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“That cyclist” who hit the horse.

awkwardbydesign said:
Mallory Park race circuit is used by local clubs for races, or TTs, I'm not sure of the differences. Often when I turn up early for a motorbike track day they are puffing around the track.
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Good to hear. They should start moving all cycle races off the roads and into the circuits.
 
drummerman said:
Not much respect here between different modes of transport.

An ageing road system/bad roads and a lot of traffic doesn't help. Add generally high stress levels due to long working hours (also partly due to the UK's lagging transport infrastructure) and you can see why things are as they are.

Luckily many councils are now cycling friendly so things will get better for these road users.

Motorists not so much.

May I add as a cyclist and ex-professional motorist that the most dangerous cyclists are imho the ones in dark clothing, no lights, all over the road, probably often opportunity thieves or p****d students.

Beware Uni towns.
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I agree with some of this, especially our stressed population/road users and lagging infrastructure bit but cannot endorse the 'cycle friendly councils' part. I have cycled on roads for over 50 years and it has never felt more threatening than it does today in the UK. My local authority is supposedly cycle friendly but its ...(put your own expletive in here)..; its just environmental window dressing and an excuse to bash motorists without actually providing 'meaningful' cycle provision.
 
SteveS1 said:
A doctor friend used to keep a supply of donor cards in his vehicle. Based at Guys, but needing to drive between London hospitals and clinics he often found motor cycle couriers tearing past only to catch them at the next traffic lights. As he pulled alongside he would smile before offering a card.
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As a motorcyclist who has always founds the concept of being labelled an organ donor grossly offensive, I'd be happy to reciprocate by steering a chap like that towards a good dentist :)
 
richgilb said:
No but we have argued this before. The mamil that spooked the horse was racing in a time trial event .Racing does not necessarily mean competing.
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Plenty of these cyclists would be cycling fast and without consideration for others even if cycling alone and not in any sort of competitive way. I ditched Strava because apart from security concerns to do with where I work, it pushed me harder than necessary. Just as a dangerous and inconsiderate driver will kill a cyclist through impatience (and receive 300 hrs unpaid community work etc) an inconsiderate and dangerous cyclist will cause problems, even though they’re not competing.

Thankfully, deaths and serious injury caused by cyclists to others is very unusual. It’s certainly not worth getting animated about.
 
Tony Lockhart said:
Plenty of these cyclists would be cycling fast and without consideration for others even if cycling alone and not in any sort of competitive way. I ditched Strava because apart from security concerns to do with where I work, it pushed me harder than necessary. Just as a dangerous and inconsiderate driver will kill a cyclist through impatience (and receive 300 hrs unpaid community work etc) an inconsiderate and dangerous cyclist will cause problems, even though they’re not competing.

Thankfully, deaths and serious injury caused by cyclists to others is very unusual. It’s certainly not worth getting animated about.
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Indeed. But I have said that the whole sport needs taking off road. Not just the events. Motorcycle racers now have access to a fairly large and enjoyable industry of track days. Up until the 80s they were quite rare. Clubs could easily move the events off road and a lot of the training would consequently move off road.

I don't see why you need to keep saying cars are far more dangerous. Of course they are. And motorbikes are a fair bit more dangerous too. That doesn't mean racing cyclists should not be encouraged to take their hobby off the public roads.
 
Just for a moment, imagine cycling on, say, Snetterton for 100km. That, like many British circuits, is on the site of a former airfield. It is flat, almost always windy, boring, and quite busy. Can you imagine anyone even considering cycling on that?
Nearest circuit after that is, I think, Brands Hatch. Busy pretty much all day every day. Lovely circuit, but unavailable to cyclists.
So come on, to avoid me listing the rest, which circuits do you suggest the nation’s cyclists should use. And bear in mind these amateur/semi pro events take place at weekends. Or are you suggesting motor racing should take place on public roads?

And of course, on top of that, circuit hire isn’t free or even cheap.
 
