Cycle Event Marshals

[popeyewhite]

Ares said:

You mentioned the (quite considerable) research. I'm just asking for you to back up what you said? I'm sure you are aware of what impression such repeated diversionary tactics give?

[mx5nut]

gazza285 said:

captain_cynic said:

Don't see why cyclists should have different rules. Want to organise a road race, get permission, gazette it and set up diversions.

So your solution to being held up by a man with a flag for ten seconds is to have the road closed to all traffic but the cyclists? Rather a disproportionate response.

The disproportionate response, like the occasional ridiculous suggestion to stick number plates to the back of bicycles or tax discs to helmets, are intended by the "anti" mob to add enough red tape and expense as to put people off the idea entirely.

[popeyewhite]

Ares said:

popeyewhite said:

BMWBen said:

Why is anybody more important than anybody else in this situation? It's called sharing the roads.

This, broadly. But racing where the public is intermingled is an accident waiting to happen. I'd happily take another route, let them have their race and we have no arguments, no incensed drivers and no injured cyclists. How long does it take a peloton to pass? With lead and rear vehicles a whole road closure could be completed easily in 60 minutes.

As a driver of c15,000 miles a year, and a cyclist of c10,000miles per year....I'd rather just cause a very minor delay of 60 seconds to roads users, rather than a road closure of 60 minutes, usually more.
.

How many miles you drive a year (commendable) and how many miles you cycle a year (also, highly commendable), will make no difference when an impatient car driver knocks you off your bike as you're not paying attention passing another trialler you've caught up.

[Dammit]

The solution to which is to ban the driver before he hits the cyclist.

[LG9k]

I've yet to see a convincing argument as to why these time trials and races can't take place off public roads. There are plenty of racetracks around the country, as well as stately homes with long networks of drive ways...

It'd be better for everyone, can anyone give an argument as to why not?

[Marcellus]

LG9k said:

I've yet to see a convincing argument as to why these time trials and races can't take place off public roads. There are plenty of racetracks around the country, as well as stately homes with long networks of drive ways...

It'd be better for everyone, can anyone give an argument as to why not?

l

Try this one for starters; can you think of a race track/circuit/stately etc etc where a race could be held off the public roads which is c100miles long over varied surfaces and contains one, two or perhaps 3 climbs of 10% average over 2/10miles?

[Dammit]

LG9k said:

I've yet to see a convincing argument as to why these time trials and races can't take place off public roads. There are plenty of racetracks around the country, as well as stately homes with long networks of drive ways...

It'd be better for everyone, can anyone give an argument as to why not?

"Everyone" clearly doesn't include cyclists, which is going to be your problem here.

[StanleyT]

We used to live on a road where the suicyclists often did Sunday time trials. The road was a lazy backwater 400 yr long street except for Sundays when used for cycling time trials (if the cylists stuck to the two main A roads this intersected, there was a four way cross traffic light junction which you really couldn't jump on a bike, HGVs / buses coming through at 40 mph cars at up to 60mph).

One week the marshall knocked on all the doors at 8am where there was a car parked out side asking residents if they could move the car to the South side of the street as the cars parked on alternate sides meant flowing traffic had to slow down and that slowed the bikes down (the limit was 20 mph - I'm sure some bikes were going faster). This request got short shift.

Same the following week. No response from residents to moving cars.

Same the following week. Shouty marshall saying "we'd broke Strava" or something.

Same the following week. No response from residents to moving cars.

The next week we had windscreen flyerz! Not sure how that makes you move your car on a Sunday when they get put on at 8 am and you're having lazy breakfast / around the back trimming the wifes bushy clematis taking all the morn. Shouty marshall saying "we'd broke Strava" or something.

Following week. "Unexpectedly" a removal van was parked with "removal van marshalls" raising and lowering the side lift of the pantechnicon (not Panopetcron as I first wrote as that is a type of office) as and when they felt like it, not when shouty cyclists wanted coz Strava. VERY angry cyclists. If only they'd put the anger into cycling energy rather than shouty energy they'd have beaten Strava.

Same the following week. Shouty marshall saying "we'd broke Strava" or something. And asking us not to do the removal van trick again.

