The official "It doesn't come past my house" ToB 2016 thread

topper_harley

They always pick the rubbish parts of Scotland

andyrac

No were near my house either, but no problem with that. The organisers have always said they can't cover every region in one week - so try to over a 3-4 year period. Fine by me.
Rather that than do what RallyGB does and stays permanently stays in Wales - with the drop off in interest in the sport elsewhere.

Alan Ha Ha

bobmcstuff wrote:

Still think they should race the 3 Pistes route though.

Pitlochry would be a fine start town, Cairngorm ski centre's big enough for an MTF and Aviemore has plenty of accommodation.

Well said that man. ;-)

Stage 1 goes pass the end of my street, however I'll be on Loch Lomond race directing the SwimRun UK Championships

briantrumpet

AndyRAC wrote:

No were near my house either, but no problem with that. The organisers have always said they can't cover every region in one week - so try to over a 3-4 year period. Fine by me.

It's nice that they're coming back to Devon after a year out.

Of course where the race goes is also dictated by which local authorities will stump up the cash - Somerset decided a few years ago they weren't going to fund it, so Devon now gets entire stages, as the county council realised that the ToB brought in enormous amounts of tourism for a relatively small outlay. Also fine by me, as a Devon tax-payer.

above_the_cows

No tA Doctor wrote:

So basically, it goes past almost everyone's house but mine?

They must be reading this forum and noting down names and locations...

It doesn't come past mine either and doubt it ever will, we have tram rails.

BikeRadarAdmin

Bristol TT and 6 Laps of the crit past mine

Except I'll be working!!

pilot_pete

It comes pretty close to my house...in fact Stage 3 starts in my town Congleton. The reason for that is me seeding an idea a year or so back with our Town Council, my wife who got elected onto the Town Council at the general election taking up the baton and writing direct to Sweetspot expressing our desire to host the Cheshire East stage. And....bingo! They were so impressed that a town council had actually approached them...said it was a first!

So the route for the stage has not been finalised, this is down to Sweetspot and Cheshire East, with the town councils planning the parts of the route that go through their respective towns. I am currently trying to push them into having the start on one side of Mountbatten Way (a dual carriageway) through the heart of the town. The non-cycling councillors want it outside the town hall on the High Street/ Lawton Street which is very narrow and I think restricts the view to a very limited number of spectators...

My plan would be to have it start as described above, turning right into Lawton Street and maximising the exposure for all the shops as the route passes through the High Street, the pedestrian zone (Bridge Street) and left up Swan Bank, along West Street and back down the one way on Antrobus Street, over the river Dane, left at the lights onto the A34 and out of the town to the south. I'm working on them.....!

Sweetspot reckon on drawing a crowd of around 5000 into the town for the start, but I think potentially there could be many more. My reasoning?

1. Congleton gets very few events, especially sporting events on this sort of scale. Many residents will come out and watch just out of curiosity at such a big sporting event happening in our little town.

2. It is the only stage in and around the Midlands this year and will attract fans from all the surrounding cities and towns from Stoke on Trent which is just down the road to the South and Manchester to the North, Derby and the Peak District to the East and Warrington, Northwich/ Middlewich to the West.

3. As the stage loops around Cheshire East, cycling fans will be able to ride out and see it in a number of places if they criss-cross the route. This makes it more likely that they will come to watch the start before heading out to various vantage points including the obvious Cat & Fiddle before making their way to Tatton Park to watch the finish.

So there you go. What do you guys reckon? What facilities would you like to see at a start town location? What would make your visit to the stage start more enjoyable/ memorable? What bad experiences have to had at previous stage starts? Anything else we should consider?

Cheers all, see you in Congleton on the 6th September!!!

PP

jgsi

Pilot Pete wrote:

It comes pretty close to my house...in fact Stage 3 starts in my town Congleton. The reason for that is me seeding an idea a year or so back with our Town Council, my wife who got elected onto the Town Council at the general election taking up the baton and writing direct to Sweetspot expressing our desire to host the Cheshire East stage. And....bingo! They were so impressed that a town council had actually approached them...said it was a first!

