Was that you, ermmm defecating at the roadside?

Cyclists were accused of endangering the safety of walkers and horse riders, swearing at motorists and even defecating at the roadside.

Nimbyism at its best

Meh, New Forest arrivistes complaining about people using the forest in a way they don’t like. Same old same old, they’ve been doing it for years.

at least cyclist’s go off the road to poo, not like horses.

Wow. It looks like the happy-clappy, Daily Wail fraternity again.

They will die off eventually you know.

It could have been me. But I if they’d hung around while I finished of they’d have seen that do the responsible thing and bag it, then hang it in a bush..where it can later be collected by dog walkers.

Judging by the professional looking poster (printout in a plastic ring binder folder) it doesn’t seem to be a mass movement (no pun intended).

Now where was that thread about turd/letterbox etiquette?

then hang it in a bush.. where it can later be collected by dog walkers.

One of my major issues with dog walkers. The stench at Swinley on a hot day riding into the car park had to be experienced to be believed.

IMO It’s quite possible that some of the riders last year did all of the claimed ‘crimes’. I’ve seen plenty of daft behaviour in sportives by riders taking stupid risks or shouting at drivers that cut them off or slowed them down because they are under the illusion that they are in a race. And I’ve curled one down plenty of times when out riding (or running) when I’ve had that turtle’s head moment far from facilities.

The best thing that can happen is that the event goes ahead with the participants all being immaculately behaved. If they are the protesters get to like look silly nimbys, but if there are incidents it will look like they have a point.

shouting at drivers that cut them off

That’s fair enough though, dangerous driving is a pretty good reason to shout.

I was behind a horse yesterday and it blathered out a mountain of poo right in the middle of the trail, in fact l had to change down and move the fork adjustment from “trail” to “climb” in order to ride over it.

As for bagging it, you’d have needed a JCB.

I am not complaining, just saying.

I met a couple with a labrador in the woods the other day.

It was tucking into a huge pile of horse poo with apparent gusto which I thought was a good way to get the stuff off the trails.

The owners were looking on aghast.

That’s fair enough though, dangerous driving is a pretty good reason to shout.

Sorry – badly worded. I’m not really taking about dangerous driving. I’m talking about riders screaming at cars/drivers that are turning right so blocking the road in front of them or slowing down in front of them to turn into a car park. The sort of stuff most cyclists in normal situations would never do, but for some reason some sportive ‘racers’ deems acceptable. Not many I grant you, but it only takes a few.

Pfft! They’re obviously not familiar with the rights of passage, so to speak, of cycling. One of your benchmark moments is your first trail poo. Normally induced through heroically over-enthusiastic drinking the night before a big ride.

Its a thing to be celebrated, sometimes even applauded, not condemned

Zinger Tower burger corner is on one of my rides, I’ll let you guess why….

Its a thing to be celebrated, sometimes even applauded, not condemned

Depends on artisitic merit. Tightly curled like a walnut whip – dix point.

Oh and dogs eating horse poo. I’ve come across that one too. When I mentioned to the owner “your dog’s eating horse poo”, I got a VERY weary “yes I know…”

I reckon it was this lady.

But one councillor has claimed “piles of excrement” were found by litter wardens along the route

so not actually cyclists then. just near them.

http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/10812477.New_Forest_cyclists_branded__Lycra_louts_/

I blame Ray Mears. He’s always bushcrafting in the New Forest doing his “Wild Poo Weekends”.

The car drivers which have just overtaken them?

The car drivers which have just overtaken them?

Nope- just going about their day to day business but slowing down our heros.

I think a maximum of 3,000 riders for this event is bang out of order and a more reasonable number would be 1,000.

Whilst I loathe the attitude of these New Forest nimbys, that number of riders will affect their freedom to go about their daily business.

* awaits flaming *

Isn’t it 3000 spread over two days?

[readily admits he has no real idea but vaguely recalls this might have been the case]

CG – agreed. As I’ve said before on similar threads, sportive/audax/randonee/reliability type events in the New Forest have been going on for years without any issue. It’s only in the last few years when the events grew in size that it all got a bit more tetchy. The organisers have not expanded the size ‘for the good of the cycling community’, they have done it to make a viable profit making full time business. I’m not sure that’s a good enough reason and like you I’m loathed to come down on the side of the nimbys but I can see the issue.

