Velo North - 01/09/19

Philip Whiteman

Looks like trouble is in store according to the local press. Velo South all over again?

https://www.teesdalemercury.co.uk/news/ ... cle-events

https://www.teesdalemercury.co.uk/news/ ... sive-boost

cruff

I really don't see closed road sportive being a thing for much longer. Social media amplifies the voice of the nimbys too much - and you end up with people who wouldn't normally give a monkeys about it jumping on the bandwagon and supporting the 'I'M TRAPPED IN MY HOME!!!' brigade

ugo.santalucia

Cruff wrote:

I really don't see closed road sportive being a thing for much longer. Social media amplifies the voice of the nimbys too much - and you end up with people who wouldn't normally give a monkeys about it jumping on the bandwagon and supporting the 'I'M TRAPPED IN MY HOME!!!' brigade

I can only see them working if they are organised by the local authorities with the idea of raising big funds for some charity project... when charity is involved, nobody complains

cruff

ugo.santalucia wrote:

Cruff wrote:

I really don't see closed road sportive being a thing for much longer. Social media amplifies the voice of the nimbys too much - and you end up with people who wouldn't normally give a monkeys about it jumping on the bandwagon and supporting the 'I'M TRAPPED IN MY HOME!!!' brigade

I can only see them working if they are organised by the local authorities with the idea of raising big funds for some charity project... when charity is involved, nobody complains

You think? I've lost count of the number of posts I've seen on social media complaining about sportives not actually raising money for charity - and even if they do, it not being acceptable for roads to be closed for that purpose. The same brigade who also question the research done that suggests sportives actually bring money IN for local businesses, as opposed to losing trade due to the roads being closed

monkimark

I live very close to the ride London route in Surrey and there are plenty of complaints every year about the road closures, the charity element doesn't seem to soften the opposition.

ugo.santalucia

monkimark wrote:

I live very close to the ride London route in Surrey and there are plenty of complaints every year about the road closures, the charity element doesn't seem to soften the opposition.

And yet it's now being going on for 7 years... longer than any other (with the exception of the one in uninhabited Scotland)

homers_double

There was a decent amount of support from the roadside on RL last year and I didn't see anything untoward.

One of the guys on our team is in the police as is his wife and she was staffing one of the feed stations. She'd been briefed on acid attacks for the event :shock:

ugo.santalucia

Cruff wrote:

You think? I've lost count of the number of posts I've seen on social media complaining about sportives not actually raising money for charity - and even if they do, it not being acceptable for roads to be closed for that purpose. The same brigade who also question the research done that suggests sportives actually bring money IN for local businesses, as opposed to losing trade due to the roads being closed

It needs to be designed carefully... I don't think these for-profit enterprises know what they are doing to be honest, when it comes to designing a route.

The amount of charity need to be sizeable and directed towards a local fund... the local air ambulance, the local RNLI with an allocated project, something people can relate to...
An event with 10K people should raise well in excess of 100 grand in charity... you can buy a fully kitted wheeled ambulance with that money

lettingthedaysgoby

If Velo Birmingham is anything to go by, the vast majority of people either don’t mind or actively support these events. Every mile of the route had locals clapping and cheering and generally enjoying the day.

It’s only ever a tiny, but vocal, minority of miserable twats who kick up a fuss. Why they get the oxygen of publicity is a mystery to me. Sells papers/gets site clicks I guess.

kingstongraham

ugo.santalucia wrote:

monkimark wrote:

I live very close to the ride London route in Surrey and there are plenty of complaints every year about the road closures, the charity element doesn't seem to soften the opposition.

And yet it's now being going on for 7 years... longer than any other (with the exception of the one in uninhabited Scotland)

I think once an event reaches the stage of "it just happens every year", people are used to it and just get on with their lives.

Philip Whiteman

lettingthedaysgoby wrote:

If Velo Birmingham is anything to go by, the vast majority of people either don’t mind or actively support these events. Every mile of the route had locals clapping and cheering and generally enjoying the day.

It’s only ever a tiny, but vocal, minority of miserable twats who kick up a fuss. Why they get the oxygen of publicity is a mystery to me. Sells papers/gets site clicks I guess.

True, there were some horrible actions undertaken by protesters at Velo Birmingham 2017 but most of that event's problems originated from CSM Active. Whilst agreeing in principal with Worcestershire to hold the event, they announced the route details and timings without any consultation with local authorities or blue light services. Highways officials only discovered their intention after a flyer indicating the wrong route had been distributed to households. The net result was Herefordshire withdrawing from the arrangements and Worcestershire forcing CSM to completely revise their proposals. To say that officials were furious was an understatement.

Lessons have been learnt by CSM and their approach to local authorities is much more transparent with their proposals considered publicly, in detail and in advance. The Co Durham route was actually published by the local authority in February, even before CSM's own announcement!

Philip Whiteman

Philip Whiteman wrote:

lettingthedaysgoby wrote:

If Velo Birmingham is anything to go by, the vast majority of people either don’t mind or actively support these events. Every mile of the route had locals clapping and cheering and generally enjoying the day.

It’s only ever a tiny, but vocal, minority of miserable twats who kick up a fuss. Why they get the oxygen of publicity is a mystery to me. Sells papers/gets site clicks I guess.

True, there were some horrible actions undertaken by protesters at Velo Birmingham 2017 but most of that event's problems originated from CSM Active. Whilst agreeing in principal with Worcestershire to hold the event, they announced the route details and timings without any consultation with local authorities or blue light services. Highways officials only discovered their intention after a flyer indicating the wrong route had been distributed to households. The net result was Herefordshire withdrawing from the arrangements and Worcestershire forcing CSM to completely revise their proposals. To say that officials were furious was an understatement. It was this act of complete incompetency that threatened the event rather than vocal protesters.

Lessons have been learnt by CSM and their approach to local authorities is much more transparent with their proposals considered publicly, in detail and in advance. The Co Durham route was actually published by the local authority in February before CSM's own announcement!