What do you think the day’s biggest cycling story of the week is? No, it isn’t Mark Cavendish retiring after winning his final bike race, or the continued drama at Ineos Grenadiers. Those are small fry compared to the story which came out of China over the weekend, when over 100,000 young Chinese people climbed aboard bikes, overwhelming roads and attracting the ire of authorities.
The reasons behind the viral sensation were odd to start off with, with four students from Zhengzhou, in central China, cycling to nearby Kaifeng, a historic city, in search of some famous oversized soup dumplings, guan tang bao. This somehow grew into a social media trend which saw hundreds of thousands of students following in their wheeltracks, overwhelming major roads and forcing bike hire companies to shut down bikes leaving their home city.
It is hard to pin down the exact motivations behind the humongous ride, and this is hardly the place for a discussion of the Chinese political and economic situation which influenced the event, but it is, frankly, refreshing to see bikes genuinely take over a city. It’s also a reminder of the impact we can have with our bikes.
As cyclists, we have just as much right as anyone else to take up space on our roads, even if it does not feel like that when you have a 4x4 bearing down on you, or when spaces feel far from friendly for active travel.
Whatever the reasons for the Kaifeng soup dumplings bike ride, perhaps we could use some of the tactics for our own aims in the UK, and elsewhere.
When I was in Zürich for the World Championships at the end of September, I just happened upon a ‘critical mass’ ride. Much the same as the rest of the world, riders in the Swiss city were campaigning for safer streets, a nicer place to ride bicycles, and ultimately, a greener place to live.
This isn’t new, critical masses happen all the time, but all of us as cyclists should be aware of the power we have in just taking up road space and using it. Especially in cities, we should use our presence to demand better infrastructure and safer roads; it should not be difficult.
It took the Dutch public to take to the roads as pedestrians and cyclists to build the active travel Utopia that so many of us elsewhere lust after. Perhaps if we believe it, we can all achieve the same by becoming more political cyclists.
The Chinese viral bike rides also reminded me of Dom Whiting’s bike raves, which have been held across UK cities since the Covid lockdowns, bringing together all sorts of people on bikes just to have fun. Sometimes as serious cycling people we miss the fact that for many, bikes are something fun, or maybe just an accessory, and there are more people on bikes out there than those of us who are firmly ‘cyclists’. We need to reach these people, and ensure they help us build a better two-wheeled future.
Maybe there is no lesson from the big Chinese bike ride, but I would like to think we could have a viral cycling moment over here, and show how silly and fun riding your bike can be, and create safer streets in the process. Maybe we need to be better at building our movement. Do let me know.
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If you want to get in touch with Adam, email adam.becket@futurenet.com.
