Cycling "Sportives"

[Blurr]

Cyclists are a law unto themselves. They abnegate all responsibility for keeping themselves alive and expect other road users to do it for them.

As much as I detest them, I accept they have as much right to be on the road as I, whether I'm walking, riding or driving. What would be nice would be some consideration, including a few signs with dates to let other road users know when they're going to be going pell mell on the road in packs doing their sporties and pantaloons.

 

[cobgoblin]

Hi Mike. Whilst I don't condone the language or behaviour used by the cyclist, it was probably prompted by you stopping on a public highway and holding up traffic. Might I suggest local pub may be a better place to exchange conversation with motorists, not in the middle of the road?

I think the point that Mike is trying to make is that the cyclist saw no reason at all why he should behave responsibly on the road. If there is an obstruction of any sort you should act accordingly and not try to squeeze through the smallest gap causing danger to yourself or others. I doubt this incident was in the middle of the A1 or some other major road, it was probably on a country lane . Such roads are often obstructed by the mere presence of a tractor and most people are courteous enough to stop and provide a motorist with directions etc.

 

[Billabongchick]

Have taken part in these events and cycling used to be a big part of my life. Unfortunately I have to agree with the fact that many club cyclists become oblivious to other road users when in large groups. As a horse rider who was used to thanking cars for slowing I was surprised when I started cycling as to how many cyclists do not say thank you when a car slows to pass. Also how many seem to think that holding up cars for up to 2 miles on narrow lanes is ok while they randomly change their formation so they can chat (thus making the group the equivalent size and length of an artic lorry or more and impossible to pass). I understand having participated why people want to do these events but they should be publicised properly and limited in number in popular areas so that local residents are not annoyed by being housebound effectively every weekend. More awareness for all road users towards each other is necessary. Eg. How to safely pass, how best to formation when in a large group to allow minimal obstruction to other users, why not to walk on a cycle path and so on.

 

[cobgoblin]

Have taken part in these events and cycling used to be a big part of my life. Unfortunately I have to agree with the fact that many club cyclists become oblivious to other road users when in large groups. As a horse rider who was used to thanking cars for slowing I was surprised when I started cycling as to how many cyclists do not say thank you when a car slows to pass. Also how many seem to think that holding up cars for up to 2 miles on narrow lanes is ok while they randomly change their formation so they can chat (thus making the group the equivalent size and length of an artic lorry or more and impossible to pass). I understand having participated why people want to do these events but they should be publicised properly and limited in number in popular areas so that local residents are not annoyed by being housebound effectively every weekend. More awareness for all road users towards each other is necessary. Eg. How to safely pass, how best to formation when in a large group to allow minimal obstruction to other users, why not to walk on a cycle path and so on.

At last, someone with a foot in both camps who can acknowledge reality!

 

[Mithras]

Your question mentions Olympic and Tour de France winners. Can we deduce from this that you believe that a certain level of sporting achievement obviates one's responsibilities in terms of following the rules of the road and giving due consideration to other users?

A certain level of sporting achievement necessitates a certain movement at speed. Which is still slower than most road traffic. I certainly wouldn't get any training benefit from pootling around like a kid on a tricycle. You sound as if you have little experience of the balance and skill required riding a bike at speed, and are therefore unable to compute anything beyond your own personal experiences. I trust you do go faster than a walk when riding?

 

[Mithras]

I don't think that's the issue - it's the numbers of cyclists in a sportive and the fact it is a timed event which must encourage speed.

Someone mentioned about the small amount of inconvenience that locals suffer from larger events. Some years ago the Tour de France passed right by a friends house - they weren't allowed to get to or from their house by car for something like 8 hours because we wondered at the time what would happen if her horse needed a vet!

Could the person not simply have walked? Or do they keep their horse miles from their house? Surely then they could have planned ahead and left their car parked on a nearby road outwith the route? For one day in their life? I am sure they were not literally trapped in their own garden for hours on end, as TDF routes are full of people going up and down until the actual race and caravan arrive. I've watched it in France several times, and the carnival atmosphere really gets the whole community pulling together. I remember watching one stage in a town near the French Alps, and this one village had marquees up where people could watch from, they invited me in for free food, there were thousands of spectators lining the route cheering and clapping - it was so enjoyable and a really wonderful day out.

