Anti-Bush activists launch protests: thousands of cyclists brought traffic in midtown Manhattan

By Mark Egan

NEW YORK - Thousands of cyclists brought traffic in midtown Manhattan to a virtual standstill in the first significant
protest ahead of the Republican convention at which President George W. Bush will be nominated to run for a second White House
term.

Thousands of cyclists swarmed down Broadway from Central Park in a parade stretching more than a mile on Friday evening — a
time when the area is typically crowded with theatregoers and people out for dinner and drinks.

The protest lasted several hours, with many chanting "No more Bush," and was the first sizeable demonstration ahead of the
August 30-September 2 convention. Many locals in the mostly Democratic city stopped to applaud the cyclists as they passed
through a bustling Times Square.

At least 30 cyclists were detained and handcuffed at various locations along the route after small altercations between riders and
motorists who were irritated at the congestion, according to Reuters witnesses.

The New York Police Department said it had no immediate information about arrests.

The event was mounted by a group called Critical Mass, which wants to boost the rights of cyclists in traffic-clogged city streets
and holds its rides in cities around the world on the last Friday of each month.

More demonstrations are expected in the coming days.

The biggest anti-Bush protest is set for Sunday, when more than 200,000 are expected to march to decry the Bush
administration’s economic policies, the war in Iraq and what they see as the erosion of civil liberties at home after the September
11, 2001 attacks.

The group organising Sunday’s march was denied a permit to rally in Central Park on the grounds such a large crowd would
damage the grass. (Reuters)

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