CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Events, rides etc.

Your Favourite POP28 Moment

(44 posts)
  • Started 12 years ago by Uberuce
  • Latest reply from spytfyre

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12

  1. Uberuce
    Member

    I think everyone's is going to be the minute's silence, which was your real 'fficial neck-hair-spiky magic, so maybe this thread should be titled Second Favourite Moment but anyway:

    Mine was standing in the wee grassy bit by Melville Drive, encouraging people to ignore the traffic signal because Sgt. Quentin was handling the traffic. I saw a guy who I'd spoken to on Friday at the Slateford aqueduct who hadn't heard of it, and turned up because of Kapper's Red Fox package and about 5 minutes of pootle on my part.

    It's lovely to know that this kind of grassroots thing works.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  2. DdF
    Member

    I guess my 2nd-most-favourite moment is a political one, taking the opportunity to chat to various politicians present - it always surprises me how few people take the chance to do that on such occasions.

    A government MSP told me he would feel that he personally had failed if there wasn't more investment in cycling by the end of the Parliament [I expressed the desire that it be well before that!]. He has received over 100 emails/letters about cycling investment from concerned constituents - the second biggest topic in his postbag. The politicians keep emphasising how important it is for MSPs and councillors to hear from ordinary voters/ members of the public, not just organisations.

    I also raised the A90 path
    http://www.spokes.org.uk/wordpress/2012/04/a90-path-disgrace-to-scotland/ as that's a topic they need continually reminded about! He promised to raise it with John Swinney, and work with the 3 MSPs (all female, interestingly) who are already lobbying for it (see article). NB - It would be great if anyone else concerned about this would contact their MSPs so as to add to the pressure. See the above article.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  3. DaveC
    Member

    My fav bit was just cycling along the road in a huge group with my family and freinds from the forum, all happy, safe and all smiling. Having LBP's finest closing junction for the masses to ride through was just brilliant.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  4. Min
    Member

    Really really hard to choose a 2nd but I think it was when my husband said there were masses of cyclists all up MMW walk and I finally got into a position where I could see them all. And then realised that the masses were continuing round the corner along Melville Drive. That made the hairs stand up on my arm just thinking about it. :-)

    Posted 12 years ago #

  5. amir
    Member

    Not really a moment but just the overwhelming positive and friendly atmosphere of the whole event. Great to see so many folk there, even those that are normally too scared to cycle on the roads.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  6. SRD
    Moderator

    Like Min, the point when we realised that looking down MMW to see if the end was getting near us, and that we had to look way over to the left to see the end.

    close second: when we were finally cycling up MMW and I wondered who on earth my husband was talking to on the mobile, to discover that it was friends waiting at Holyrood, saying 'there are hundreds of cyclists here'. We told they hadn't seen anything yet...

    Posted 12 years ago #

  7. Uberuce
    Member

    That reminds me of the Harrison feeder, when I had to deputise chdot to scoot back and forth to tell me when the tail was catching us up after the junctions because...I couldn't see it.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  8. chdot
    Admin

    I was halfway up the slope of MMW so missed the impact of the 1 min silence and its ritual ending.

    One of best moments was definitely arriving at HP and seeing how many people were waiting, I did count 120. I'd just been to see a planned feeder from Dalry. Either time/place had changed or it didn't happen - slightly unsettling...

    Next good moment was definitely being warmly greeted by cycle cops on Gilmore Place. (Obviously they weren't aware of the scale of the task that the rest of the day became!)

    The rest of the highlights included the fact that most people seemed to be really glad they came - this wasn't 'duty' like some marches tend to be.

    Of course we all know it's not about numbers or righteous causes.

    After all the relatively recent MASS marches - Iraq, Poverty, Student Fees etc. it would be easy to assume that Saturday will make no difference.

    But I really don't feel that. Maybe it's the fact that Holyrood is smaller/more local/accountable/open/etc. than Westminster.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  9. Stepdoh
    Member

    I had missed the start of the leith feeder, but did get a little shiver when I saw them all riding them riding through the Links to where I was waiting.

    Lovely group to ride up town with, even some *really* hairy driving became amusing. And we saw two herons!

    Posted 12 years ago #

  10. kaputnik
    Moderator

    Wee lad that balance-biked the whole thing, scooting up the hill past the usually hostile lane at Missoni and around the corner.

    How many other 3-year olds will have had a chance to balance bike down the high street of their own capital city to their own parliament?

    Posted 12 years ago #

  11. spytfyre
    Member

    Favourite moment #2 - the whole road occupied by bikes, side by side with another tag-along and our kids high fiving each other

    Favourite moment #3 - the sights of the queue going back to Melville, turning and going along the pavement... oof!

    Favourite moment #4 (maybe 2) - the boogie bike with the family and stereo, particularly the moment it was belting out Queen - "I Want To Ride My Bike" - the bell solo and everyone joining in....

    Favourite moment #5 - the feeder ride (ta SRD)

    Posted 12 years ago #

  12. steveo
    Member

    Favourite moment #2 Turning round from half way up MMW and seeing the tail was much longer than it was a few minutes ago when I'd just ridden down it to speak to some one.

    Favourite moment #3 Riding down the high street with Philip playing his guitar and look on peoples faces when they realised he was on a bike.

    Favourite moment #4 All the kids including a couple riding in close formation, not sure who's they were!

    Personal achievement unlocked, not killing any of the children in close formation despite not being "pro" when it comes to mass participation rides.

