'Organised' cycle racing on the roads ...

[Herman Toothrot]

DocSteve said:

Alfanatic said:

Are you serious? I've yet to have an organised cycle race interrupt my car journey. Is this really happening so often to you that it's worth starting a rant about?

Well said!

Also:-
Velodromes and race-circuits are not suitable for all types of cycling races and there are nowhere near enough of them - if you knew anything about the sport that would be obvious.

British Cycling are lobbying parliament for a review of the existing legislation I believe, mainly to improve safety and reduce the problems of friction between motorists and cyclists at these events. It's clear that if we want more successes in the sport, racing on the road will need to continue.

[Diderot]

Parrot of Doom said:

DocSteve said:

Diderot said:

Parrot of Doom said:

Diderot said:

Parrot of Doom said:

Diderot said:

If you really have to ask such a question then I'm assuming you didn't delete anything...

Don't avoid the question, answer it.

Don't ignore the glaringly obvious, think about it.

So you can't/won't answer the question. I see. You'll probably answer this post with another silly retort.

Edited by Parrot of Doom on Sunday 22 March 21:16

No I don't think you do see.


Which part of 'standing up pedalling at full tilt 3 abreast through a 30 limit and nearly taking out 2 old dears on a crossing, or straightlining a roundabout at speed and not bothering to indicate which exit they were planning to take (and nearly causing a pile up), or riding on the wrong side of the road oblivious to traffic behind because they were 'racing', or riding in a huge group at c.30mph in a 70 limit on the A27 causing long delays' do you not see?

Responsible cyclists (whether racing or not) do not behave like that on the public road.

Do you want a pissing competition about bad habits of drivers vs cyclists, and which are more dangerous? If so, I think you'll find that racing cyclists have rarely killed an old dear at a crossing, caused major pile-ups and traffic delays but rather motorists consistently and regularly do these things, resulting in many deaths every year.

So, let's ban cars and leave the roads free for cyclists in that case.

Cycle racing on the highway is regulated by the law "Cycle Racing on the Highway 1960". Organisers are attempting to have his law updated so that more races can take places safely and without causing unnecessary obstruction on the roads. Some people here have got on their high horse about what activities involving roaduse are "essential". Surely a motoring enthusiasts' website should have more insight than to ask for the banning of something because it is dangerous and non-essential. I can almost guarantee, Diderot, that you have used the roads for non-essential activities and consequently exposed yourself and the public to a greater risk than a road cyclist racing early on Sunday morning.

Perception of risk is something humans are particularly bad at and I see in a professional capacity regularly - this is being well displayed here it seems.

Took the words straight from my mouth.

Well, you are a parrot.

[Parrot of Doom]

Better a brain of feathers than a heart of lead.

[Diderot]

Parrot of Doom said:

Better a brain of feathers than a heart of lead.

Better a velodrome or a track, than racing in anger on a public A road.

[heebeegeetee]

Diderot, do you accept that as car drivers, you and me form part of a group that kills 3,000 a year, maims and injures hundreds of thousands more, clogs the roads up almost 24/7, causes all the constant road building and upgrading which causes massive congestion, has caused almost every roundabout of any reasonable size to have to have traffic lights installed on them, we bring entire cities to grinding halts almost every day, we trun pensioners into prisoners because they simply cannot get across busy roads, we kill more cyclists and children pro rata than most if not all western countries and we damage the health of everybody?

You're gonna have to remind me what was so terrible about what those cyclists did mate. You and i and all our fellow car users are going to cause each and every one of us to lose countless hours of our lives over this year, enough hours to add up to entire days possibly, but i know that cyclists will not lose me more than 5 minutes in 2009.

And btw - you mentioned those classic cars - most of them won't be paying ved for their vehicles either, so why haven't you and the rest of the blue rinse set moaned about them?

For gods sake man, get a grip on reality. When cyclists get anywhere near causing as much harm as you, then you can say summat.

[collateral]

I'm from round the OP's neck of the woods and there really are some mong cyclists about. No beef with the bikers, mind.

[Diderot]

heebeegeetee said:

Diderot, do you accept that as car drivers, you and me form part of a group that kills 3,000 a year, maims and injures hundreds of thousands more, clogs the roads up almost 24/7, causes all the constant road building and upgrading which causes massive congestion, has caused almost every roundabout of any reasonable size to have to have traffic lights installed on them, we bring entire cities to grinding halts almost every day, we trun pensioners into prisoners because they simply cannot get across busy roads, we kill more cyclists and children pro rata than most if not all western countries and we damage the health of everybody?

You're gonna have to remind me what was so terrible about what those cyclists did mate. You and i and all our fellow car users are going to cause each and every one of us to lose countless hours of our lives over this year, enough hours to add up to entire days possibly, but i know that cyclists will not lose me more than 5 minutes in 2009.

And btw - you mentioned those classic cars - most of them won't be paying ved for their vehicles either, so why haven't you and the rest of the blue rinse set moaned about them?

For gods sake man, get a grip on reality. When cyclists get anywhere near causing as much harm as you, then you can say summat.

You get a grip on the subject matter of the discussion!

For the last time, my beef isn't with cyclists per se, or cycling in general. It's about whether it is sensible to have cyclists racing in so called 'organised' races on very busy A roads which are open to the public.

[Parrot of Doom]

Diderot said:

You get a grip on the subject matter of the discussion!

For the last time, my beef isn't with cyclists per se, or cycling in general. It's about whether it is sensible to have cyclists racing in so called 'organised' races on very busy A roads which are open to the public.

Your original post was a bitter, abusive denunciation of the length of time by which you and others were delayed due to the presence of cyclists on the road. What those cyclists were doing is irrelevant to that delay, you are using the fact that they were in a race to give some weight to your simplistic little rant. Really, what it boils down to is that you think you own the roads and have more right to use them than the other people you mention in the same piffle-tastic platitude.

