Manchester to Blackpool Safety moan !! ...sorry !
pabloweaver
Posts: 444
did the ride yesterday and i would like to put the following moan if i may ....
this ride gets more and more dangerous each year!
i was unluck enough to puncture coming through Haigh Hall ( i know this place well as i work in wigan ) and i was suitably placed to see the effects of not slowing people down enough before that final sweeping bend ( you ALL know the one ) i Strongly suggested to the marshall that he bring the " chicanes" closer to the bend ( though obviously not on it ) to reduce speed before people hit it . in a ten minute spell,5 people hit the ground hard and numerous more were on the edge of following . This section is too fast , to slippy and the bend too tight for most cyclists . The marshall did as good a job as he could ( no problems at all with the marshalls , great helps all day ) but the fact he was left without radio or phone in an area that each year witnessess the same problem was not helpful in the event of a major injury ( and by the spills i saw only good luck prevent one ) . This whole section needs to be revised . it is possible to by pass the hall by the way .
also....for those who have managed to get this far in the post
.... 60 miles ...some tired and wobbly riders looking for the finish line and relief/ rest ...and the whole lot of 5000 cyclists has to fight its way through the tight lanes of parked cars , buses and road furniture for the last 1/2 mile . now im ok on a bike and the ride did not present any physical problems for me , but the last few rolling " hills" into b/pool really hurt some people...surely at the end of a ride like this, the entrants should be able to access the park without dodging , weaving and stressing themselves as well as motorists . .. in short ...design a closed road or limited access road entrance. not just the last 100 yards .
i think at this point i will leave the bit about cyclists behaviour !!
Well done to all for taking part , great to see so many people out on bikes ( though i did tbh question the sanity of one or two participants !! ) great event ...but needs areas of review not that it is a long established event.
phew ...sorry folks for the ramble !!
this ride gets more and more dangerous each year!
i was unluck enough to puncture coming through Haigh Hall ( i know this place well as i work in wigan ) and i was suitably placed to see the effects of not slowing people down enough before that final sweeping bend ( you ALL know the one ) i Strongly suggested to the marshall that he bring the " chicanes" closer to the bend ( though obviously not on it ) to reduce speed before people hit it . in a ten minute spell,5 people hit the ground hard and numerous more were on the edge of following . This section is too fast , to slippy and the bend too tight for most cyclists . The marshall did as good a job as he could ( no problems at all with the marshalls , great helps all day ) but the fact he was left without radio or phone in an area that each year witnessess the same problem was not helpful in the event of a major injury ( and by the spills i saw only good luck prevent one ) . This whole section needs to be revised . it is possible to by pass the hall by the way .
also....for those who have managed to get this far in the post
.... 60 miles ...some tired and wobbly riders looking for the finish line and relief/ rest ...and the whole lot of 5000 cyclists has to fight its way through the tight lanes of parked cars , buses and road furniture for the last 1/2 mile . now im ok on a bike and the ride did not present any physical problems for me , but the last few rolling " hills" into b/pool really hurt some people...surely at the end of a ride like this, the entrants should be able to access the park without dodging , weaving and stressing themselves as well as motorists . .. in short ...design a closed road or limited access road entrance. not just the last 100 yards .i think at this point i will leave the bit about cyclists behaviour !!
Well done to all for taking part , great to see so many people out on bikes ( though i did tbh question the sanity of one or two participants !! ) great event ...but needs areas of review not that it is a long established event.
phew ...sorry folks for the ramble !!
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Comments
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Maaan, I catually felt sorry for some of the car drivers caught up in this whole chaos!!! Cyclists streaming past them on both sides, and them being unable to move anywhere for fearing of taking out Mr and Mrs Numpty and their friends travelling 4 abreast whilst having a chat.....
Of course you also got the other extreme where cars pulled out with no respect for the bikers being there, travelled on the wrong side of the road until something came the other way and then just tried to pull into the pack of cyclists who were proceeding on the correct side of the road - d*ckheads!!
All in all an excellent ride, just wish the torrential rain and hail had either completely missed us or been a bit lighter/shorter :shock: That was some rain!!!
Nothing in life is foolproof, fools are ingenious0 -
you beat me to it!
I crashed big time four years ago at haigh hall on that very same sweeping downhill.... although back then they was using bales of hay (after a very rainy week) as the chicanes I still can't believe they're using this venue as the first stop- it's just not made for, as you say, 5000 riders trying to squeeze through in a couple of hours.
Furthermore, i'd like to say that the general level of riding skill was thoroughly $hite. Ok, if you're just plodding through taking five hours to cover the course thats fine BUT YOU DO NOT HAVE TO RIDE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD LIKE A TOOL. Also, when you're about to move out to overtake, take a look over your right shoulder to make sure there's nobody coming through. Also, don't undertake. I'll be calling you a C***. Also, riding in a straight line helps.
After 3 1/2 hours on the road, I wasa nervous wreck. Sort it out people.0 -
Great day out....Yep! that bend in Haigh hall always catched them out. We went through there fairly early and wasn't too hassled by any poor bike handling.
What I have to say is, and don't linch me was the number of colour blind cyclist, who have problems with Red lights. This event is on roads and all traffic rules apply. We'll all end up with a bad name from the few red light jumpers.
Motorists give us a bad enough time already, don't give them any more of an excuse.3 grand bike, 30 bob legs.... slowing swiftly0 -
...I have ridden the London to Brighton once(once was enough),the Norwich 100 and the London to Cambridge, both, several times. After riding the LtoC two years ago I decided to give up on these rides, they just seem to be getting more and more dangerous and badly organised. Some or the riders were truly appalling!
...all the way...'til the wheels fall off and burn...0 -
I did it in 2006 and would have done it again but for a stolen bike the week before.
I went down to Monton (where I live) to cheer people on and have to say I was amazed at the idiocy of some of the riders. Perhaps it was the same the year before but I just didn't notice it when I was in the middle of it.
People were in the middle of the road or overtaking cars that were going respectfully slowly or going on the pavement or going through pelican crossings on red.
There were also some real fatties wearing jeans and riding bikes that clearly hadn't been out of the shed in years! Most amusing.
Also, there were a fair few on unicycles. Now that takes some guts!0 -
I've done the last two editions of the Dunwich Dynamo ride, and although thre's been a good craic from the people I've ridden with, I'm not sure that I'd want to do it again. The fatal incident at North Weald took the shine off things last year, but it's not that which puts me off.
It's more to do with the variable roadsense of other riders, which combined with impatient motorists, makes the run up through Epping Forest somewhat nerve-wracking. One of these days there is going to be a major incident...
And one other thing - it's an overnight ride, so you'd think everyone would be well-equipped with lights?
Er, no..."Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe." (Albert Einstein)0 -
Rider skill is probably my biggest problem with mass rides.
If I'm riding with my work team or my home club its generally fine - we ride together a lot, know each other and behave in a disciplined manner. You see so many riders overlapping wheels, wobbling around, not looking before passing etc etc - and of course the every present Dynamo riders who would rather knock slower riders into the ditch than have to wait a millisecond to get past them.
Most drivers on the day tend to resign themselves to slow progress, and some you can see are actually enjoying looking at all the cyclists. Some are d**ks though.
I'm probably most scared about being taken out by other riders than anything on the day.Sweat saves blood.
Erwin Rommel0
