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news
Collector Road, Castle Bromwich (via StreetView).jpg100 young cyclists bring traffic to a halt on one of Birmingham's busiest roads
More than 100 young cyclists caused "traffic chaos" on Collector Road in Castle Bromwich last Sunday. A large group on mountain bikes also weaved its way through the Bullring shopping centre after dodging past a security guard. Footage of both incidents has been posted to social media.
The Birmingham Mail reports that the incident on Collector Road saw cyclists weaving across lanes, blocking cars and performing stunts. There was also at least one motorcyclist involved and he was the one person arrested in the wake of the incident.
A spokeswoman for West Midlands Police said:
“Officers were sent to the area at around 5pm following reports that nearly 100 people on push bikes were blocking the road.
“In the group was a motorcyclist who broke away and appeared to drive off at speed towards Clay Lane.
“Matthew Sidwell, 27, of Redfern Close, Solihull was arrested from Clay Lane and was later charged with driving dangerously, handling stolen goods and taking a motor vehicle without consent.”
Sidwell pleaded guilty to dangerous driving and taking a motor vehicle without consent when he appeared before Birmingham Magistrates Court on Tuesday and will be sentenced in October.
Meanwhile, the Bullring says it “continually reviews its procedures” after young mountain bikers rode through the shopping centre, having dodged past a single security guard.
A comment left on the Birmingham Mail site, apparently by one of the participants, read: “We made it. Just wait until next time. #bikelifebirmingham. #ripstig. #bullringshutdown.”
A motorcyclist nicknamed Stig was killed in a road collision on Collector Road in March. A month later, the bikelife.tv website featured a video tribute to him.
Bikelife.tv last month organised the #BikeStormz group ride through Central London. Onlookers described seeing “swarms” of cyclists with one witness describing the scenes as “anarchy.” However, a Met Police spokeswoman said they were not aware of any arrests being made as a result of the ride.
Alex has written for more cricket publications than the rest of the road.cc team combined. Despite the apparent evidence of this picture, he doesn't especially like cake.
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18 comments
It's good to see that youth can still shock their elders* I have fond memories of taking part in equally pointless / misguided protests circa late 90s with reclaim the streets. Also in Birmingham as it happens. I'm sure the man felt properly stuck to.
*As long as the youth don't make me late for work, scratch my car etc.
I was wondering the other day, what the reaction would be if there was a pedestrian movement that was the equivalent of these bikestormz/bikelife kids. But then I realised that's basically The Ramblers.
the rabblers have had there moments
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_trespass_of_Kinder_Scout
they don't like being reminded of it when I encounter them on a footpath when I'm on a mountain bike
So the motorcycle rider, rides dangerously & is charged with dangerous driving; but car & lorry drivers kill cyclists, (each other & pedestrians) & don't even get charged with careless driving!
Great justice at work.
Good Lord. It's nearly as appalling and tragic as the 1819 draesien riots in Hyde Park
http://www.museumoflondonprints.com/image/141436/j-sidebethem-perambulat...
Won't someone Do Something? To stop this carnage?
If nothing else then these misguided millenials might get hit by one of the highly trained motor vehicle drivers who will have to live with the remorse and agonising guilt for the rest of their life.
Think of the children.
Surely all the evidence the police could need will have been posted to Instagram within half an hour of the event.
Dang! Beat me to it!
Great to see they are giving all us courteous cyclists a good name...
Sounds like critical mass for nobheads.
There's already a critical mass for nobheads, it's called critical mass.
dang - beat me to it!
"caused traffic chaos"
Somehow car drivers doing exactly the same thing are never blamed for it...
Car drivers don't generally intend to disrupt traffic.
Unless they are driving taxis
I doubt they intended to cause "disruption". They probably intended to have a good time. They just dgaf that a few drivers might be disrupted. To be honest, said drivers disrupt our roads at least twice a day, making them unsafe and unpleasant for others. Let the kids have their fun. Why not even shit the city to motorised traffic one day a month so that the kids can do it safely? The mayor of Paris does it.
That's right - it's not them that's causing traffic chaos - it's other drivers, or buses, or people on bikes, or bike lanes if there are any vaguely nearby, or any one of a number of convenient scapegoats.
Everyday traffic disruption is a product of human choices, but as a rule drivers never blame themselves for their own poor choices, only other people.
So intent doesn't really have anything to do with it. By taking their vehicle into a city centre they already know has limited road space, they are just as much to blame as any other road user.
Imagine a gang of lawless motorcyclists - very few helmets, masked faces, wheelies on the opposite side of the road / pavements. How would you feel about these guys causing traffic chaos? Then imagine this same gang, of which numbers are close to 100 putting their motorbikes down and jumping on bicycles. Still think it's acceptable? When car drivers do this, they're usually protesting. These guys "are giving it back to the man" under the pretence #giveussomewheretoride
For more info, check out 'bikelife_birmingham_' on Instagram.
So is "Bikestormz" like "Critical Mass: The Next Generation"?
(Second point: why do the police insist on referring to "push bikes"?)