We’ve got the Wiggle New Forest sportive happening up the road this weekend. Its a great event which takes cyclists through quiet lanes around the forest. However the anti-cycling lobby have a load voice (and persons in prominent positions) locally, and every year it gets a right lambasting in the press.

BBC report here

This years its being described as causing a ‘no-go zone for other forest users’,

Dr Tony Hockley, of the New Forest Equestrian Association (NFEA), said there was “immense risk” to horses and riders, especially when cyclists came up fast and silently from behind

And now New Forest East MP Julian Lewis, has written to transport minister Norman Baker calling for such events to be subject to the same licensing regulations as road races and time trial events currently are. So this could affect all similar events to be crippled by policing limitations and costs, insurance costs etc – making them less viable to run.

Talk about blatant Nimbyism. He won’t be getting my vote (like he ever did). In fact I feel a letter coming on.

Does this happen elsewhere too? Or is it just a New Forest reaction?

came up fast and silently from behind

sniggers.

On a more serious note, get a pro campaign going, invite the MP to the event.

Sponsored walks and the sort bugger up trails for decent riding, round here Sunday’s are a write off for walking groups of 40+ bimbling oaps who on a track where 2 cars can pass don’t/won’t make space for a bike, but so be it, its all just part of getting along.

Don’t worry, I’m sure the New Forest’s reputation as a hotbed of whinging has already made it to Westminster.

There are many more cyclists who vote than New Forest locals – and they will live longer.

Is it really any different to any other events, including mtb? People get inconvenienced and my personal opinion is that events should not allow so many participants.

The New Forest though? Nuff said after the ghastly horse riders we encountered a few years ago!

I’m signed up for the October one. Will the locals have organised a torch wielding mob by then?

I’m signed up for the October one. Will the locals have organised a torch wielding mob by then?

Don’t worry MW, I’m a local too. I’ll fill up with cider and douse their flaming torches 😀

Not helped by the local rags anti-bike stance either.
Posters up in pubs locally encouraging locals to photograph and shop riders they consider to be riding dangerously to the police.

If 2,000 riders on 2 days doing a ‘race but not really using a legal loophole’ is unreasonably compromising safe access and enjoyment for others, they have a right to whinge.

So, does it?

Sportives? Is that slightly disguised road races? It would be better to run them on closed roads but I’m guessing the locals would object more

Most of the poor cycling i see in the forest is from families in summer taking up half the road wobbling about everywhere.
Most issues i’ve had are from impatient motorists trying got squeeze by you to be 5 seconds earlier to their next cucumber sandwich party.

Not easy being a cyclist sometimes, these are commercial events though, perhaps there should be some inclusion of locals or something in it for them?

Not sure what, my imagination is on a go slow.

I live on the London2Brighton route and last year there was a bit in our local paper from someone in the next village bitching and moaning about the disruption. I think/hope she was ignored/buried due to her being new/an idiot.

..and last time I did said ride, a load of us got shouted at by a moose because we were disrupting her “shopping day” 🙄

To be fair i think the wiggle events should be limited to one day not two as a compromise, but then we have to queue up all over the place for a whole week of the New Forest Show and i can’t imagine many objections come in for that from the curtain twitchers.

..and last time I did said ride, a load of us got shouted at by a moose because we were disrupting her “shopping day”

A mate did it and had the idea that he would do it next time with a cardboard cut out bike as it might actually be faster walking.

we’ve got the tour de france coming our way next year and already the local plod and councillors are complaining about it.

I’m not local but it does sound a bit pathetic.

As a country we”re forever being told that we’re all fat, inactive and are going to die early because of obesity etc. But when people try and put events on, they come up against opposition. Surely after the cycling success we had last year as a nation, increased participation in such stuff should be encouraged?

Those objecting, are totally ignoring the benefits of all the people there staying in b&b’s, eating out etc.

An immense risk? ok, lets see the figures. I’m pretty sure that crashing into a horse the bike rider is going to come of worse than a ton of beefburgers! Also, they complain that motor bikes etc are “too noisey” for the countryside, and now MTB’s are too quiet? Perhaps if you had proper control of an animal that gets spooked and throws it’s rider into a hedge because it caught a glimse of a plastic bag it didn’t like the look of!

Lets just get along shall we, there’s plenty of space still for everyone, we done need ridiculous histrionics based on no real facts meaning yet more paper work, red tape and costs etc!

A mate did it and had the idea that he would do it next time with a cardboard cut out bike as it might actually be faster walking.

It’s a charity bimble with friends.

I don’t get all lyra’d up, although I may still punch the air when I pwn the hills 😆

I suspect if it was called a ‘Sky Ride’ and had Brad and Cav leading it round the locals would fall over themselves with fawning.

I did the mtb one, frankly it wouldn’t have been a challenge on my cross bike so I won’t go back but there’s normally so many cyuclists bimbling about in the summer that even a thousand more for a few hours one mornign does seem not much to make a fuss about.

Ahhhh the New Forest.

Happy memories of getting chased by ‘marshalls’ around the cheeky trails, from the day the family moved there, to the day I moved out of home (folks still live there)

rusty trowel – Member
Not helped by the local rags anti-bike stance either.
Posters up in pubs locally encouraging locals to photograph and shop riders they consider to be riding dangerously to the police.

Rusty- where have you seen this?

