Recently a not so young form of protest came (back?) to Vienna: Critical Mass. If you happened to come across the last two on April 28th and May 19th (the first one doesn’t count, *cough*), what you saw was ~100 and ~50 people getting through the city on their bikes. Now that’s a little bit too much for one bike track, you think? Well, they happend to basically block the normal traffic on, for example, one Vienna’s more important roads: the Ring.

What for? The protesters think cyclists and skaters are not treated as they should be. They’re too often blocked, overseen or even pushed away, be it on the street or on the bike track.

Obviously, that only happens when you get around on your own. Lightbulb above your head? We Are Traffic is their non-violent statement to the public, while at the same time, making the streets more secure for all the unmotorised attendees.

I hope the public gets it, and that there are going to be a lot more than 100 people this time. So go there and bring your muscle-driven vehicle of choice, and join the mass:

Friday, 16th of June 2006, 16:30, Margaretenplatz, 1050 Wien

For further reading, there’s Critical Mass Vienna blog, and if you want to help with promotion, the flyer is available too.