Far be it from me to tell you what your own thread is predicated on.

Edited by Parrot of Doom on Sunday 22 March 23:57

[FarleyRusk]

Once cyclists actually pay for the roads they use then they can start to act like they bloody own them! Until then, a bit of respect for the majority of other road users would be in order. Agree with the OP - if they want to race then they should get an event properly organised and traffic diverted accordingly.

Farley (motorist & fair-weather commuter cyclist)

[Timberwolf]

I don't mind folks out in packs on most roads - as said, the racers tend to keep up a decent speed and a group of bikes is no worse than a coffin dodger (plus you can see ahead much better through them) - but I think the A24 cycle runs are a bit on the dangerous side.

The problem is you have a dual carriageway without a shoulder, and especially once the cyclists get spread out it doesn't matter how many signs you put by the side of the road, drivers are simply not conditioned to hammering down a dual carriageway at 60/70mph and coming up on a cyclist, because they're effectively in "motorway" mentality by that point.

The bike/car speed differentials are much higher than SC trunk roads and I've seen a fair few near misses take place before now; all it takes is something like a Zafira or taller positioned over to the left and pulling out to overtake at the last minute, and the car behind that Zafira/MPV/etc. is coming up fast on a cyclist they didn't even realise was there. I mean, I might know that they do cycle runs on that road, and drive accordingly, but all it takes is one carload of family on their way to the coast, one parent at the wheel concentrating more on the payload than the road ahead, and you've got a fatal on your hands.

[coupeboy]

BAN THEM! I wouldn't have to cycle 250+ miles a week and get up at 6pm on Sunday mornings....

[anonymous-user]

FarleyRusk said:

Once cyclists actually pay for the roads they use then they can start to act like they bloody own them! Until then, a bit of respect for the majority of other road users would be in order.

What about cyclists who also own cars?

[coupeboy]

Symbolica said:

FarleyRusk said:

Once cyclists actually pay for the roads they use then they can start to act like they bloody own them! Until then, a bit of respect for the majority of other road users would be in order.

What about cyclists who also own cars?

VED does not pay for roads, it's based on Co2 emissions, it's a duty for polluting the air, cycles do not pollute the air.

[accident]

so how much co2 does a cyclist pump out ?
how much less than a 50cc bike?
is cycling carbon neutral or worse?

[FarleyRusk]

coupeboy said:

Symbolica said:

FarleyRusk said:

Once cyclists actually pay for the roads they use then they can start to act like they bloody own them! Until then, a bit of respect for the majority of other road users would be in order.

What about cyclists who also own cars?

VED does not pay for roads, it's based on Co2 emissions, it's a duty for polluting the air, cycles do not pollute the air.

So is the money collected under this pretence actually being spent on neutralising or fixing the alleged effects of environmental pollution then?

[Timberwolf]

coupeboy said:

cycles do not pollute the air.

Oh I don't know. Curry the night before and packing egg sandwiches for lunch...

[Diderot]

Parrot of Doom said:

Diderot said:

You get a grip on the subject matter of the discussion!

For the last time, my beef isn't with cyclists per se, or cycling in general. It's about whether it is sensible to have cyclists racing in so called 'organised' races on very busy A roads which are open to the public.

Your original post was a bitter, abusive denunciation of the length of time by which you and others were delayed due to the presence of cyclists on the road. What those cyclists were doing is irrelevant to that delay, you are using the fact that they were in a race to give some weight to your simplistic little rant. Really, what it boils down to is that you think you own the roads and have more right to use them than the other people you mention in the same piffle-tastic platitude.

Far be it from me to tell you what your own thread is predicated on.

Edited by Parrot of Doom on Sunday 22 March 23:57

Far be it from to tell you that you are either functionally illiterate or you are wilfully misreading what was originally written.

[coupeboy]

FarleyRusk said:

coupeboy said:

Symbolica said:

FarleyRusk said:

Once cyclists actually pay for the roads they use then they can start to act like they bloody own them! Until then, a bit of respect for the majority of other road users would be in order.

What about cyclists who also own cars?

VED does not pay for roads, it's based on Co2 emissions, it's a duty for polluting the air, cycles do not pollute the air.

So is the money collected under this pretence actually being spent on neutralising or fixing the alleged effects of environmental pollution then?

No, it goes into the Exchequer and is spent on whatever, it may be spent on roads and reducing carbon emmisions amongst other things. VED does reward people for driving cleaner cars, hence cars like the vw blue motion and prius etc, which in turn helps reduce air pollution.

[Parrot of Doom]

Really, is repeating my words the best argument you can come up with? You seem completely unable to answer even the simplest question. Nothing you have described regarding the behaviour of these cyclists (I have little doubt your story is very heavily embellished) would surprise anyone if it were ascribed to your average motorist.

[heebeegeetee]

Diderot said:

You get a grip on the subject matter of the discussion!

For the last time, my beef isn't with cyclists per se, or cycling in general. It's about whether it is sensible to have cyclists racing in so called 'organised' races on very busy A roads which are open to the public.

Well, you said in your OP "How is this deemed safe?". Answer: It's been going on since the start of the last century, with little loss of life. How many lives have been lost to cars since the start of the last century? By your logic, cars *must* be banned. And it is simply not possible for a car owner/user to complain about congestion caused by other forms of traffic. It is simply not possible, it is absurd. You and i will lose hours out of our lives due to motorised traffic in 2009, we will lose less minutes than we have fingers to cyclists. Your argument is barmy, mate.

I realise that what happened to you was a bit frustrating, but there would have been less frustration if there was less traffic, irrespective of the cyclists.

Edited by heebeegeetee on Monday 23 March 00:38