By Hannah Straw

A critical mass is the smallest amount of material needed to sustain a nuclear reaction. It’s also the smallest amount of cyclists needed to sustain a global cycling movement. Critical Mass is self-organized, non-commercial and non-competitive, an 'organised coincidence' occurring in cities throughout the world and it's coming back to Prague on September 21st.

Cycling around Prague seems natural enough (there are certainly enough tours), but if you stop and think about it we're not best blessed here. Cobbled streets, dastardly junctions and aggressive drivers all make you feel uneasy enough, until you  realize that there are hardly any cycling lanes in Prague’s streets. There it becomes apparent that Prague lags well behind other European cities in welcoming cyclists.

Cycling is possibly the number one leisure activity for Czechs; the amount of space dedicated by national newspapers to cycle-routes and bike maintenance is testament to this. However, cycling is always done outside of the city. The number of bi-wheeled commuters in Prague is criminally small. Cycling is thought of as a luxury rather than a day-to-day necessity; there are plenty of shiny new bike shops around but no cheap second-hand bike shops, meaning that cycling in Prague is not as accessible as it might be.

What better way to raise awareness than for cyclists to take to the streets en masse, creating a critical mass? Critical Mass bike rides began in San Francisco in 1992 and crossed the Atlantic to Europe in the late 1990s. Historically, the level of organization of Critical Mass rides can vary, with traditional emphasis being put on spontaneity and anarchy. Prague’s Critical Mass ride, however, is organised by AutoMat, an NGO specialising in non-auto forms of transport, making Prague's rides more organised and legitimate than those in other cities. In coordination with Mobility Week, Critical Mass Prague will be highlighting how Prague could operate with fewer cars and the beauty of silence that cycling lends to roads when there are no cars around.

Everyone, young and old, big and small, is invited to participate in the 8-10km route which will start from Smetanovo nábřeží. For more information visit: www.cyklojizdy.cz   and www.prahounakole.cz

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