So the route for the stage has not been finalised, this is down to Sweetspot and Cheshire East, with the town councils planning the parts of the route that go through their respective towns. I am currently trying to push them into having the start on one side of Mountbatten Way (a dual carriageway) through the heart of the town. The non-cycling councillors want it outside the town hall on the High Street/ Lawton Street which is very narrow and I think restricts the view to a very limited number of spectators...

My plan would be to have it start as described above, turning right into Lawton Street and maximising the exposure for all the shops as the route passes through the High Street, the pedestrian zone (Bridge Street) and left up Swan Bank, along West Street and back down the one way on Antrobus Street, over the river Dane, left at the lights onto the A34 and out of the town to the south. I'm working on them.....!

Sweetspot reckon on drawing a crowd of around 5000 into the town for the start, but I think potentially there could be many more. My reasoning?

1. Congleton gets very few events, especially sporting events on this sort of scale. Many residents will come out and watch just out of curiosity at such a big sporting event happening in our little town.

2. It is the only stage in and around the Midlands this year and will attract fans from all the surrounding cities and towns from Stoke on Trent which is just down the road to the South and Manchester to the North, Derby and the Peak District to the East and Warrington, Northwich/ Middlewich to the West.

3. As the stage loops around Cheshire East, cycling fans will be able to ride out and see it in a number of places if they criss-cross the route. This makes it more likely that they will come to watch the start before heading out to various vantage points including the obvious Cat & Fiddle before making their way to Tatton Park to watch the finish.

So there you go. What do you guys reckon? What facilities would you like to see at a start town location? What would make your visit to the stage start more enjoyable/ memorable? What bad experiences have to had at previous stage starts? Anything else we should consider?

Cheers all, see you in Congleton on the 6th September!!!

PP

I think that the decision to host in Congleton is pretty damn popular in the county.
I have booked 2 days off work to enjoy.
Personally, if you get the town's businesses on board with passive or active support then it will go a long way to alleviate that minority of people who love to moan and complain about road closures etc .
All it is , is a few hours in the morning when all the caravan/buses are there and riders warming up and signing on.
Biggest player has to be Cheshire East... they'll either make or break this event .
Sadly, the council is not one of the County's best loved traditions.

Lorez

Comes past our house but we'll be the other side of the country at a 40th birthday

pilot_pete

JGSI wrote:

I think that the decision to host in Congleton is pretty damn popular in the county.
I have booked 2 days off work to enjoy.
Personally, if you get the town's businesses on board with passive or active support then it will go a long way to alleviate that minority of people who love to moan and complain about road closures etc .
All it is , is a few hours in the morning when all the caravan/buses are there and riders warming up and signing on.
Biggest player has to be Cheshire East... they'll either make or break this event .
Sadly, the council is not one of the County's best loved traditions.

Thanks JGSI, you are right about the moaners. We have a full time town council employee (administrator) who is so negative about everything and seems to take it upon herself to make policy decisions! Said the small bus station couldn't be used for the podium because the 6 buses would be out out too much! I mentioned how the hell does London close the Mall every weekend for an event!

My wife is now running things from the Town Council side and is working directly with the CE lead and Sweetspot. She has me providing all the ideas and cycling reasoning/ logic from a fan point of view. Sweetspot and CE have been very impressed with our ideas for supporting/ promoting the event. CE have a staff of 35 allocated and dedicated to making this event a success. They are 'getting it' unlike a few at Town Council level who just can't seem to understand that this is probably the biggest sporting event that a town such as Congleton is likely to EVER host. :roll:

We are already spreading the word to local businesses who are making good noises about getting involved; the TdF in Yorkshire is a great example and one they can relate to. CE are looking at delaying the start of the school year (that day!) or ensuring that the schools can be involved.

I am sure the day will be a success, my wife is already getting the local powers that be to start thinking about what is best for the spectators rather than the town council and mayor! :roll:

PP