Is London Critical Mass getting its act together?

During last night's February 26th ride I had the distinct impression that CM is gaining control of the traffic which threatens it. Corked drivers were mostly patient and were thanked by corkers as the end of the ride passed and there seemed to be less hooting. Could this be because there is now a plentiful supply of corkers and they appear more confident, or is it just a phase? I did speak to one corker who had been rammed by a driver but he said his bike was undamaged.

Since the Law Lords decided that London CM is a 'customarily held procession' the police have been mainly hands-off. There used to be an interfering retinue of cycle police and some riders were ticketed for going through red lights, or told to turn-off their sound systems, or the front of the ride was blocked by police to allow their van to catch up, which caused additional congestion. So CM has been left to its own devices and has to relearn how to do the corking, a tactic used to prevent traffic from entering the path of the cyclists, which used to be done by the cycle police. Maybe corkers can be regarded as self-appointed stewards?

While the police have been ignoring CM the same also can be said of some drivers, who seem to think that cyclists are an unnecessary and illegal impediment in their motorised haste to get somewhere. So there has been confrontation between drivers and corkers with angry exchanges. Some drivers deliberately ram bicycles and their riders who are corking, fortunately at slow speed, while CMers sometimes kick cars and taunt hooting drivers.

BBC TV has done a short piece on the January CM ride. See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXHqQky2Mz4

More on the February ride will soon appear on http://criticalmasslondon.org.uk and there are some pictures at http://www.flickr.com/photos/d1v1d/sets/72157623390935561/