DELHI CRITICAL MASS CYCLING EVENT
The first DELHI CRITICAL MASS has come to an end and the sheer pleasure of so
many cycling enthusiasts together was overwhelming. We were indeed a
CRITICAL MASS. Critical for the environment, critical for promoting cycling as
an alterative source of transport, critical for making the motorised traffic
aware of our existence, and most importantly, critical for the cycling community
to come together.
There were over a 100 cyclists. Th
e assembly point was at the lawns next to
Vijay Chowk. The time was 6 PM, but even before time one could feel the buzz.
The press had come in good numbers. Everybody curious what was going on. From
5:45 onwards the group had started to grow. Stickers with messages such as THE
CLIMATE IS CHANING – CAN YOU ? ONE CAR LESS, CYCLE-SIMPLE, BICYCLES HAVE
FEELINGS TOO, HEALTH FREAK, E
NVIRONMENTALIS, CYCLIST, THAT’S ME, EXCUSE ME ITS
MY ROAD TOO were distributed, clearly giving the right message.
The police had started becoming anxious. Why are so many people assembling at this point. Why is the press here ? Questions were asked by the police…..they initially tried to stall the program and asked us to disperse, but when we refused to relent, wireless messages were sent to their seniors. “Sir yaha pe bahut sare log cycle pe assemble ho rahe hai…kehe rahe hai ke vo yahas se cycle pe jaayeng….” (Sir a lot of cyclists are assembling here. They say that they will go cycling from here). Reply…”arre bhai cycle pe kahan jaayenge…kyon jaayenge…magsad kya hai ?” (But where will they go on a cycle, why will they go…what is the goal)….. Response..”Sir Kehe rahe hai patta nahin….inka koi leader nahin hai..bus cycle challate hue jaayenge” (Sir, they are saying they don’t know where they will go..they will just cycle around the city). To cut a long story short…they decided to just ignore us…the officer ended up by saying..ok go have fun and that is exactly what we did.
The Mass started the ride at 6:30 sharp. By now the mass was well over 100
cyclists. It started in the direction opposite to the parliament house. Took
a round of the fountain and headed toward Rashtrapati Bhawan…up Vijay Chowk and
re-assembed at the gate of Rashtrapati Bhawan. The ride then turned around and
rode downhill towards Vijay Chowk. The press was waiting at the bottom to get
shots of the group coming down. Some were in cars and followed us for a quite a
way. There was NDTV, AAJ TAK and others. From the print media there was TIMES
OF INDIA, INDIAN EXPRESS, METRO NOW and others. 
Riding down Vijay Path, the group turned on Jan Path. At the first round about, one group went off in a different direction and had to be re-grouped. The cyclists continued on Jan Path towards Connaught Place outer circle. The traffic was heavy but the cyclists were equally determined. The group stayed together and the motorists soon understood that they would have to give us way. The police by now had their act together as well. They had radioed to each other and were very helpful in helping the mass move without much inconvenience. No sooner did they spot the first cyclist, they jumped in to stop the traffic and give us way. This was particularly true at the round abouts. Many volunteers within the mass were helping keep the group together. A red Reva was in the lead. Flashing red lights is what set the group apart in the dark streets of Delhi. Strong legs but more importantly flashing energetic hearts is what drove the group forward. Over 15 women cyclists were part of the mass..pedal to pedal with their male counterparts. There were at least 3 under 15s as well. Truly a family outing.
The group took one and a half round of the outer circle…and then in an attempt to move towards the inner circle the group got divided into two. One circled the inner circle and the second the outer circle, only to re-unite on the inner circle. The re-union was greeted with cheering and shouting and lifting of cycles by all. It was a sight worth seeing. The expression on the motorists faces …oh well amusing…..to say the least.
The group then took Baba Kharak Singh Marg towards Gole Dak Khana and then
joined Jan Path again heading back towards Raj Path. Then left onto India
gate…by now it was past 8:00 and the cyclists were beginning to tire a bit. So
the group turned back and reached the starting point at around 8:30. It was
long but fun ride. Some more photographs and a pledge to be back at the same
place, same time on the 31st is the note on which the group dispersed. Many had
made new friends, chatting with each other while biking. Others had just
discovered that cycling is an option on the Delhi streets.
PEDAL ON FOLKS….WE JUST MADE HISTORY BY ORGANISING AND PARTICIPATING IN THE FIRST (NOT THE LAST) EVER CRITICAL MASS IN INDIA. I am not sure if the Mumbai one with 25 cyclists qualifies…It was truly a group effort and each one of you is personally responsible for the success. We as a group thank the Delhi Police for its understanding and help, that too without prior notice. I am sure they will be more helpful to cyclists in the future. We also thank the motorists of Delhi for giving us way each time…we hope they will think of this alternative travel mode in the future. We thank the people of Delhi who encouraged us by patting our backs and showing us the thumbs up sign.