Manchester to Blackpool rant ...again !
pabloweaver
Posts: 444
posted a similar rant to this in 2007 , but after yesterdays event ( I swore i was not going to do it but hey ho ) I thought I'd see what other people think .
Haigh Hall .....
said it before and it proves to be the nightmare I warned people about, (Does any body have any news on the poor guy who was face down at the bottom of the hill surrounded by paramedics? ) This descent through a dark, twisty and slippy road is nothing short of lunacy and really needs to be looked at ...looked at again...and then removed from the route. .... permanently!
plastic chicanes stuck in various places, without marshal or warnings , that had the opposite effect of safety ( I must have seen half a dozen people ride straight into them ) THAT bend at the bottom, very tight right hander, on a damp surface at speed.... multiple crashes ( the above one looked serious )
There are to many bikes on this event to come hurtling through here. in 2008 the Race for Life was held at Haigh Hall which meant the ride could not go through it ... result.. why change it so there can be a bit of " scenery ".
I realise the cause this ride is for and I applaud the efforts of all involved, but surely this needs some review ( again ) . This is the only mass rider charity event i ride ( by that I mean a non sportive ) and so I dont know how it compares to other rides ( London - Brighton etc ) but for all the good will and fantastic money raised ... some of the riders get more and more dangerous .
I lost count of the amount of people sat at the bottom of declines after kerbing it and crashing, bikes overtaking on the outside of cars turning right ( then getting knocked off - twice in Hindley) bikes drafting cars and vans only to ride into the back of them when they stop, people following riders in cars & vans like TDF support vehicles and causing more problems than they resolve .....and I said " on your right!!! " " that may times I think I have been chanting it in my sleep !
I appreciate its for all ages and ability, but to me it gets scarier and scarier each year !
on the plus point the new " closed road " finish area is a significant step forward and oddly what I was ranting about there not being when I wrote in 2007 ...so who knows, maybe Haigh Hall may vanish as well !
It is a significant fundraiser event and I want to make it clear that I'm not event bashing or being critical of peoples rights to ride .... but with rights comes responsibilities .
well done to all who raised the cash for Christies and the other charities, I hope the guy in HH is ok and I also hope that the vision of cycling hell has not put people off cycling nor given the poor car drivers a bigger stick to beat us with .
rant over :evil:
if its ok with the mods i may double post this as it may get read in both the beginners bit and the sportives area. ( please delete if a prob )
Haigh Hall .....
said it before and it proves to be the nightmare I warned people about, (Does any body have any news on the poor guy who was face down at the bottom of the hill surrounded by paramedics? ) This descent through a dark, twisty and slippy road is nothing short of lunacy and really needs to be looked at ...looked at again...and then removed from the route. .... permanently!
plastic chicanes stuck in various places, without marshal or warnings , that had the opposite effect of safety ( I must have seen half a dozen people ride straight into them ) THAT bend at the bottom, very tight right hander, on a damp surface at speed.... multiple crashes ( the above one looked serious )
There are to many bikes on this event to come hurtling through here. in 2008 the Race for Life was held at Haigh Hall which meant the ride could not go through it ... result.. why change it so there can be a bit of " scenery ".
I realise the cause this ride is for and I applaud the efforts of all involved, but surely this needs some review ( again ) . This is the only mass rider charity event i ride ( by that I mean a non sportive ) and so I dont know how it compares to other rides ( London - Brighton etc ) but for all the good will and fantastic money raised ... some of the riders get more and more dangerous .
I lost count of the amount of people sat at the bottom of declines after kerbing it and crashing, bikes overtaking on the outside of cars turning right ( then getting knocked off - twice in Hindley) bikes drafting cars and vans only to ride into the back of them when they stop, people following riders in cars & vans like TDF support vehicles and causing more problems than they resolve .....and I said " on your right!!! " " that may times I think I have been chanting it in my sleep !
I appreciate its for all ages and ability, but to me it gets scarier and scarier each year !
on the plus point the new " closed road " finish area is a significant step forward and oddly what I was ranting about there not being when I wrote in 2007 ...so who knows, maybe Haigh Hall may vanish as well !
It is a significant fundraiser event and I want to make it clear that I'm not event bashing or being critical of peoples rights to ride .... but with rights comes responsibilities .
well done to all who raised the cash for Christies and the other charities, I hope the guy in HH is ok and I also hope that the vision of cycling hell has not put people off cycling nor given the poor car drivers a bigger stick to beat us with .
rant over :evil:
if its ok with the mods i may double post this as it may get read in both the beginners bit and the sportives area. ( please delete if a prob )
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Comments
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My house is on the route, about 7 miles after Haigh Hall and seen a bloke in a white top come past covered in mud, ripped shirt etc. Was he the bloke that fell?
Have to say watching the riders go past made me cringe. These aren't closed roads yet the 6 a breast riding was something that had to be seen
(no wonder motorists get p!ssed off)
Overtaking, undertaking with not a care for the other riders or anyone else on the road.
I won't even start on the bloke I caught trying to have a p1ss in my garden, even though the feed zone was only 100 yards further on!!! :evil:0 -
Best thing is to avoid Haigh Hall. Just go straight past and through to Standish.M.Rushton0
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this post is now running on the beginners section if anyone wants to add to it there instead.
cheers
P0 -
A really good ride and really enjoyable but the reason so many riders got hurt was like the man said. TOO many first timers without an ounce of road sense between them. There was a bad one in Leigh with a rider down paramedics, police and marshalls around him. Withy a neck brace and oxygen mask on he looked in a bad way. Despite who's fault it was I hope he was ok.0