Tony Lockhart said:
Just for a moment, imagine cycling on, say, Snetterton for 100km. That, like many British circuits, is on the site of a former airfield. It is flat, almost always windy, boring, and quite busy. Can you imagine anyone even considering cycling on that?
Nearest circuit after that is, I think, Brands Hatch. Busy pretty much all day every day. Lovely circuit, but unavailable to cyclists.
So come on, to avoid me listing the rest, which circuits do you suggest the nation’s cyclists should use. And bear in mind these amateur/semi pro events take place at weekends. Or are you suggesting motor racing should take place on public roads?

And of course, on top of that, circuit hire isn’t free or even cheap.
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As a motorcyclist I am also thwarted on public roads and find circuits less interesting. But such is life. There are some hill climb opportunities, velodromes, hilly circuits like Oliver's mount, all cheap enough for cyclists.
 
Cav said:
I think that the original point has been lost. If you want to pursue your chosen sport on public roads the onus is on you to behave appropriately.
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Quite right. All the guy who this thread is meant to be about needed to do, was to look where he was going and be mindful of other road users. He failed to do so which has resulted in a fairly large fine and a ban from future competitions, and all very much in the public eye. Hopefully it will serve as a lesson to others.

I see more people doing stupid and reckless stuff in cars and on high powered motorbikes than I do cyclists.
 
I am fairly easy going and not into any anti-this or anti-that for the sake of it. I get a bee in my bonnet about very few things. But I had to scoop my children off the canal path last summer on a Sunday afternoon bike ride because a large group of mamils were piling down it at 25ish mph. I remember one shouted at us in advance to let us know that they wanted space to get past. Tossers. That sort of thing is not unusual here. It is common.

The reason you see more dangerous driving in cars is probably because there are more cars. Proportionately speaking, I reckon there are more tossers on racers than there are in cars.
 
flatpopely said:
So it's legal to hold cycle race on an open road if the Police agree?
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Back in the old days it wasn't, so time trialling became a big deal in the UK. But still a bit under the radar, so the courses were known by arbitrary codes, which are still used, and events would happen close to dawn with riders wearing dark outfits. On the continent cycle racing was and is much more part of the culture, so every village or town would have an event, and after the Tour de France would pay the professionals to come and show boat at their village event.

Now in the UK it is legal, dating from sometime in the 60s I think, a professional level event will have (paid) police motorcyclists to provide a rolling road closure around the race, at lower level events marshals have the power to stop traffic so the race can pass junctions etc and at club level marshals just ask nicely. And in general, on a Sunday morning for a couple of hours, most people respect and appreciate the event and share their space.

There are a number of closed road cycle rides around the UK nowadays, I highly recommend tackling one, nothing to do with racing per se (other than the first wave of the Tour of Cambridgeshire), so the RideLondon, the ToC, there's a Birmingham area one again, the ToC organisers are holding the professional national championships in Norwich in the summer and are closing a 100 miles of Norfolk roads for the day both for the pros and for any number of ordinary riders to take part. And at least a couple in Scotland. Anyway not having to fight with traffic is very liberating.

It's possible the perpetrator of the Windsor incident was hard done by, all we have is the riders head cam. Triathlon is neither bike racing or cycle time trialling, has its own rules, culture, and notorious incompetence at riding in groups, which in this particular case was against the rules....
 
The Royal Windsor Triathlon is not a Race despite being organised by 'Human Race'. The organisers give ample advice to athletes. https://humanrace.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360004894431-Open-Road-Triathlons-Duathlons

"Some of our triathlons have cycling routes which contain open road sections / courses. This means that the course will be shared with the general public and therefore open to live traffic. It is the responsibility of the rider to follow all signs, to ride responsibly adhering to the Highway Code, and to remain alert & aware of all other road users (including other cyclists, horse riders & pedestrians), as well as to any other potential risks at all times.Please always put both your own and others safety first when taking part in our events."

Really it's just common sense. I've recently entered Park Run. The pre event talk is along the lines of 'we don't have right of way, respect other Park users etc.' Don't get wrapped up in yourself, keep yourself and others out of danger.

When out cycling we slow for horses and give a friendly verbal warning of our approach so as not to scare them.
 
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