Painting Arrows on Roads, Who? Sportive organisers perhaps?
Escher303
Posts: 342
Along quite a few of the roads on my patch - Northern Lancs - there are now orange arrows spray painted on the road showing a route around Bowland. There are also a load of names spray painted on the road with the same paint on a nice remote road. Who does this? Is this something Sportive organisers do? Or perhaps a club?
I have my suspicions who it may have been as there was a big Sportive nearby that went through a couple days before I saw the arrows. However, to be fair, I did see a lot of the normal arrow signs on posts by this organiser the day before the sportive so it may not have been them.
Is this typical? Is it acceptable? Perhaps it's a type of paint that will wash off? Personally I don't like it, surely the idea is to use the roads for an event but not leave behind something that will be there for weeks (or months or years?). I appreciate there's a tradition of painting riders names on the road for races. But this seems to be different to me, especially if it is just an easy way for an event organiser to map out a route.
I have my suspicions who it may have been as there was a big Sportive nearby that went through a couple days before I saw the arrows. However, to be fair, I did see a lot of the normal arrow signs on posts by this organiser the day before the sportive so it may not have been them.
Is this typical? Is it acceptable? Perhaps it's a type of paint that will wash off? Personally I don't like it, surely the idea is to use the roads for an event but not leave behind something that will be there for weeks (or months or years?). I appreciate there's a tradition of painting riders names on the road for races. But this seems to be different to me, especially if it is just an easy way for an event organiser to map out a route.
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I once turned up a day late to the Grimpeurs de Wolds Sportive. In the end I managed to follow 95% of the route because of the little green supplementary arrows painted on the road so I was glad of them! I assumed they'd wash off but you could still see them the following year though they'd been replaced by yellow ones for the most part!
I think the green ones were OK though should have been a bit biodegradeable. Really, you'd not notice they are there unless looking for them. But anything in permanent is out of order. If everyone did it the country roads would get covered in them!Faster than a tent.......0 -
It is very common in Belgium and France... over here it is illegal... as usual there is no real reason for it to be illegal as it doesn't seem to be a big problem for motorists the other side of the Channel.
We have caught up in terms of medals and glory, but in terms of cycling culture we are still miles behind...left the forum March 20230 -
That's one bit of culture we can do without.Smarter than the average bear.0
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I did a Sportive in the USA a few weeks back, and they used this method. They also used roadside markers as well, but I found them quite reassuring given my lack of experience riding abroad. You can imagine my worry when I stopped seeing the small green arrows with 'GF' (Gran Fondo) next to them - I had gone off course, but somehow managed to pick it up again luckily. Just goes to show no method is idiot proof.
I suppose if, like the ride I did, the sportive is yearly, and the arrows aren't too obtrusive, or they wash of in time, then I don't see what the problem is - saying that I've never felt the need for them over here. The only problem would be if you have a number of sportives using the same roads, which, let's face it, is actually quite likely. What then? Different colours for different rides? I suspect this would lead to more confusion than it would alleviate.0 -
Around my way (Peak District) it tends to be done by off road motorbike riders0
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For the Olympics they got a professional to create this so called "art"
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... -cans.html0 -
I didn't realise that was a professional graffiti job. I thought it was good for a couple of guys swinging a tin of paint from the back of a van. They have sadly installed speed humps on that section of road. They are quite flat, but not as flat or cycle friendly as they should be.
The temptation to come out late a night with a shovel is pretty strong as I get fed up with the pointless humps on the climb.
I chalked a few words of encouragement for both the tour of britain and the olympics, but both hardly survived the police escort, let alone the rain. I think its nice myself - reminds me that box' had something special, rather than fantastic tarmac spoiled by pointless humps.0 -
ugo.santalucia wrote:It is very common in Belgium and France... over here it is illegal... as usual there is no real reason for it to be illegal as it doesn't seem to be a big problem for motorists the other side of the Channel.
We have caught up in terms of medals and glory, but in terms of cycling culture we are still miles behind...
Why should they make acts of vandalism legal? Since when has graffiti been acceptable?0 -
shame there isn't a solution to this, would save all the marshalls required for sportives, local areas could have set routes that anyone can turn up and ride, there are already approved signs on the highway for local county "cycle ways", many counties have them, usually small, on a post, for example blue with a white cycle.Team4Luke supports Cardiac Risk in the Young0
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I've noticed strange markings on some random roads around where I live. Someone has gone around with some white paint and a drew line across the width of the road and wrote 10k, 20k, etc. Its quite subtle so I'm indifferent about it, just wondered out of curiosity who it was and where their route went?
Watching the grand tour races on itv4 wouldn't be the same without the fans painting the road on hill climbs and running next the cyclists dressed as a devil or a surgeon. Funniest I saw was 2 guys running in summo wrestler suits being chased by the peloton. And a guy dressed as a bishop running next to a cyclist sprinkling holy water on him.
Regarding the continent... Years ago I went hiking and climbing in Switzerland. Their culture was quite different, happy to mark routes with paint on even the most scenic of rocks and trees every 100m. While in the UK there's more ethics in the climbing community about leave nothing but footprints and taking nothing put photographs.
But if you are going to have a rule over here, it should be the same for everyone. Not one rule for an artist in the Olympics and a different rule for everyone else."The Prince of Wales is now the King of France" - Calton Kirby0 -
The painted signs are a reaction to sportive saboteurs who take down signs.
Personally, I've never needed additional signs to help me to navigate, I think we're breeding a whole generation of sportive MAMILs who couldn't navigate themselves out of a cul de sac.
I don't enter them, I just design my own routes and load them on to my Garmin, and before that I would study maps and put a slip of paper on my top tube with the basic gist of the route.0 -
I live in France now and did my first Randone two weeks ago with my new clubmates. It was a small regional event, 250 riders from clubs within about a 150k radius. You could choose from three road arrowed routes, so no need for maps etc. There was food at the start, halfway and at the finish. All for 2 euros. The host club paint the arrows for route marking, It is part of the culture here, no permission needed and why should there be?
Also, part of the culture, the vast majority of drivers indicate to overtake cyclists, pass on the opposite side of the road, then indicate to pull back in. And people still ask why I moved to France.0 -
I've got mixed feelings on this one. I don't think it is acceptable if everyone starts painting additional arrows on the road, like others have said it is vandalism.
On the other hand, the local council paint lines on the road around defects and where work should done all the time. Also as said before, it is a reaction to idiot drivers or locals taking the signs down with the sole intention of sabotage.
Personally I don't use the direction arrows as I have a Garmin 800 to help me navigate around sportives.Summer - Canyon Ultimate CF SLX 9.0 Team
Winter - Trek Madone 3.5 2012 with UDi2 upgrade.
For getting dirty - Moda Canon0 -
One of our clubs mates run the Shropshire Hills Cycle Sportive via Mamil Cycling and they had permission to paint directions on the road form the Council providing it would wash off, so on their second year now and no complaints...it would appear.0
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what a refreshingly accommodating and sensible approach from the organisers and councilVelonutter wrote:One of our clubs mates run the Shropshire Hills Cycle Sportive via Mamil Cycling and they had permission to paint directions on the road form the Council providing it would wash off, so on their second year now and no complaints...it would appear.http://veloviewer.com/SigImage.php?a=3370a&r=3&c=5&u=M&g=p&f=abcdefghij&z=a.png
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