police investigate wiggle event
- Thread starter lumos2000
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i have to say i'm not surprised, some on here will remember my status update on facebook that day.
i had been in southampton and decided that on the way home i'd stop in brockenhurst and go for a ride on the mtb, as i came down the a337 from lyndhurst to brock there was lots of slow traffic, i didn't think too much about it initially but then i started seeing loads of roadies, i immediately realised it was the wiggle ride. there were roadies in several groups riding at basic spinning pace, not racing, none going particularly fast but what they were doing was riding in packs, 2/3/4 abreast on a main road, i couldn't believe it, you could see the face of every driver was like thunder and in some ways i don't blame them.
i parked up near the balmer lawn hotel and got my bike out, i rode towards the a337 as i had to cross it to start my ride, the roadies were swarmed around cars at the T junction on to the a337, it was unbelievable.
when i finished my ride about 2 hours later i then had to cross the a337 again to get back to the van, i turned off the a337 into the road i had previously come out of, the was a queue of about 6 or 7 cars, still surrounded by cyclists, to the point where the driver can not see out of his windows either side, bearing in mind the car queue to the junction it was long enough that it went around a slightly bend in the road, obviously i was on the opposite side of the road to the queue and the direction of the wiggle ride, as i rounded the bend at the left side of the road 2 roadies came around the bend, effectively on the wrong side of the road as they were overtaking the queue of cars at the junction, the one nearest to me was doing none handed while talking to his friend and hadn't even noticed me until i shouted at him, if i had been in a car he would have been dead.
while i agree that it is important to get people on bikes, when i see the bigger events like these i get frustrated sometimes as i can see why others get annoyed with them because any group regardless of the activity can cause a disturbance. there will always be the inexperienced riders who make mistakes but sometimes a mob mentality grows out of the arrogance that "we are the biggest group". the roads are not closed to cars etc, other people are using them, people should really bear this in mind but there is a percentage that don't.
i also bumped into one of the marshals for this event a week or so ago, he said they had disqualified a lot of riders on the day, during the ride for infringements of the guidelines that they sign to say they will adhere to, those people are banned from entering the events again.
it wouldn't surprise me if wiggle don't sponsor this ride for much longer as it is giving them negative publicity everytime it's on.
i had been in southampton and decided that on the way home i'd stop in brockenhurst and go for a ride on the mtb, as i came down the a337 from lyndhurst to brock there was lots of slow traffic, i didn't think too much about it initially but then i started seeing loads of roadies, i immediately realised it was the wiggle ride. there were roadies in several groups riding at basic spinning pace, not racing, none going particularly fast but what they were doing was riding in packs, 2/3/4 abreast on a main road, i couldn't believe it, you could see the face of every driver was like thunder and in some ways i don't blame them.
i parked up near the balmer lawn hotel and got my bike out, i rode towards the a337 as i had to cross it to start my ride, the roadies were swarmed around cars at the T junction on to the a337, it was unbelievable.
when i finished my ride about 2 hours later i then had to cross the a337 again to get back to the van, i turned off the a337 into the road i had previously come out of, the was a queue of about 6 or 7 cars, still surrounded by cyclists, to the point where the driver can not see out of his windows either side, bearing in mind the car queue to the junction it was long enough that it went around a slightly bend in the road, obviously i was on the opposite side of the road to the queue and the direction of the wiggle ride, as i rounded the bend at the left side of the road 2 roadies came around the bend, effectively on the wrong side of the road as they were overtaking the queue of cars at the junction, the one nearest to me was doing none handed while talking to his friend and hadn't even noticed me until i shouted at him, if i had been in a car he would have been dead.
while i agree that it is important to get people on bikes, when i see the bigger events like these i get frustrated sometimes as i can see why others get annoyed with them because any group regardless of the activity can cause a disturbance. there will always be the inexperienced riders who make mistakes but sometimes a mob mentality grows out of the arrogance that "we are the biggest group". the roads are not closed to cars etc, other people are using them, people should really bear this in mind but there is a percentage that don't.
i also bumped into one of the marshals for this event a week or so ago, he said they had disqualified a lot of riders on the day, during the ride for infringements of the guidelines that they sign to say they will adhere to, those people are banned from entering the events again.
it wouldn't surprise me if wiggle don't sponsor this ride for much longer as it is giving them negative publicity everytime it's on.
PurleySquire
Retrobike Rider
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The Police have been "helping" bike commuters in London following a spate of cyclists' deaths occurring recently in accidents with drivers.
On the one hand; they appeared, initially, to be on the hunt for easy pickings, issuing fines for petty violations. On the other hand, more recently, they seem to be of benefit and have forced off the road the idiots that give all cyclists a bad name and upped better understanding from drivers and larger vehicle users. They were even working with a local bike shop to offer free security markings yesterday. :shock:
It will be interesting to see how things pan out as more people try this bike riding thing... The times. they are a changin'
On the one hand; they appeared, initially, to be on the hunt for easy pickings, issuing fines for petty violations. On the other hand, more recently, they seem to be of benefit and have forced off the road the idiots that give all cyclists a bad name and upped better understanding from drivers and larger vehicle users. They were even working with a local bike shop to offer free security markings yesterday. :shock:
It will be interesting to see how things pan out as more people try this bike riding thing... The times. they are a changin'
mass events of this kind doesn't promote cycling it just alienates it further, im not sure if the two things are linked but there have been reports of tacks being thrown on the local trails in the Purbecks around the same time as a recent wiggle event.
jon did wiggle just sponsor this event or organise it?
jon did wiggle just sponsor this event or organise it?
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wiggle employ a company called UKcycling to organise it, they just pay the bill.
i think the events are a good thing but they need to be more thought about to cause less issues, there will always be the moaners but when it gets to the point that average people who would never previously have moaned start doing so then you know you're causing too much hassle.
i think the events are a good thing but they need to be more thought about to cause less issues, there will always be the moaners but when it gets to the point that average people who would never previously have moaned start doing so then you know you're causing too much hassle.
let's get this into perspective.
so on 1 day some cyclists hold up the traffic yet I see the M25 locked solid anti-clickwise every morning at rush hour (luckily i go the other way) inevitable cuased by cars or lorries and no one has a go or investigates car drivers???
and some crap - I bet there is more dog shit left about the new forest than one or tow number twos from cyclists, not that that excuses them.
so on 1 day some cyclists hold up the traffic yet I see the M25 locked solid anti-clickwise every morning at rush hour (luckily i go the other way) inevitable cuased by cars or lorries and no one has a go or investigates car drivers???
and some crap - I bet there is more dog shit left about the new forest than one or tow number twos from cyclists, not that that excuses them.
I did a road event last year in Belgium with 15,000 other riders.... Yes 15,000. The cars , people , towns embraced it ...
Different mentality , culture general outlook on life , not saying all the riders are not pests here but far more outnumbered by the complete miserable moaning bastards that we have become.
You could put on the perfect hassle free event and it will still be wrong there just seems to be a growing hatred for cyclists what ever there walk of life.
Different mentality , culture general outlook on life , not saying all the riders are not pests here but far more outnumbered by the complete miserable moaning bastards that we have become.
You could put on the perfect hassle free event and it will still be wrong there just seems to be a growing hatred for cyclists what ever there walk of life.
