodoestohelpplanthe route.Whatfeelseasytoyoumightbe achallengeforafive-year-old
Around4km/2.5milestendstobea goodlength
Tryandavoidsteephillsifpossible
Acircularroutecanbebest,aspeople mightbemorelikelytodrivetothestart ifit’stoofarfortheirkidstocyclefrom home
Pre-ridechecks
Recceyourroutebeforetheride,preferablyatthe sametimeofdayyou’llbedoingit.Doamentalrisk assessmenttoidentifyanyjunctionsthatmightbe tricky,orpointswherethegroupcanpauseand regroup.
Checktheone.networksitetoseeifanyroadclosures orrestrictionsareplannedforthatday.
YoucanusefreeonlinetoolslikePlotarouteandRide withGPStomakeanonline routemaptosharewith marshalsandparticipants.
Recruitsomemarshals
Nowisthetimetoropeinsomefriendstohelpmarshal theride.It’shardtojudgehowmanyyouneedasyou don’tknowhowmanypeoplewilljointheride,butatleast 10marshalsisagoodnumbertoaimfor.
Findingvolunteers
Askfriendswhocycle
Asklocalcyclingclubsandactivetravelcampaign groups
Puthandlebarflyersonparkedbikes
Marshalroles
Rideleader–leadstheway,setsthepace,makessureeveryonestaysbehind them,andgetsthegrouptostopattherighttimes.Theydon’tneedtobea qualifiedrideleader(althoughit’sabonusiftheyare),butithelpsiftheyareused toleadingagroup.Thisiswherethatlocalcyclingclubmightcomeinhandy.
Backmarkers–rideatthebackofthegrouptodissuadedriversfromtryingto overtakeunlessitissafetodoso,andtomakesurenoonegoesthewrongway. Itcanbeusefultohavetwopeople,justincaseoneneedstostopwitharider whohasaproblem.Ifyouhaveafirstaiderandmechanicneartheback,even better!
Sidemarshals–therestofthemarshalsflanktheridenearthecentralwhiteline. Theywillneedtobenimbleandflexibletomoveforwardsandholdjunctionsas therideprogresses.
Marshalswillneedtostandwiththeirbikeacrossjunctionsbrieflytoensuretheridecan passthroughsafely.They’llneedtobecheerfulandconfident,justincasesomeone getsimpatient.
Youcouldhaveacoupleofextravolunteersexplainingtheridetopeoplewaiting, thankingthemforkeepingeveryonesafeandgivingthemflyersifyouhaveany.
Iftherearebigjunctionsonyourroutewhichrequireseveralmarshals,it’sgoodto allocatepeopletothoseinadvancesotheycanbereadytomoveintopositionasthe rideapproaches.
It’susefulformarshalstoreccetheroutetogetherbeforehandtofamiliarise themselvesanddiscussanytrickybits.
Thinkaboutcommunicationbetweenthefrontandbackoftheridetoavoidit becomingtoostretchedout(perhapsusingradios).
Brief yourmarshalsbeforehandandagainonthedaysotheyareclearonwhattodo, andhavethemwearsomethingwhichmakesthem identifiable,suchasavisible marshalsigntostickontheirbacks.
Safetytips
Withabigmassofcyclists,thesafestwaytomovearoundistoactasifyouare onelongarticulatedlorry.Onceyou’vestartedpassingthroughajunction,it’s besttoaimtokeepgoingasoneblockuntileveryoneisthrough.
Rideslowlytotryandkeepeveryonetogether.
Askmarshalstowatchoutforpeopletryingtoturnoutof sideroads.
Asksidemarshalstosticktotheleftlaneoftheroadwhenmovingpastother riders.
Askkidstorideontheleftofthelanewithparents/adultstotheirright.
Ontheday,doaquickmegaphonebriefingbeforeyouseto .Thankeveryone forcoming,andrunthroughhowtheridewillmovetogethersoeveryone understands.Youcouldasktherideleader,backmarkers,firstaidersand mechanicstowavesopeoplecanidentifythem.
Importantadmin
Notifythepolice
Legally,youshouldnotifythepoliceatleastsixdaysinadvanceofa‘procession’or march,althoughmassbikeridesarenotspecificallymentioned.Ifyousearchforthe nameofyourpoliceforceand‘notifyofprocession’,youshouldfindanonlineformora contactemail.
Ifyouhaveanindividualcontactintheroadsafetyorcommunitysupportteamofyour policeforce,youcouldalsotrycontactingthemfurtherinadvancetoaskiftheywill supporttheride.Itcanbeusefulbackupforyourmarshals.
Howsupportivethepolicearecanvary–massridesindi erentplaceshavehadmixed responses.
Informyourcouncil
Thereisnorequirementtoinformyourcouncil,butyoumightdecideit’susefultolet theireventso ceknowsotheyareawareit’shappening.Justbewarnedthatthey mightaskyoutofillinsomepaperworkifthey’rethinkingofitasano cial‘event’!