Following week, we invited the local Scouts to do a Sponsored car wash on one of the residents drives. That got a good queue and lots of soapy water on the road (a bit naughty as if someone had slipped.......). No suprise, got shouted at, even though we offerred a discount on bike washes.

Same the following week. Shouty marshall saying "we'd broke Strava and he'd posted it on Youtube" or something.

Following week, as the bikes used to come down the road pretty much to a dot from 10:13 to around 10:53, for some reason loads of residents decided to do syncronised three point turns where we all had to wait for each other and do you know what happened?

Nowt.

Cock all.

Nothing.

Zilch.

Bloody bikes had gone elsewhere never to be seen since.

Edited by StanleyT on Monday 19th February 20:54

[Ares]

popeyewhite said:

Ares said:

You mentioned the (quite considerable) research. I'm just asking for you to back up what you said? I'm sure you are aware of what impression such repeated diversionary tactics give?

And that even more so

[Ares]

popeyewhite said:

Ares said:

popeyewhite said:

BMWBen said:

Why is anybody more important than anybody else in this situation? It's called sharing the roads.

This, broadly. But racing where the public is intermingled is an accident waiting to happen. I'd happily take another route, let them have their race and we have no arguments, no incensed drivers and no injured cyclists. How long does it take a peloton to pass? With lead and rear vehicles a whole road closure could be completed easily in 60 minutes.

As a driver of c15,000 miles a year, and a cyclist of c10,000miles per year....I'd rather just cause a very minor delay of 60 seconds to roads users, rather than a road closure of 60 minutes, usually more.
.

How many miles you drive a year (commendable) and how many miles you cycle a year (also, highly commendable), will make no difference when an impatient car driver knocks you off your bike as you're not paying attention passing another trialler you've caught up.

I don't time trial.
In years of high mileage on two wheels, I've never been knocked off....or even fallen off. The only (very few) times I've come close I've been riding alone and it's been the inattention (or aggressive behaviour) of a motorist.


FWIW, Time Trial riders are typically very solid riders with very good spacial awareness/visibility. They can't legislate for the impatient driver however, but they will always be paying attention. Even more so on a TT.

[Ares]

LG9k said:

I've yet to see a convincing argument as to why these time trials and races can't take place off public roads. There are plenty of racetracks around the country, as well as stately homes with long networks of drive ways...

It'd be better for everyone, can anyone give an argument as to why not?

Same reason they don't run marathons and 10k road races around stately homes.

It's a time trial, not a track race.

[Dammit]

StanleyT said:

We used to live on a road where the suicyclists often did Sunday time trials. The road was a lazy backwater 400 yr long street except for Sundays when used for cycling time trials (if the cylists stuck to the two main A roads this intersected, there was a four way cross traffic light junction which you really couldn't jump on a bike, HGVs / buses coming through at 40 mph cars at up to 60mph).

One week the marshall knocked on all the doors at 8am where there was a car parked out side asking residents if they could move the car to the South side of the street as the cars parked on alternate sides meant flowing traffic had to slow down and that slowed the bikes down (the limit was 20 mph - I'm sure some bikes were going faster). This request got short shift.

Same the following week. No response from residents to moving cars.

Same the following week. Shouty marshall saying "we'd broke Strava" or something.

Same the following week. No response from residents to moving cars.

The next week we had windscreen flyerz! Not sure how that makes you move your car on a Sunday when they get put on at 8 am and you're having lazy breakfast / around the back trimming the wifes bushy clematis taking all the morn. Shouty marshall saying "we'd broke Strava" or something.

Following week. "Unexpectedly" a removal van was parked with "removal van marshalls" raising and lowering the side lift of the pantechnicon (not Panopetcron as I first wrote as that is a type of office) as and when they felt like it, not when shouty cyclists wanted coz Strava. VERY angry cyclists. If only they'd put the anger into cycling energy rather than shouty energy they'd have beaten Strava.

Same the following week. Shouty marshall saying "we'd broke Strava" or something. And asking us not to do the removal van trick again.

Following week, we invited the local Scouts to do a Sponsored car wash on one of the residents drives. That got a good queue and lots of soapy water on the road (a bit naughty as if someone had slipped.......). No suprise, got shouted at, even though we offerred a discount on bike washes.

