Bristol cycling city, just not on council land?

just read on another site that bristol city council have decided to stop allowing cycling events on their land. Any one know anymore?

Not heard anything. Seems VERY unlikely.

Isn’t Ashton Court owned by the council?

If so bang goes bike/oktoberfest but also all the cross races tun on council alover bristol, bristol bike festival,naked bike ride… There well be a mass influx of bombers being deliverd via bristols mail services

edit- how will this work with road events?
So much for a cycling city hmm

got a link op?

I only ask as a western league cross race this weekend has been cancelled and the reason given was the council, maybe i am misreading this though? Cancelled is a fraction strong, it has been relocated to Gloucester.

maybe i am misreading this though?

Maybe! That’s quite a leap to assume it’s ALL cycling events

Is that the hengrove one? I wa going to give it a try 🙁

Maybe! That’s quite a leap to assume it’s ALL cycling events

the wording was cycling events, rather than this event? hence the question,

yes the hengrove one.

Aw that sucks! Guess il have to ride the squishy bike.

Link please? British Cycling website has nowt on it. https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/events/details/82962/Western-League-Round-8

There was a problem with the regional CX champs the other year because the parks department asked for a rather large bond to cover reinstatement in the event of damage – completely out of proportion to the sort of dollar that local race organisers have at their disposal. Other than that, they’ve generally been very supportive.

Maybe we should go back to races on private land. Just watch out for pigs.

More Cyclo Cross

mr agreeable i can’t give a link as it is on my clubs webpage, behind the membership screen.

Copy and paste? Just trying to get as much detail as possible as this could have knock-on effects for a lot of local events.

Due to the Bristol Council deciding not to allow any cycling events on council property we have had to find a new venue at very short notice. Thanks to **** ********* we have got Gloucester Boating Lake. I am in the process of writing a letting to Bristol Evening Post, British Cycling and other Cycling press, I will keep you informed of my process. But in the mean time please find details of this weekends event…..

18.11.12 Dream Cycling Cyclo Cross
Gloucester Boating Lake U12 10.30 Free
A417 Over Causeway Youth 11.00 £4.00
Gloucester S,J,V,W 11.45 £11.00
GL1 2TF

not alot of info.

Got to go to Zero G Cycles tomorrow with my C2W voucher. I’ll ask Paul, boss man and organiser of Bikefest for first hand information and update you all. Hopefully will help prevent the usual internet rumours.

Feel for the organiser (Craig?) but the response is a bit flouncey. I’ve Tweeted at the Council, not really expecting a response though.

From chin wagging at previous western leagues*

The member of staff responsible for handling events in the parks didn’t know what cyclocross was. Googled it and watched some video of an utter mudbath in Belgium somewhere. Put them off a bit, hence the price hike in order to cover any damage (that would unlikely occur)

*More than likely true, but you know what car park chat is like.

Sounds plausible. I helped to organise Bristol Cycle Festival, and we had similar problems when people started googling for alleycats.

Yep, seems to be the damage deposit issue again. Apparently local CX race organisers have received an email informing them that they’ll need to provide a damage deposit of £2500 per race.

For an event which costs £10 to enter, and might have as few as 50 participants, that’s a bit harsh.

What does this mean for the rest of the season/league? Does this effectively mean all cyclcross racing is banned on council land from immediate effect?

Is “normal” cycling permitted on said land?
Perhaps arrange a “group ride”?

Damage deposit?
How do they decide if enough damage has been done to lose the deposit?
I would like to see any proof that any money has been spent following an off road cycle event on council land?
How much damage deposit do the wendy ballers have to pay?

shirley it would be done on a common sense* basis, bit of land hardly anyone uses, race churns it up but plenty of time for flora to grow back no biggy. If you’re running a race route right through the middle of the busiest bit of grassland in the busiest park of the borough understandable for council to be worried.

*massive assumption i know

This is outrageous. I’ve been looking forward to this season of races as i’ve built up my new cross build specially to race in the western league

Are British cycling getting involved?

Me too TD. Not bothered about it enough to travel to Gloucester or Swindon though!

How about contacting ‘Red Trousers George’ and getting his support. Handy bit of pro cycling news coverage for him..

That and the other Mayor candidates.

It’s a Cycling Forum this Thursday, which is attended by a few Council higher-ups, so I’ve suggested adding it to the agenda.

Make sure any story is framed along the lines of “GB hopeful XXXX was left gutted when Bristol Council stopped races being held on their land. XXXX said, “This is a real problem and without these races I don’t think I’ll be able to compete at X (Brazil…) which has been my dream”. Works especially well if it’s a promising junior and there’s a photo of them looking glum…

FWIW, it doesn’t really have to be likely, just vaguely possible.

Just call me Mandelson 🙂

I was going to go watch and support clubmates, but now it’s too far away… 🙁

Road.cc have picked up the story. Apparently it’s not even about damage deposits any more… http://road.cc/content/news/70452-cycling-city-not-our-land 👿

Friend of mine just rung the council and they said

“Cost paid doesn’t come close the repair cost they have incurred in the past”

I suspect they’re muddling it up with other events. I’m not aware of any local CX race that’s required reinstatement work to be carried out.

Oh dear, sounds like newly-installed charlie big-potato at the council is stamping his feet authority…..

Do you think they get the irony? BCC owns Ashton Court, which is the home to one of the most popular/well-used bike trails in the country?*

*this may not actually be fact, but you gotta love a bit of hyperbole 😉

What are these repairs they are talking about?

When pressed by Denning, the Council stated that a wet summer, coupled with budget cuts, meant that they weren’t prepared to put cycling events on and risk damage to facilities. When asked whether the suspension would also apply to football and rugby, the Council unsurprisingly confirmed that they’d be going ahead as normal.

quelle surprise

Fuzzhead, there’s no doubt that Ashton Court is one of the best-used trails in the country.

http://www.1sw.org.uk/experience/a-measure-of-success-for-ashton-court/

However they don’t seem to be capitalising on that. Since it opened we’ve had no sign of the proposed bike shop and bike wash on site, just a new shell for the cafe and some rather odd bodged repairs. The estate manager’s position was axed, leaving a couple of rangers in charge of one of the most popular sports facilities in Bristol. Dare I say they should be promoting it as much as possible and looking at ways it can generate them revenue, not neglecting it and suppressing small but successful grassroots events.

A bit late in the day, compared to RCC’s proper job story linked above, but I’ve had a bit of a vent.

https://bristoltrails.tumblr.com/post/35638812603/crossed-out

So, are there any talented juniors around Bristol who race cross?