A mass kids’ bike ride through Brighton and Hove is being held to highlight the need for safer roads.
Kidical Mass – an offshoot of the long running Critical Mass bike rides – will take part on the afternoon of Saturday, 23 September 2023.
The ride is marshalled, free to join, and open to children, families, friends and adults without children. It is being organised by local cycling organisations Bricycles and Brighton Bike Hub, supported by Old Shoreham Road (OSR) Bike Train, with funding from The Big Bike Revival.
They want to highlight the need for better road safety after new safe cycling routes along the A259 and Valley Gardens have been delayed.
Daren Callow of OSR Bike Train said: “Children and young people love cycling, but rarely get a chance to ride on roads due to the lack of cycle lanes protected from motor traffic. But cycling is fun, good for their health and for getting a taste of independence.”
Duncan Blinkhorn of Brighton Bike Hub said: “Kidical Mass demonstrates that children need more opportunities to travel safely on our streets.
“Children are the next generation of road users, and they will inherit the climate and planet we pass on to them.
“If they don’t experience safer, cheaper, cleaner ways to travel, they will think there’s no option but to learn to drive at 17, and be part of the problem.”
Riders can join the ride at three locations around the city: south side of Hove Park at 2pm, north side of The Level park in Brighton at 2pm, or the Peace Statue on Hove seafront at 2.30pm.
To add to the fun, participants are welcome to come in fancy dress, decorate their bikes, and bring bells, whistles, flags, bubble blasters and bike-mounted sound systems.
The ride will go at the pace of the slowest person on a bicycle, so that nobody gets left behind. All children must be accompanied by an adult.
Iliana Koutsou of Bricycles said: ““A few experienced parents have volunteered to help marshal the ride, so it flows smoothly.
“If you’d like to join this friendly team, and receive basic training, please email kidicalmass@bricycles.org.uk to get involved.”
Find more information about the ride, visit bricycles.org.uk
If must be terrible for the likes of Bricycles and Sustrans now that the Green idiots have been booted out. Desperate times! We’ll have to weapons the kids!
Funny definition of “weapon” – a bunch of children cycling along a road.
600 children are killed or seriously injured on England’s roads every year, but I suppose in a lot of those incidents damage was done to cars as these “weapons” bounced off them, so I can see your point.
Another day of disruption! But what else do we expect, millions spent on bike lanes yet the need to have another protest.
If we get more and more bikes on the roads or cycle lanes is it not time to licence them and get some sort of insurance cover against future accidents and also help cover the costs. Motorists should not pay ALL the costs.
Yeah, and while we’re at it let’s licence all pedestrians too.
Should have insurance and mandatory helmets on bikes. As for the OSR are they still banging that drum…
Cyclists should have training before using the roads. I get poor signals from cyclists. One almost hit my car a while ago as they didn’t look and there were no other clues. She put her arm out to signal without looking back (important) and almost whacked my car.
Once you have had training, then the roads become safer as you understand them.
Everyone remember High School and being scared? Well, once you get to understand it, it’s not too bad.