Was in a road race once where we came round a bend face to face with 3 horses,one bolted and many nerves were frayed*. The race was neutralised until horse, rider, and racers were reunited into their appropriate groups. It is big ask to put 2000 riders which equates to a near constant stream of riders onto the public highway. At least with a RR the breakaway or 2 and peloton (perhaps 120 riders) pass without a mass of disruption. I would argue that there is greater impact by a sportive, so yes they should have to tick the right boxes to ensure safety of riders and the general pulic.

Cost is a tricky one, I know that these sportives cost a great deal more than your average RR, I would think that Sportives are a whole lot more profitable than BC races, hence why very few RRs are attracting these corporate sponsors/organisers. If anyone can afford policing costs it would be Wiggle, not the small local road club of 30 riders who decide to put on a race on their local roads.

*I am in danger of sounding a bit anti-bike here. I do have my opinion on what should happen to horse riders who are unable to control their animal while surrounded by vehicles who are legitimately using a public highway/bridle way. But I don’t think I can repeat it here.

I’m an NF local and not seen anything, only the horse riders getting uppity so no need to worry!

It’s 2000 riders over 2 days so 1000/day and there’s 3 different routes and a 2 hour window for starts. I can see you get groups forming but I don’t think it’s like a peleton going past for 5 hours.

Looking at the route map, it looks like it will be coming right past my house.

Might have to nip out early and swap a few signs around. 😉

I’ve also got some rotten fruit that I need to get rid of. 🙂

I’ve never got my head round the whole sportive thing. Why would you pay good money to ride on public roads, crammed in with 100s of other people. Each to their own.

However, as a “local” I dont have a problem with this, after all it’s only a couple of days a year, the roads will still be open, it brings in revenue and might inspire others to get out and ride. But 2000 does seem like a lot of participants on some of the more narrow roads.

It’s amazing how sportive’s, cycle races, triathlons and running races are welcomed by towns and villages here in Germany. They are very much seen as part of the process of promoting the area and bringing in people to spend money with local businesses.

And now New Forest East MP Julian Lewis, has written to transport minister Norman Baker calling for such events to be subject to the same licensing regulations as road races and time trial events currently are.

Maybe cyclists should start writing to the MP and minister pointing out how great the Olympic legacy (so trumpeted by their party*) can be demonstrated by increased participation in such events, and how exercise increases health and happiness, which is surely a worthy political goal.

*I just assume that the MP for the New Forest would be a tory.

Yes, it will bunch up and there will be gaps, but the flow of traffic will surely be more impacted upon, perhaps even more so by the choice of 3 routes as it becomes harder for drivers to find an alternative route.

Again, I don’t mean to sound completely anti-bike, I think this type of mass – appeal event are important for the cycling community, I just don’t want to see us alienated from the wider public due to what can be seen as quite selfish behaviour ( I gave up training rides with my local road club as many of them were keen to keep the 2-abreast through and off going despite riding at times on roads which were single-carriageway with blind crests, corners and mud to contend with, not my idea of fun with farm traffic about).

http://road.cc/content/news/80494-hampshire-mp-calls-licensing-new-forest-cycling-events?fb_action_ids=10151599675013524&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_source=timeline_og&action_object_map=%7B%2210151599675013524%22%3A358751327576985%7D&action_type_map=%7B%2210151599675013524%22%3A%22og.likes%22%7D&action_ref_map=%5B%5D

Events of this size on public roads clearly need some form of regulation and/or licensing

Has he ever seen the queues of cars on the roads into Lyndhurst when there’s a sunny Sunday or a big event at Bauelieu? No talk of regulating that sort of traffic?

https://twitter.com/vizzitnewforest/status/304982106545725440

Happy memories of getting chased by ‘marshalls’ around the cheeky trails, from the day the family moved there, to the day I moved out of home (folks still live there)

really ? I’ve never been chased 🙁

I did my bit on Monday – asked 2 horsey groups well in advance of overtaking whether their horses were OK with bikes. Meant I had to slow down marginally but one of them did have a nice bum (the horse that is, not the tubby biffers on top 😉 )

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=1264317

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new by bmclynskey1, on Flickr[/img]

slightly ironically, they promote bike rides on their site;

http://www.vizzitnewforest.com/directory/events/charity_bike_rides.html

6000 people on an event on open roads? Sounds like a bad idea really, They can close them for marathons and fun runs so why not bike races (a sportive is a race)

Think i’ll ride in the forest Friday and Monday instead this weekend, less traffic 🙂 Purbecks at the weekend, it’ll be empty on the roads there.

(a sportive is a race)

I thought not. Insurance ‘n all that….

I’m surprised they don’t need to tick some sort of box to get the ok to run the event. Doing so would not definitely mean vast costs with police etc (no police presence at any time trial I’ve even been too). Just a useful health check (maybe via British Cycling) that the event is being run with safety and continued acceptance being prioritised over making a fast buck. An event with 600-700 riders might create minimal negative press locally and be welcomed back year after year but only make mediocre profits. Organisers unchecked might well put 2000 on the same route to maximise profits even if it does royally piss off the locals. Jam today and all that.

but the flow of traffic will surely be more impacted upon, perhaps even more so by the choice of 3 routes as it becomes harder for drivers to find an alternative route.

Oh dear. What a shame. Perhaps people in cars might have to be a bit patient in their bid to get to the back of the next queue.

lilchris – Member
(a sportive is a race)
I thought not. Insurance ‘n all that….

semantics
It’s a bunch of people riding a course who get a time and results are printed in order of fastest to slowest. It’s a race if it wasn’t there would be tea and cake stops every 10km.

In general there is angry whinge bag *******s and there is genuine concern. If there are issues they need addressed locally by the organiseers rather than a slanging match. The key to running events is local support.