England REALLY sucks http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/6677589.stm

For people who would like to know what the content of that link is (before they click it) it's a story about police in London banning an annual bicycle ride. Also, since this has absolutely nothing to with Switzerland, I'm moving this to off-topic.

scolliss - If you really think this is any different from Switzerland, it's not. Over here you also have to get permission before any form of large public gathering. You have to pay a deposit to ensure that you clean the streets yourself, and a whole lot of other stuff.

You miss my point.

The sum of this ruling is that you cannot ride your bike in a group without applying for permission to the police first. Absolutely absurd!!!!!

And by the way you did not read the article properly as it is a monthly, unplanned cycle ride that protests against nothing and has been running for 13 years, it is a social event. It is not an annual event as you describe.

I am not having a go at you but am infuriated at the powers to be in the UK. At least in CH common sense has a huge say in most matters. I am ashamed to be British sometimes.

I originally posted in complaints corner because that forum "invites" me to get anything off my chest there.

I think you miss my point - this is exactly the same situation in Switzerland. Case in point - Monday night skate in Zurich - except this is done in co-operation with the police.

Complaints corner is within the category which covers Switzerland, and life in Switzerland. It's not for complaining about things unrelated to the theme of this forum (which is Switzerland in case that wasn't obvious). Feel free to discuss issues about other countries, but this should happen in the off-topic area.

These "critical mass" rides happen all over the world, in over 300 cities, and have frequently resulted in debates regarding their legality. This Wikipedia articles documents such legal cases in San Francisco (which is regarded as the birth-place of the event), New York, and the current one in London.

Typically, the rides start at 6pm on the last Friday of every month, always starting in the same place, but normally then taking different routes around the city and are essentially without an organizer or leader. Their main purpose is to promote cycling and any alternatives to cars and congestion. Because so many riders take part, they tend to disrupt traffic flow thus bringing attention to themselves from the public and the authorities, which is their goal.

Websites with information about critical mass rides around the world are critical-mass.org and critical-mass.info. The former site lists such an event in Zurich, but the link does not work. The latter site lists events in Basel, Geneva, Neuchatel, and Winterthur, with working links for two of these places, which I have copied.

There's an excellent article about Critical Mass rides at Bicycling.com. They discuss the London ride, and the recent legal issues surrounding it, on pages 3 and 4 of the article.

I don't think Swiss authorities would let this through twelve times a year! However there's a bicycle demonstration every September in a couple of cities. (Website for Zurich... and don't miss the Photos from last years' demonstration in Basel where a few awesome bicycles participated).

There was also one in Lausanne last August, with about 100+ cyclists participating.