September 9, 2009
By Greg Spencer
One of the largest Critical Mass bike rides in the world will be staged once again on September 22 in Budapest, Hungary.
The Budapest ride, which has been held twice per year since its inauguration in 2004, has garnered international attention for its unexpectedly large turnouts. From an auspicious debut turnout of 4,000 riders, participation more or less doubled each successive occasion - peaking in spring 2008 with 80,000 participants.
Organised by volunteers from a successful cycling courier company, the event's success has certainly contributed to rapidly growing numbers of everyday urban cyclists in Budapest, including a thriving subculture of young riders on velodrome-style, fixed-gear bicycles, or 'fixies'. No official traffic counts have been done to verify the trend, but various sources have estimated downtown modal share for cycling at a minimum of 5 percent - up from less than 2 percent the last time the city made a proper estimate.
Word of the Budapest phenomenon has spread amongst cycling activists around the world through such channels as the popular blog . During last year's Car-Free Day ride, the blog's creator, Michael Colville Anderson, spent several days in Budapest, and posted continuously during the lead-up to and aftermath of Critical Mass.
International participants are now a mainstay. This year, for instance, a group of 10 cyclists from Rome have promised to come, and a Spanish academic based in Slovakia will be here to conduct research on citizen participation. Several university students in Budapest, both Hungarian and foreign, have done research papers on Budapest Critical Mass. Gabor Bihari, who edits the English-language page of the ride's website, , said that these are just a sampling of the foreigners who have contacted him for details about the event.
Like many other mass bike rides on the European Continent, the upcoming Critical Mass will take place at the conclusion of European Mobility Week and coincide with Car-Free Day. The ride will take place from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. - the tail end of rush hour - and conclude with a public meeting at a large downtown bar where candidates in this fall's municipal elections will be invited to present their cycling platforms.