Insurance
Youmaywanttoconsiderinsurancesoyouknowthatyouarecoveredagainst someoneclaimingyouwerenegligentifanincidentshouldhappen.
CyclingUK’sinsurancepartnerBikmoo ersrideandeventorganiserinsurancewhich providespublicliabilitycoverfororganisers.
Publicity
Becreativewithpublicisingyourrideanduseasmanymethodsaspossible,both onlineando ine.
AskingpeopletosignuponanEventbritepageorFacebookeventcanhelpgive someindicationofnumbers,ifnotveryaccurate.Italsoprovidesawebpageto linktowiththeinformation
Socialmedia
Askothergroupstoshareitwiththeirmembers
Posterstogivetobikeshopsandcommunitynoticeboards
Flyerstohandouttopeopleandattachtobikes.Ifyourridewillrepeatregularly, youcansaveonprintingbyhavingmultipledatesononeflyer
ForKidicalMass,tryandgetitinschoolemailnewslettersandparentWhatsApp groups
Media
Draftacoupleofpressreleasestosendtolocalmedia:oneacoupleofweeks beforehandtosaytherideishappening,andoneyoucansendoutjustaftertheride withphotos.
Grabattentionbyhighlightingthatit’sthefirstrideofitskindinyourtown,orthatother rideswillbehappeninginyourregiononthesameday.
Getsomequotesduringthedaythatyoucanincludeinyourpost-ridepressrelease.
There’smoreadviceinCyclingUK’sguidetoengagingwiththemedia
Countingpeople
It’sveryusefultoknowhowmanypeople havejoinedyourridesoyoucanmentionitin yourrelease.
Youcaneitherasksomeonetostandwitha clickerandcountpeoplesettingo ,orgeta marshalstandingstillatajunctiontofilmthe wholeridegoingpast,soyoucantryand countpeoplelater.
Photos
Astheysay,ifyoudon’tgetphotos,itdidn’thappen.
Whenyouaretest-ridingtheroute,it’susefultothinkaboutanylocationsor perspectivesthatwouldmakegreatphotos,toensureyoucapturethemontheday.
Youmightwanttoasksomeonetospecificallyfocusontakingphotos,sotheycannip betweenlocationsandcatchthegroupgoingpast.Iftheyhaveagoodcamerathat’s great,butyoucantakedecentphotoswithaphonecamera.
Photoconsent
Asageneralrule,youshouldalwaysseekconsenttotakeandusephotosandvideo thatwillbeusedforpublicity.Ifyou’retakingclose-upportraitshotsofindividuals,you canaskthemtosignaphotoconsentform
However,foramassride,it’snotpossibleorpracticaltogetindividualconsentfrom everyonetakingpart.
Youshouldmentioninyouronlineinformationandwithsignsattheeventthatphotos andvideoswillbetakenforpublicitypurposes.Makeitclearthatpeoplecanaskoneof themarshalsiftheydon’twanttobeinpictures.
Takeextracareaboutphotosofchildren.Biggroupshotsandphotosfrombehind whereyoucan’tseefacesclearlyaregenerallyalright.Ifyou’retakingmoreclose-up picturesofchildren,askpermissionfromtheirparents.
There’smoreadviceabouttakinggoodphotosateventsonCyclingUK’spromotion toolkit.
Gettingthemessageacross
Ifyourrideisaboutcycleadvocacy,youwantpeopletounderstandyourmessage.
Howaboutmakingsomeflagstoattachtobikes,orsuggestingslogansthat peoplecouldstickontobikebagsorclothing?
Couldyougetsomechantsgoingduringtheride?
Youcouldalsocreatealaminatedmessageboardwherepeoplecanwritetheir reasonforcoming,andtakephotosofthemholdingit.Orwhilepeopleare gatheringatthestart,takevideoclipsofthemexplainingwhytheycame.
Considerinvitinglocalpoliticians,suchascouncillors,yourMP,constituency MSPorSeneddMember,orMLAs.
Makeitfun!
Musicmakesahugedi erencetocreateapartyatmosphere.Youcouldaskmarshals tobringportablespeakers.Itdoesn’tmattertoomuchiftheyareplayingdi erent thingsasthey’reunlikelytoberightnexttoeachother.
Decoratebikeswithflags, flowersorfairy lights.Kidsonthebackofabikelovea bubblemachine.
Encourageparticipantstodingtheirbellsandwaveatpeopleastheyridepast.
Furtherdetails
Formoreofanunderstandingofthelegalsituationaroundmassrides,movingthrough junctionsandnotifyingthepolice,thelinksbelowhavesomeusefulinformation.
Highways:legalinformation
Notifyingpolice
WewanttogivecredittoKatHeath,VipulPatelandSaskiaHeijltjesfortheirexcellent guidetoorganisingaKidicalMassride,whichprovidedtheinspirationforthisone.
CheckouttheCycleAdvocacy Networkformorehow-toguides,adviceandsupport.