    Actually when I turned the corner from Ashley Terrace into the park and realised how many folk were there... that was pretty cool! The escort round the Kings was great too... Ah the whole thing was brilliant.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  13. Darkerside
    Member

    1. The general mass-bike-ness of it all
    2. Getting a cheerful wave from the silver statue man on the Royal Mile
    3. After the Royal Mile, with the stream cut up slightly by traffic lights, being part of a small swarm of recumbent things which did the final 400m at a sprint whilst cackling wildly.


    Best photo in my eyes was the motorcyclist/cyclist high-five. Would linky, but can't get flickr at work...

    Posted 12 years ago #

  14. Dave
    Member

    What blew me away was the sheer number and variety of folk that turned up. No offence to my fellow commuter warriors I'm sure, but it was the unlikely looking "normal folk" (and the kids) that gave me most hope.

    Also overheard someone explaining to a bystander "why do I have to wear all this stuff!" which made me smile.

    I'd love it if someone could youTube the speeches - it only occurred to me afterwards unfortunately.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  15. steveo
    Member

    Best photo in my eyes was the motorcyclist/cyclist high-five. Would linky, but can't get flickr at work...


    Pedal on Parliament - Sat 28 April 2012 -0044 by Mr Andy J C, on Flickr

    Yeah its a brilliant photo, especially since the MC had been/ was probably going to be there a while.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  16. Tom
    Member

    Best moment was approaching the start from the east end of Melville Terrace and seeing how many people were gathered on MMW. From then on it was the friendly atmosphere, meeting people, handing out my pecan tassies and cycling through the city centre feeling safe for the first time ever.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  17. amir
    Member

    Another best moment: eating one of Tom's Pecan Tassies - mmmm

    Posted 12 years ago #

  18. Roibeard
    Member

    I heard the silence from the front and it seemed like the entire Meadows stopped, except the birds - extremely poignant - then the breath-taking, joyful ringing. Of course, I wasn't aware of the numbers until, standing at Forrest Road, I could finally see the end of the tail...

    Not a POP moment, so cheating a bit here, but one that tickled me was spotting Sustrans performing a survey on MMW later in the day - it tickled us (Steveo, Uberuce & myself) to think "what if they'd been here earlier...?"

    Robert

    Posted 12 years ago #

  19. EddieD
    Member

    The minute's silence was wonderful - having a wee kid fire my AirZound into my ear was less so...but he enjoyed it...

    Posted 12 years ago #

  20. Min
    Member

    SRD "when we were finally cycling up MMW and I wondered who on earth my husband was talking to on the mobile, to discover that it was friends waiting at Holyrood, saying 'there are hundreds of cyclists here'. "

    Hehe, I do like that one! :-)

    Posted 12 years ago #

  21. cb
    Member

    Our own approach to the event was a lonely affair; we seemed to be passing plenty of bikes heading away from the Meadows.

    We came down the Bruntsfield Links path and that was a good moment to see a sea of colour (mainly yellow it has to be said) down on the Meadows.

    We caught up with the back of the Harrison feeder (including a friend of ours with his three year old son), with some pretty cool tagalong setups.

    Some anxious moments at around 14:50 when I spotted our friend had a flat rear tyre and heart sank when I saw the hub gear/brakes (and Marothon Plus). But it was fixed, just in time!

    Bell ringing was good, although I was cursing my 50p Tesco Value effort.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  22. Uberuce
    Member

    Favourite #4 The look on Sally's face as I showed her the photo from the hillside.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  23. PS
    Member

    The atmosphere was the main thing that struck me - friendly, relaxed, good vibes from the peds as we went on our way.

    And the Royal windbreak offered by Holyrood Palace's hedge/wall that made the Parliament grass a thoroughly pleasant place to wind up. Chapeau to the lycra-clad contingent for surviving the time spent lined up on MMW when the sun went in and the wind picked up.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  24. PS
    Member

    Oh, and getting labelled "Cycle Chic at Pedal on Parliament" on someone's photos of the day on Flickr. :oD

    Posted 12 years ago #

  25. MeepMeep
    Member

    Ah, Steveo - it must have been you that Mr Meep and I were chatting with briefly as we started on the Polwarth feeder ride. We were the couple on the cheap red Decathlon roadbikes to your right!

    Not quite a moment per se, but I was pretty overwhelmed by how confident most of the wee ones were on their bikes. I so hope they keep at it as they grow up: hopefully our numbers on Saturday will allow them to do so more safely in years to come.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  26. earthowned
    Member

    (First post on this forum!)

    I particularly enjoyed the sing-along we had en-route -

    [+] Embed the video | Video DownloadGet the Video Player

    .

    "I want to ride my Bicycle....!"

    Normally when I ride to work it feels like it's me versus the world - but on Saturday there was a family of thousands of cyclists all riding together. Magic!

    Posted 12 years ago #

  27. Claggy Cog
    Member

    Welcome Earthowned - thanks for the share, nice one!!

    Posted 12 years ago #

  28. chdot
    Admin

    Welcome earthowned

    Hope you'll stick around and join in.

    "Normally when I ride to work it feels like it's me versus the world"

    Know what you mean.

    I think for some people, this forum has made them realise that they are not quite so alone.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  29. earthowned
    Member

    I've been lurking on the forum for a wee while to get a feel for the place and you all seem (mostly ;-) sane!

    Posted 12 years ago #

  30. spytfyre
    Member

    I spoke to another (possibly the same) self confessed lurker on the Saturday - they were pointing out they didn't think they had anything to contribute while I pointed out I post a lot but contribute very little (although hopefully humour, contrbuting humour is a good thing to say you have done)
    It would be nice to know how many different IP addresses (and therefore individuals) view this site each day...

    Posted 12 years ago #

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