 

[Blurr]

Could the person not simply have walked? Or do they keep their horse miles from their house? Surely then they could have planned ahead and left their car parked on a nearby road outwith the route? For one day in their life? I am sure they were not literally trapped in their own garden for hours on end, as TDF routes are full of people going up and down until the actual race and caravan arrive. I've watched it in France several times, and the carnival atmosphere really gets the whole community pulling together. I remember watching one stage in a town near the French Alps, and this one village had marquees up where people could watch from, they invited me in for free food, there were thousands of spectators lining the route cheering and clapping - it was so enjoyable and a really wonderful day out.

Isn't that just super fun .... if you love cycling. And if you don't? Tough. Not many sports do that to a person.

 

[Blurr]

A certain level of sporting achievement necessitates a certain movement at speed. Which is still slower than most road traffic. I certainly wouldn't get any training benefit from pootling around like a kid on a tricycle. You sound as if you have little experience of the balance and skill required riding a bike at speed, and are therefore unable to compute anything beyond your own personal experiences. I trust you do go faster than a walk when riding?

None of which answered the question. If you're good at a sport, does this mean rules don't apply to you?

 

[little_critter]

Haven't read all the threads, but I think the gist of the post is that there are large numbers of cyclists all in a bunch and going very fast, and that people who live and work in the areas this is happening are getting no advanced notice that these events are taking place. I don't think most people here think that cyclists shouldn't be on the roads, but they would appreciate having the opportunity to plan their lives around the vast numbers that descend on their roads from time to time.

Your question mentions Olympic and Tour de France winners. Can we deduce from this that you believe that a certain level of sporting achievement obviates one's responsibilities in terms of following the rules of the road and giving due consideration to other users?

Per my earlier post I totally agree that sportives and other mass events should give clear warning of the routes they are using in advance and also suggested a quota system so popular areas aren't swamped every weekend.
I also strongly agree that all road used (including cyclists and horse riders, pro and pleasure riders alike) must follow the rules of the road, lest they put themselves and others in danger.

My comments about 'so where should they train?' above are in response to several posts that appear to be simply anti-cyclist and seem to wish them off the road altogether (or at least limit their speed to that of a gentle potter around the block)

 

[Mithras]

Cyclists are a law unto themselves. They abnegate all responsibility for keeping themselves alive and expect other road users to do it for them.

I see. Thankfully the law doesn't agree with you, and I hope the person above (Mike...) who described his fantasy of his point to pointer kicking and killing a cyclist doesn't extend his sociopathy to real life. I am a cyclist, and I personally was extremely worried to read this. Because if his point to pointer does kick or even injure someone, he is going to be strictly liable already for the actions of his animal under the Animals Act, but he has also admitted on here to a knowledge that his horse kicks, and he implicitly encourages it to do so.

As much as I detest them, I accept they have as much right to be on the road as I, whether I'm walking, riding or driving. What would be nice would be some consideration, including a few signs with dates to let other road users know when they're going to be going pell mell on the road in packs doing their sporties and pantaloons.

You know, this really is a ridiculous thread. Is HHO inhabited by Victorians in crinolines who need smelling salts if they see people going faster than walking speed? It reminds me of a triathlon I did in the North of Scotland, on a Sunday. A local wrote to their local newspaper to complain about the athletes' "thrashing thighs" being seen in public.

It also reminds me of some remarks I've had while out riding and trotting and cantering on tracks suitable for this, in quiet areas. Some very timorous, controlling people, usually middle aged fathers with children, miles away, have asked me to walk (I always walk past people anyway, but they wanted me to walk everywhere so the sight of a horse didn't scare their children). One asked me to walk past his house so I didn't scare his children, although he had a big buffer of a fenced garden between it and the lane, and all I could see were these two little pale faces in the window, watching the world pass them by.

I'm almost certain there are signs put up for all sportives, otherwise no-one would know where to go, but there is problem in the UK about locals taking them down.

I'm surprised so few people have the insight on this thread to spot the irony in a bunch of people criticising another bunch of people doing a perfectly legal activity, yet describing them as "idiots", "deserving to die", etc.. - it doesn't really give a very good impression of horse riders. And from the people who have written describing stopping in the middle of roads on horseback, ambling around with no idea whats going on around them, struggling to control their horses on the roads, and struggling themselves to cope with other road users on country roads, it sounds like you would be a liability to meet on horseback, as well as a bike.

If you behaved like that (on horseback) while out hunting, or in a hunter trial, or in a showing class, or wherever, you would be an utter liability. The world doesn't revolve around you, and it doesn't stop while you deal with your various problems, most of which seem to stem with a lack of desire to share the world with other people, and a lack of basic skills in your chosen sport.

