Etape Caledonia sabotaged
Comments
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It sounds absolutely horrendous for anyone caught up in this.
Didn't exactly this happen in the Marmotte a few years ago when the course changed and a rival village lost out?
Or have I got my memory mixed up?0 -
At the bottom of the hill around 1,500 others were held at the village of Kinloch Rannoch for two hours, where, as one cyclist, Annette Welch, 42, told me later, the local fire brigade opened up the station and invited everyone in for a cuppa – despite only having 50 mugs. "It was real Dunkirk spirit," she said afterwards.
Ah. I didn't realise some had been stopped that far back.0 -
someone threw a bottle at me three weeks ago....
now some nutter throws 10,000 tacks ahead of my bike
...am expecting a machine gun nest at ventoux
dont blame the scots! great hospitality - every nation has its share of merchant bankers.
ps did I spot fred goodwin selling inner tubes at £20 each the col?
see you all in montelimar - check the nougat for tacks...0 -
I always stop off in Perth, Pitlochry or Bruar on my way home to the Highlands.
No longer will they get my passing trade. What a shower of ungratefull, miserable buggers. An embarassment to the nation.0 -
That's not fair guinea. The vast majority are only too happy for the Etape.0
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guinea wrote:I always stop off in Perth, Pitlochry or Bruar on my way home to the Highlands.
No longer will they get my passing trade. What a shower of ungratefull, miserable buggers. An embarassment to the nation.
Good one, if I shared that attitude I'd never visit the highlands as some wee swine punched me in the face when I was up north 22 years ago! Back then, like now, it was the action of one than ruined it all.0 -
some non PC comments overheard at the halt
someone said
"I have learnt something...God doesnt want me to cycle on Sunday"
to which the answer came
"Just as well they didnae fix it for a friday, we would have had a suicide bomber"0 -
guinea wrote:I always stop off in Perth, Pitlochry or Bruar on my way home to the Highlands.
No longer will they get my passing trade. What a shower of ungratefull, miserable buggers. An embarassment to the nation.
A bit harsh dude, this was maybe one or two folk going out of their way to make a problem, as many have said the large majority of locals were behind the etape and pretty much all of them are totally appalled and even embarrassed by what's happened.How's that for a slice of fried gold?0 -
Well, what can I add to all that? For the record I got through before the halt - 3 punctures, 2 on the descent from Schiehallion (the road was probably clear there, I either picked them up earlier or they were carried on tyres) and one much further along, on the Fortingall loop (the bit they cut out after the restart).
IMO the polis will work pretty hard to find the culprit:
1. the local council (Perth & Kinross) back the event very strongly (they even subsidise it) and put a lot of effort into demonstrating how much it benefits the local economy, so they'll be pushing for it.
2. As a lot of posters have pointed out here, the vast majority of locals are in favour of the event, and a lot of them sounded quite angry yesterday.
3. Whoever did it is going to brag about it to their pals, aren't they?
I think we should organise critical mass type rides around the area every day until they catch them, about 20 cyclists could probably block all the roads around...
Seriously, I still can't work out where ACRE are coming from, I do actually suspect it's mostly "White Settlers" (local racist term for English OAPs/second home owners) who don't rely on the tourist trade.
Anyone with perhaps 3 brain cells can see that even if some local businesses don't benefit directly, and maybe even suffer from the closures, the whole area must benefit hugely from the publicity, not to mention repeat business of people coming back (most do); and now what? Personally I'm sorry that so many people are saying "not coming back again", I don't think that's the best reaction, but I can understand it.
The Pitlochry/Aberfeldy rivalry is a real issue, and is exacerbated by the fact that roads near Aberfeldy are closed but there is relatively less extra business coming their way (btw, anyone at the cycling festival on the Saturday in Aberfeldy? Well attended? lots of business?).
Inerestingly, I didn't see any protesters out yesterday - did they know that they might be advised to keep out of the way? I think if any had shown their faces there could have been trouble - I personally had a few souvenir tacks I would have been happy to stick in someone...0 -
bompington wrote:Inerestingly, I didn't see any protesters out yesterday - did they know that they might be advised to keep out of the way? I think if any had shown their faces there could have been trouble - I personally had a few souvenir tacks I would have been happy to stick in someone...