I don’t know, it isn’t made clear on the Wiggle blurb. Two days just isn’t on.

* awaits wrath *

So how did they get in front of the cyclists?

convert – were they originally low key events organised by local clubs?

So how did they get in front of the cyclists?

Come on – use your imagination! Normally the issues are when the event goes through a village/town/built up area. Traffic moving at normal sleepy village speed – the riders come in hard and want to press on through at the same speed they were doing on the open road.

I think a maximum of 3,000 riders for this event is bang out of order and a more reasonable number would be 1,000.

Whilst I loathe the attitude of these New Forest nimbys, that number of riders will affect their freedom to go about their daily business.

The Flanders cyclo had 16000 riders. Locals didn’t get pissed off about it despite whole areas being blocked off and main roads being stopped to let riders through. What is it about British people that annoys them so much about having to have a slightly slower/longer drive on a weekend?

How many people complain about the London/Brighton marathon closing vast areas? The New Forest does seem to attract this anti-cycling attitude that you don’t see as often elsewhere.
I do sympathise with locals though to a degree. I think that events with 1500+ participants should pay to have rolling road closures which should be agreed by local authorities or at least events be limited per year.
With so many sportive companies now getting in on the action, it seems there are events most weekends.

convert – were they originally low key events organised by local clubs?

Yes. They were smaller but also I think the local bit came into play too. The organisers wanting to make sure they rubbed along ok to preserve the thing for the future but also less animosity for a locally organised thing than something run by ‘outsiders’ seemly just coming in and using the area for a profit making venture.

I think the size was the biggest factor though. I get Atlaz’s point about the size of the events on the continent but we are where we are. I’ve done events on the continent where the locals totally buy into it and sit in their gardens watching and cheering all day and see the event being in the area as an asset not a hassle. That’s not where we are in the UK yet. It’s still just something to be tolerated by the locals – not saying that’s right but you can’t force locals to embrace your pastime just because you thinks its cool.

I think that events with 1500+ participants should pay to have rolling road closures

it’s not going to happen – 1500/3000/n000 riders starting over a 2 hour period and taking from 3-8 hours to complete the same route isn’t the same as a compact peleton whizzing along at 40km/h

It’s still just something to be tolerated by the locals – not saying that’s right but you can’t force locals to embrace your pastime just because you thinks its cool.

I absolutely don’t think it’s cool 😉 Tolerance is fine, but active hostility is where most local interest groups come from.

Active hostility starts when tolerance threshold has been reached. Some people might have lower thresholds than others.

A lot of the New Forest crowd start from a threshold of zero and move downwards from there. The fact they make up stories about riders injuring ponies and assaulting members of the public would indicate they’re not interested in sharing what they take great pains to point out is a shared resource. They have never been accepting of tourists, joggers, hikers or day trippers and this is just the latest in their hysterical behaviour.

Poster lost its credibility when I read ‘Palm Sunday’

If you believe the fiction of Jesus Christ you’ll believe anything

Agreed that there are plenty of nimbys. It’s not restricted just to the south of England though – do you remember the fuss with the tacks scattered in the road for a similar event in Scotland a few years ago?

They have never been accepting of tourists, joggers, hikers or day trippers and this is just the latest in their hysterical behaviour.

The funny bit is that so many folk living in the forest are not life long residents, but have migrated there after falling in love with the place visiting as a tourist!

Those people also tend to be the least tolerant of things disturbing the traditional ways (I should know, I’m a village incomer 😉 )

I recently defecated by the roadside, but that’s where the portaloo was positioned for the roadside burger van.

I see no mention on the poster the antics of the anti-cyclist last year – people throwing tacs on the road which caused punctures and I believe some poor chap who wasn’t even competing a broken collarbone, farmers spreading mud on the road deliberately and trying a mini road block and if the rumours are to be believed physically standing abreast the road at one point and (trying) to intimidate riders.

Looks like they aren’t asking for open warfare this time.

Tbh I was planning on a sunday ride in the Forest, reckon I’ll head North round Farley Mount should be nice and quiet.

Yet how much money will be spent in the local area on food, beer, accomodation etc etc.
Talk about shooting yourselves in the foot.
The New Forest is not some backwards look into the rose tinted past FFS.