A “Critical Mass” bicycle ride event designed to raise the profile of pedal power in the city will take place in Aberdeen this Friday.
Starting out at Marischal College, cyclists from across the city have been invited to take part in a group ride on a loop through the streets of the Granite City.
The campaign is designed to highlight the number of people who love riding their bikes in Aberdeen, and also encourage investment in improved infrastructure for bicycle users.
Why is it called Aberdeen Critical Mass?
Critical Mass cycles have been taking place in cities all across the world for years, with one of the first held in San Francisco in 1992.
The events are aimed at spotlighting the number of people in an area who would want to use their bikes where they live, but are potentially concerned about safety issues and poor infrastructure.
They involve hundreds of cyclists taking to the streets at once.
Similar schemes run in Inverness, Glasgow and Edinburgh, usually once a month.
Bridge of Don resident Martin Sharman, a spokesman for the Aberdeen Critical Mass project, said a similar event for the Granite City has been a long time coming.
He said: “Critical Mass is all about raising the profile of cycling and the requirement for good cycling infrastructure in Aberdeen.
“Aberdeen does have some really good cycling infrastructure, but it’s also very disjointed.
“So if people are travelling from point A to point B, they may find there’s good sections of cycle path or dedicated cycle lanes, but then they sort of peter out and you hit things like big roundabouts that put people off.
It was great to be part of the Aug @EdCriticalMass today! So many 🚲’s a real festival atmosphere. Never felt so safe on the traffic sewer that is Queen St before.@SpokesLothian @Cyclesouthedin @SpokesPorty pic.twitter.com/w4oyql4me4
— John Robson (@johnrobson87) August 27, 2022
“What we want to show is a presence of cyclists on the road, encourage people to get involved in cycling, and take part in consultations from people like the council to raise their views about cycling.”
When will it start, and what will be the route for the Aberdeen Critical Mass?
The event will start at 6pm outside Marischal College, weather dependent, and those wishing to take part are encouraged to keep up to date on precise starting times on official Critical Mass Aberdeen social media channels.
Martin said he thinks the event “has to be positive and get people involved in a positive way, because that will encourage change”.
He continued: “The route will include Union Street, starting off from Marischal College.
“It’s one of the safer routes in terms of avoiding major roundabouts, and right-hand turns where you cross over traffic.
“I also don’t want to be causing any friction with car drivers, so we’ll go with the flow of traffic”.
Martin said he doesn’t intend for any motorists to be slowed down for “more than a minute or two”.
Here’s a map of the route:
And here’s a video cycle-through of the route:
What comes next?
Martin explained that he intends for the Critical Mass Aberdeen event to take place on the last Friday of every month.
So far, he says he’s not sure how many people will turn up.
But he said as “it’s really a grassroots event, I’ll be pleased if anyone turns up at the moment”.
He added: “The key thing is it has to be inclusive and create a space for people to gain confidence in cycling on the road too.
“If people get involved, and if one or two of them want to start cycling for a commute as a result, or use their bikes to go to the shops, then that will be a real positive.”
See also:
- Critical Mass: Cycle campaigners to hold monthly pedal power events in Inverness
- The official Aberdeen Critical Mass website
Conversation