Pedals was patched together after it was damaged by police at the G20
but later the bass amp went kaput. The top amp was also playing up so
both were replaced during the Climate Camp on Blackheath. It is still
going strong and I noticed this photo of it
in action recently at the COP OUT Camp in Trafalgar Square (from
Amelia's Magazine).
When the peaceful Climate Camp protest was attacked by police on April
1st in London, one the targets of their wrath was Pedals. Perhaps they
didn't like the music but their reaction was a little extreme.
Apparently they gave it a serious beating before pushing it over moments
before this photo was taken . From what I gather
the bass was still working and it was rescued and ridden away but I
don't know the extent of the damage. Pedals is now maintained by
Bicycology, and various people have suggested that Bicycology
should send the repair bill to the Metropolitan Police. I suppose there
is no harm trying but it seems rather trivial given that the cops
apparently also beat and pushed over an innocent bystander who who
fairly promptly collapsed and died.
Pedals is looking a bit battered but is most definitely back on the
scene. It had been languishing up in Lancaster with a few problems that
prevented it being utilised but I brought it back down South late last
year for a major refurbishment and it is once again being seen around
London. Back in 2007 I built a system called Son of Pedals which
is now in Lancaster and I am currently working on a new smaller system.
I won't attempt to document all of the adventures of Pedals since my
last entry on this page but I will leave you with a photo taken
yesterday as it led a Critical Mass style bike ride to the Climate
Camp in the City of London.
Pedals is a high power 12v tandem towed soundsystem
which was custom built for the 2005 London to Scotland G8 Bike
Ride. It had one test run on London Critical Mass which revealed a
few minor problems, but once those were ironed out it survived the
arduous journey to Scotland in remarkable style. Pedals has since made a
number of public appearances including:
www.zenatode.org.uk Ian Gregory 2010