I saw one person with a no closed roads sign out by the side of the road just after what would have been the exit from Fortingal, there was a decidedly angry cyclist venting his anger on said sign at the time. Compared to last year though I'd agree, practically no sign of them along the route.How's that for a slice of fried gold?0 -
I don't think it's fair to tar all no closed roads protestors with the same brush as the people who spread tacks. You can understand some people opposing closing roads for a cycle event - personally I think the event is starting to grow to a level where it is justified - but I can see the other point of view and people should be allowed to protest without being branded cranks or trouble causers.
it's a hard life if you don't weaken.0 -
This was the thing I noticed, No protestors - compared to last year when there were a lot dotted all along the course.
it would suggest the protest group knew what was going to happen. Should be fairly easy for the police to identify the people involved.
As for the vast majority of the locals, they were fabulous, hundreds of them out cheering (shame a small minority arre not so welcoming)
Personally, I was going very well , sitting near the front of the 1st group just before the Schiehallion climb, then bang...punctured, I think I was the first to stop (a dubious honour if ever there was one)
6 tacks - 2 front, 4 in the back
Got them changed, lost a lot of time (thanks go to the guy who lent me his pump)
Truly staggering scene as I got going again, roads lined with hundreds of cyclists fixing punctures, asking for spare tubes, walking with their bikes etc
Managed to get round with no more punctures, did the full route before they closed it off.0 -
What a shameful action by some irresponsible fool, I am sure the vast majority of locals do not support this type of action and it would imho, only damage the cause of anyone campaigning against the closed roads as this type of act only re-enforces the need for a road closure for the overall safety of particpants.
Surely the person or persons responsible are guilty of 'Reckless Endangerment' likewise any commitee or body that they are associated with?
Any Scottish Legal experts around?
Would all agreived parties, i.e. those that suffered damage to their equipment or injury to their person as a result of this action have to make a complaint to the Police?fay ce que voudres0 -
I think next year they should close the whole route for 48 hours to make sure it's safefnb1 wrote:this type of act only re-enforces the need for a road closure for the overall safety of particpants.
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Rabcp wrote:
Personally, I was going very well , sitting near the front of the 1st group just before the Schiehallion climb, then bang...punctured, I think I was the first to stop (a dubious honour if ever there was one)
6 tacks - 2 front, 4 in the back Got them changed, lost a lot of time (thanks go to the guy who lent me his pump)
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Were you on the left-hand verge just round the curve of the first area to be hit with the tacks? I was also among the Wave A early group to puncture and pulled in on the other side to change tubes. A couple of minutes later my mate Jerry arrived (a little fellow all in black on a black Colnago) and he stopped to wait for me. He defn. went across the road to give someone a loan of his pump - a little black pocket rocket thing.
Despite his good turn, he also punctured a few miles up the road.
There was a Dunkirk-like spirit on that climb as victims tried to help their fellow-riders get going again but there was also a tangible darkening of moods as people feared they were stuck 50 miles out of Pitlochry on a 1000 ft pass with no means of getting back under their own power. If the weather had not improved mid-morning and the rain had continued to fall then hypothermia would have been a real danger for some.0 -
Don't know if this has been posted yet
http://blog.commentonline.co.uk/?p=43
But you can leave some comments there. I left some yesterday but they removed them... :roll:0 -
The Other McHoy wrote:Rabcp wrote:
Personally, I was going very well , sitting near the front of the 1st group just before the Schiehallion climb, then bang...punctured, I think I was the first to stop (a dubious honour if ever there was one)
6 tacks - 2 front, 4 in the back Got them changed, lost a lot of time (thanks go to the guy who lent me his pump)
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Were you on the left-hand verge just round the curve of the first area to be hit with the tacks? I was also among the Wave A early group to puncture and pulled in on the other side to change tubes. A couple of minutes later my mate Jerry arrived (a little fellow all in black on a black Colnago) and he stopped to wait for me. He defn. went across the road to give someone a loan of his pump - a little black pocket rocket thing.
Despite his good turn, he also punctured a few miles up the road.
There was a Dunkirk-like spirit on that climb as victims tried to help their fellow-riders get going again but there was also a tangible darkening of moods as people feared they were stuck 50 miles out of Pitlochry on a 1000 ft pass with no means of getting back under their own power. If the weather had not improved mid-morning and the rain had continued to fall then hypothermia would have been a real danger for some.
