There was something I found truly mysterious from a young age.
"It's dangerous if you go out there!"
These were words my parents often said when I was playing by the side of the road.
That side was the world of cars. This side was the world where we were allowed to play.
A world divided in two by a white line painted on the road.
As I grew up, I learned that the world is drawn with all sorts of lines (some visible, some invisible) and that there are many divisions within it; perhaps that white road line was the first division I ever recognized.
Who do roads belong to?
Roads belong to no one; they are very public spaces. Everyone has the right to use them, and everyone has the right to be there.
And we, as cyclists, have the right to use them too.
However, the bicycle as a vehicle has a very weak standing. We are flesh and blood, without motorized power, and our speed is slow. Activities that protect the awareness and rights of the bicycle, as such a vehicle, are called "Critical Mass."
This time, Izuru from the Nagoya messenger company Daisy Messenger has contributed an article about Critical Mass.
At Circles, we strongly support this and would love to participate in the event, so we encourage you all to join in as well!
If you are interested, please take a look here. Critical Mass events are held not just in Nagoya, but all over the country.
WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM MY FRIENDS
Hello! I'm Izuru from Daisy Messenger, Nagoya's only bicycle courier service! We're running around all over Nagoya again today, and at Daisy, we will be holding an event called NagoyaLOCO on June 3rd and 4th.
This is a lead-up event where messengers from across the country will gather to build excitement for the CMWC (Cycle Messenger World Championship) being held in Yokohama this September.
Among the content at Nagoya LOCO, the one we consider most important is "CRITICAL MASS."
What is CRITICAL MASS?
Critical Mass is considered a collective protest movement by cyclists in many cities around the world.
It is an unofficial, leaderless, spontaneous celebration where participants make their voices heard. This means it does not require prior notification to the police like an organized protest.
The purpose is simple: to reclaim road space from automobiles. Even if just for a little while, let the streets overflow with bicycles through Critical Mass.
We messengers have a sort of success story—it's quite an old tale now—where six messengers in New York in 1987 started a bicycle demonstration opposing a mayoral proposal to ban bicycles from main streets; it grew to 1,000 people, and the proposal was ultimately scrapped.
The bicycle parade known as I BIKE BUDAPEST, where tens of thousands of cyclists ride through the city annually, had its origins in the Critical Mass held during the 2001 CMWC in Budapest.
Of course, these actions were not accomplished by messengers alone. They involved the participation of many more citizens than just a handful of messengers.
Who do "roads" belong to?
Unfortunately, our current transportation society is built from the perspective of the car. Looking at our city from the perspective of a bicycle, the sky is wider, the green is a more intense green, there are scents, the sounds of birds and insects, the voices of children and adults, summer rain is like a shower, winter wind cuts to the bone, and sometimes you just want to get off at a slight hill.
Even so, even so, you still end up wanting to ride your bike again. Our wish is to create road structures where many people can ride bicycles in that way, and to build systems that guarantee safety there.
I believe we are currently at a turning point in how we will perceive bicycles in Japanese society from here on out.
We need your help. Participating in Critical Mass or showing solidarity on social media is a great help. And the best "little help" of all is for as many people as possible to recognize the bicycle as an entity with the right to use the road.