Same the following week. Shouty marshall saying "we'd broke Strava and he'd posted it on Youtube" or something.

Following week, as the bikes used to come down the road pretty much to a dot from 10:13 to around 10:53, for some reason loads of residents decided to do syncronised three point turns where we all had to wait for each other and do you know what happened?

Nowt.

Cock all.

Nothing.

Zilch.

Bloody bikes had gone elsewhere never to be seen since.

Edited by StanleyT on Monday 19th February 20:54

This was right after you found that Goose which laid golden eggs, and just before your bought those magic beans I expect.

[Ares]

StanleyT said:

We used to live on a road where the suicyclists often did Sunday time trials. The road was a lazy backwater 400 yr long street except for Sundays when used for cycling time trials (if the cylists stuck to the two main A roads this intersected, there was a four way cross traffic light junction which you really couldn't jump on a bike, HGVs / buses coming through at 40 mph cars at up to 60mph). <snip>

Got to your tenth word and stopped reading. I'm guess it was a ranty, mostly fabricated, anti-cycling post?

[Dammit]

It was fiction, for sure - fairly low on ranting, fairly high on fantasy.

[StanleyT]

Toft Road Knutsford, ca 2003? Long left the area.

[popeyewhite]

StanleyT said:

Toft Road Knutsford, ca 2003? Long left the area.

Yep, I know it well. They still have time trials there on Wednesday evenings from Spring. Normally from the Monks Heath layby up to the Toft roundabout. I've seen some totally insane stuff at the Chelford roundabout as cyclists fail to give way to lorries from the right just for the sake of a few seconds. Madness.

[ChevronB19]

mickmcpaddy said:

Ares said:

I think UKIP have found their next leader.

(were you one of the people the Blinged-up Range Rover driving, tracksuit wearing gentlemen used to visit? Might explain your inside knowledge, and a lot more besides)

I would be a UKIP MP or councillor no problem if Nige was the leader again.

As for spotting chavs, well its not difficult if you don't believe the world is all flowers and happiness.

Could’ve guessed from the outset.

Anyway, I note you haven’t addressed my original query - this, given it is a car specific forum, it is reasonable to assume you are a car enthusiast, and also only a short step to assume you like, watch or participate in motorsport.

So once again, what’s your opinion on the recent ruling allowing road closures for motorsports events (which will be a lot more hassle to a lot more people than a few seconds wait at a roundabout as a reasonably decent person accommodating other people’s hobbies)?

[yellowjack]

popeyewhite said:

Ares said:

You mentioned the (quite considerable) research. I'm just asking for you to back up what you said? I'm sure you are aware of what impression such repeated diversionary tactics give?

You can "roll on the floor laughing" all you want. But for someone who claimed to have access to extensive research, you seem to have come up with very little evidence to share with those of us who are interested.

Please do share some of this juicy research material with us. Unless of course this mythical research material happens to be a few well-thumbed copies of Razzle off of the 1980s...

[popeyewhite]

yellowjack said:

You can "roll on the floor laughing" all you want. But for someone who claimed to have access to extensive research, you seem to have come up with very little evidence to share with those of us who are interested.

Oh my bad, terribly sorry I've not supplied you with "evidence" lol. Go find your own evidence and disprove my point you lazy jackass.

[yellowjack]

popeyewhite said:

yellowjack said:

You can "roll on the floor laughing" all you want. But for someone who claimed to have access to extensive research, you seem to have come up with very little evidence to share with those of us who are interested.

Oh my bad, terribly sorry I've not supplied you with "evidence" lol. Go find your own evidence and disprove my point you lazy jackass.

So to be clear on this then. Your "extensive research" doesn't exist beyond your imagination and a stack of sticky 20 year old jazz-mags? Much as we suspected.

I reckon you were the kid at school who had a "four lane Williams vs Lotus F1 World Championship Scalextric set" at home, but never invited any of the other kids around to play with it because "they should go get their own four lane Scalextric sets, the lazy jackasses"...





Either you have the "extensive research" and are prepared to share it, or you don't have it and you're "making st up" (again). Which is it?