Cycling’s for Athletes

It’s the Olympics

And cycling’s for athletes

So now i’m told

If your bike doesn’t fold

You can’t take it on the train

Cause of a silly flame

And i’m kinda pissed it came

Cause cycling’s for everyone

Not just the one’s that won

Everyone should run around

And now no one goes to town

Cause you’re worried it’s too busy

And now it’s empty in the city

You can’t even take your bike

They do whatever they like

Whose streets? Whose Games? Whose City? Whose Trains?

If you’re waiting for while

Make sure you wear a smile

If you suffer from Parkinson’s

Do Martial Arts demonstrations

And you’re waiting for the race

Cops will put you on your face

You’ll spend your daughter’s birthday

At the pleasure of her majesty

It’s the Olympics

And cycling’s for athletes

I don’t need to ask permission

If I wanna go cycling

I don’t wanna ask your approval

About where my bike is suitable

They want you to stay at home

Watch TV, have a moan

See all their advertising

It 10 percent of cost to cover it

With all their monopolizing

Every final Friday of the month

In cities, bikes give cars the shunt

It’s the anarchist Critical Mass

You don’t have to be top class

You don’t have to be Chris Hoy

They don’t care if you’re a boy

The greatest global bike event

And it doesn’t cost a cent

But it’s the Olympics

And cycling’s for athletes!

So when they ride to the stadium

For that opening ceromanium

Trying to get away from the vehicle

They arrest 180 people

Confiscate their bike

Police do what they like

Imprison them all night

In buses and a shed

Make them sleep without a bed

And no water and no food

The Chinese would think this good

Cause it’s the Olympics!

And cycling’s for Athletes!

— Catherine Brogan

Posted by Catherine Brogan on her blog.

Catherine Brogan is currently at the Edinburgh Fringe.

The London 2012 Olympics is to leave a legacy, or so we are told.

Try taking your cycle on the train. You cannot.

Try cycling around London. Critical Mass tried to do just that on the evening of the Opening Ceremony and go the shit beat out of them by the Police and mass arrests took place for the heinous crime of riding a cycle.

• Whose Games?
• London 2012 opening ceremony a celebration of democracy meanwhile outside
• Huge projection overlooking Olympic park exposes Adidas exploitation‏
• “You Brits are sooo arrogant”
• #NBCFAIL Abysmal London 2012 coverage by NBC
• Parkinson’s sufferer arrested in Leatherhead for ‘not smiling’

London 2012 opening ceremony a celebration of democracy meanwhile outside

London 2012 Critical Mass cycle ride

On Friday, we were all thrilled by the opening ceremony, well all thrilled except one Member of Parliament who attends parties where the dress code is Nazi uniform. We saw suffragettes, we celebrated the NHS, we saw winged cyclists.

Meanwhile outside it was business as usual. A Critical Mass cycle ride seen by some as protest at the Zil Lanes but in reality simply to exercise the right to cycle on the public highway was brutally attacked by the police. The police reaction was totally over the top. The police could have simply let the cyclists pass through, point made, and that would have been the end of the matter but that sadly is not the way the mentality of the Met works.

Something like 200 cyclists were arrested. They were held on a bus all night without food or drink whilst they waited to be processed.

Mass arrests for the heinous crime of “cycling in a group north of the river Thames” on the opening night of an Olympics, which is supposed to be promoting access to sport and active travel, sends a clear message about how committed Games organisers Locog are to any legacy other than a financial one.

A diverse group of people attempting to celebrate their right to use the road safely and in an environmentally friendly manner , which they have been doing for several years and even won the right to do so in the House of Lords, should be promoted by the Olympics, rather than persecuted for fear of their creating a four or five minute delay on the precious Zil Lanes. As Critical Mass is a long-running sporting tradition in London and many other cities across the world, Locog should have made sure they accommodated it — the Olympics are disrupting normal life in the city enough already without infringing the rights of the participants in one of few sporting events which no one is able to make a profit from.

On Friday 27th July, 182 cyclists were held in a police kettle for two hours, handcuffed in buses for three hours, and held in a police cell from six hours to two days. These included a 13 year old boy. Police also confirmed the cyclists reports that CS gas was used during these arrests.

Out of 182 cyclists, only 3 have been charged with any offence. However, ALL have bail conditions imposed on them until September 18th 2012 restricting their freedom to move, assemble, associate and live their lives.

We have the following demands:

1. All bail conditions should be discharged
2. All data including DNA, fingerprint, addresses etc taken from those cyclists should be removed from all paper and comupter records of police & other agencies
3. An independent review of the thuggish police behaviour on Friday 27th July should be conducted as a matter of urgency

All this for continuing the 18 year tradition of a bike ride through the streets of London on the last Friday of every month.

Some of those arrested were nothing to do with the Critical Mass cycle ride. They simply happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time on a bike (which in the eyes of the Met is a heinous crime requiring cuffing and detention).

This political policing to crush dissent and restrict people’s rights without charge must be stoppped. Help us stand for a police and legal system which we can believe in, please sign our petition today:

http://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/metropolitan-police-criminal-justice-system-uk-justice-for-the-critical-mass-182

Bradley Wiggins, the first Brit to win the Tour de France, has increased awareness and interest in cycling. A massive own goal by the Met.

Was this the image London 2012 wanted broadcast around the world on the opening night, police brutality against a bunch of cyclists?

Critical Mass is a mass cycle ride that takes place around the world on the last Friday of the month.

• The Total Policing of Critical Mass – An Eye Witness Report
• Cycling arrests raise questions about legacy Olympic organisers want to leave
• Celebrating protest inside the Olympic Games while stopping it outside
• Critical Mass arrests: police charge three
• Mass arrests at monthly cycling event in London on Olympic ceremony night (VIDEO, PHOTOS)

Monte Grappa

Montegrappa is a company in Bassano del Grappa that makes high quality pens. They recently celebrated 100 years 1912-2012 with the launch on St Joseph’s Day of The Alchemist pen, a collaboration between Montegrappa and Paulo Coelho.

– Montegrappa launch The Alchemist pen
– Launch of Montegrappa The Alchemist pen

Monte Grappa is a mountain, 1,775 metres (5,823 ft) high, not far from Bassano del Grappa.

Bassano del Grappa is very popular with cyclists, Monte Grappa is no exception. Cyclists on mountain bikes like to make a rapid descent of Monte Grappa.

Top Story in The Digital Mission Daily (Saturday 7 April 2012).