Yes that was me just on the curve in the Ayr roads jersey - a big thank you to Jerry as I wouldn't have been able to get going again - really appreciated
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Scottish TV news video report on the events of the day
http://news.stv.tv/home/96831-police-investigate-tacks-on-track/0 -
BoardinBob wrote:Don't know if this has been posted yet
http://blog.commentonline.co.uk/?p=43
But you can leave some comments there. I left some yesterday but they removed them... :roll:
"This Etape Fiasco is bringing disrepute on the Sport." - Norman Beedie DRSAM, LRAM, ARCM
3,500 people happily paid to participate and do not seem to agree with him. Let's make it 7,000 next year!
As for me, although I wasn't there, I have done the route back in September. I wasn't the only one. This event manages to draw people all year round to stay in Perthshire and support the community there.0 -
That's the whole point!Sjaak wrote:As for me, although I wasn't there, I have done the route back in September. I wasn't the only one. This event manages to draw people all year round to stay in Perthshire and support the community there.
The Etape C and events like it boost tourism all year round. The protesters don't want to boost tourism. They want their countryside unspoiled by grubby tourists.
And the ironic thing is that the worst offenders are always the incomers.
I would like to salute all the locals and visitors who stood for hours, in the rain to start off with, and clapped, cheered and greeted us all. I think that gives a better idea of what the majority of locals think.0 -
PS I think we should all add a number like this to our taglines
bompington (3)
to show how many we got...0 -
bompington wrote:PS I think we should all add a number like this to our taglines
bompington (3)
to show how many we got...
So tackline you mean?
Sjaak (0)0 -
I was one of the very lucky ones who didn't puncture This was my first experience of an event of this type and I have to say the marshalling and organisation was excellent. Official time of 5:14 although trip computer suggests 4:10 of actual riding time which was better than expected. A message to the local people who turned out along the route and genuinely encouraged all the participants - THANK-YOU. To the mindless idiot(s) who tried (and failed) to spoil my day - you are very sad and I hope you get what's coming to you.Cervelo RS 2010
LOOK KG381 Team
Colnago Dream Lux
Specialized M4 Rockhopper Disc 20080 -
What is strange about the tack-tactic is that it probably makes the affected roads unusable for local car use for a longer period of time than the planned event. And it will probably make road closure even more strict, if not prolonged, in the future.0
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I sent an email to the organisers along the "nils illegitimo carborundum" lines. And also told them I was signing up for next year's as sopon as it opened.
Got a circular repsonse thanking me for support. So if we all do it they can take a positive from a traumatic day and we can conclusively and promptly demonstrate (as a cycling community) that the event is here to stay.
That would be the best tonic for the orgainisers and the best antidote to the protesters.
The protesters are a very small minority who don't like the democratic process that has permitted the closed roads event and who disgrace the cheering and welcoming majority.
They're really just saying that visitors are only welcome on their terms.Where the neon madmen climb0 -
They were small carpet tacks that will probably not penetrate car tyres (see my avatar!); quite cleverly chosen too as they would lie flat on the road but any tyre hitting them would flick them upright straight away.nielsamd wrote:What is strange about the tack-tactic is that it probably makes the affected roads unusable for local car use for a longer period of time than the planned event. And it will probably make road closure even more strict, if not prolonged, in the future.
I suspect some of them got carried a long way - I had 2 a couple of miles down from the Schiehallion road summit where they stopped the race, I don't think the tacks were originally scattered there but I could be wrong. Then I had one more a lot further on, on the Fortingall loop, I didn't see any other upturned bikes around so I asume it was one that I picked up earlier (it certainly wasn't there when I fixed the other 2)
As for stricter & longer road closures, let's hope so!0 -
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/tay ... 055240.stm
Paul [not-so-] Bright from Fortingall said: "How refreshing to see that the public has taken direct action to halt an unwanted event forced on them by the local county council."
and goes on to say that he cannot "condone the causing of damage and possible injuries to cyclists I am sure that this was the only avenue of protest left to the people of the Pitlochry/Aberfeldy area who did not wish this race to occur."
and
"These closures have the effect of isolating whole communities from access to services both mundane and emergency and from the ability to exercise their religious faith by travelling to the local churches."
So not unlike lots of snow that isolates the whole community in a bad winter, also refrains them from exercising their religious faith. What ever happened to resourcefulness?0 -
How's that for a slice of fried gold?0
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Those carpet tacks look pretty eveil but the one that got me was about 20 miles from the 1st incident and was a good 15 mm in length which suggests a number of different people involved.
Any word on the police investigation yet?================================
Cake is just weakness entering the body0
