Thank you, London cyclists.

On Friday night over 600 cyclists took part in a special Critical Mass in London to mark the spot where three of London's cyclist have been killed in collisions with HGVs so far this year.

Last week a group of London's cycling bloggers made a shout out for action on the issue of HGVs killing cyclists; the Bike Show, Real Cycling, Velo Loves the City and myself all called for cyclists to come to Critical Mass to make a big, loud start on the cycling community turning up the heat on this issue and to let it be known that the 'Lorry Ban' or London Lorry Control Scheme to give it it's proper name is actually endangering cyclists.  TBag from Brain Farts for a Bike Tart asked why if Dublin had banned peak-hour HGVs, London hadn't?  Meanwhile the Velorution bike shop blog asked if this would be the largest Critical Mass yet.

The turn out at the Mass was a fantastic start: seeing so many cyclists on London's roads is always an inspiring site.  People holding up the traffic took the time to explain to drivers that the ride was visiting the three crash sites and there were only a few occassions of aggressive drivers not prepared to wait for a few minutes as the Mass rolled past.  Many more were supportive; the people in the pubs at the crash sites came out and applauded the cyclists as they rolled on.  Visiting the sites of the collisions themselves was very moving and really brought the issue home for me.

But this is of course just the start on this issue; over the new next few months, as spring turns into summer and more and more cyclists join us on the roads, we'll be letting you know what YOU can do to help change the very legislation that is encouraging lorry drivers to rush during the morning peak.  Thanks for helping us to make a start, keep yourself safe whilst cycling on roads with large trucks and lorries, and here's to working towards a change for the good of all of London's cyclists in the future!