Reading threads like this, I often wonder if there is something wrong with the education system in this country. Not only does it fall remarkably low in developed world rankings, but I was taught from an early age to respect other people's right to do legal things that may not be my own choice, to leave them in privacy, and generally not to behave like a selfish spoilt brat if the world doesn't revolve around me. Its as if there is something missing socially. Never mind the dependence on cars to go everywhere and the obvious inability to participate in a variety of competitive sports.

 

[Mithras]

None of which answered the question. If you're good at a sport, does this mean rules don't apply to you?

You are deliberately asking stupid, leading questions. Perhaps if you have a problem with someone breaking the law (and it won't be me), you should contact the police? Otherwise, please don't project your strange fantasies onto me.

If you do not know who the law of the land applies to, perhaps you should do some basic research?

 

[ester]

I don't have issues with cyclists on the road/mountainbikers on the hills etc I do have issue with people who think they can absolutely not slow down if there is another hazard on the road whether that be horse rider, blind bend etc - so obviously timed rides do have that problem (The only one I have known of locally in somerset used to run weekly up the A38, round a roundabout and back again so at least a wide decent road.

What is the situation with EGB rides which do partly use the roads? are there signs about before hand etc?

 

[Mithras]

Per my earlier post I totally agree that sportives and other mass events should give clear warning of the routes they are using in advance and also suggested a quota system so popular areas aren't swamped every weekend.
I also strongly agree that all road used (including cyclists and horse riders, pro and pleasure riders alike) must follow the rules of the road, lest they put themselves and others in danger.

My comments about 'so where should they train?' above are in response to several posts that appear to be simply anti-cyclist and seem to wish them off the road altogether (or at least limit their speed to that of a gentle potter around the block)

There is a quota system for all sportives. That's one of the reasons they are timed - so they know when the last cyclist will be off the roads, and the busiest times. Entries are quite severely restricted, and most of them have to be entered six months in advance, otherwise they are full up. There are a couple which have to be entered almost a year in advance - as soon as that years one finishes. They are so popular now that organisers could fill them three or four times over but aren't able to do so because of quotas for safety and to keep traffic moving.

I personally think they should simply close the roads to motor traffic, like in Holland. Get people out of their cars for part of one day, encourage a community spirit and try and get them to support the event, or at least ignore it without having some kind of tantrum about not being able to go exactly where they want, when they want.

 

[Tiddlypom]

Hi Mike. Whilst I don't condone the language or behaviour used by the cyclist, it was probably prompted by you stopping on a public highway and holding up traffic. Might I suggest local pub may be a better place to exchange conversation with motorists, not in the middle of the road?

One final post from me (I may have said that before!).

Ok, so if a car driver slows down and asks you for directions, you should carry on and ignore them? I'm often stopped for directions around here, I of course check that the road is clear before I stop to help them out and keep checking whilst I have a brief conversation. I'm sure that if the cyclist had called out to Mike (hello! type of thing) that he would have got out of the way, but because cycles are silent I expect that he didn't hear him coming. Just some basic common sense and courtesy from the cyclist was required.

Student son did a solo sponsored 300 mile cycle ride in the summer. I went on line to check reviews for a cycle computer preloaded with OS maps and a cycle specific sat nav to help him. One of the reviews stated that whilst the computer was great, the reviewer had never used the sat nav facility as he preferred to DRIVE the route in advance so that he didn't have to slow down at any point to check the route whilst on his bike! THAT is the mentality of SOME cyclists that are a liability on the roads.

The chesnut git was a liability in many ways, but he was 100% cycle proof. We did get caught out once when a cycle club run (c30 strong) rounded a blind bend on a narrow lane 100 yards ahead and caught us by surprise. He started to spin and was panicking as he didn't have time to work out what on earth this was approaching at speed. The cyclists sped on and prepared to attempt to funnel past his back end. I had a double handful controlling him and resorted to my foghorn voice to shout at them to stop, which luckily they did. Had they carried on at speed there would have been a horrible tangle of cyclists and horse. I did of course thank them afterwards and try to explain that horses can get taken by surprise by bikes.

Student son has volunteered to help marshall the second day of the 2014 Tour de France, which ends in Sheffield. We will all be along on the day as spectators. A huge event like that is well publicised in advance so at least the locals can plan their day accordingly. A light touch re publicising the dates and routes of sportives in advance is all that is required and all that Kentphil has been mooting.

I always drive courteously around horse riders and cyclists. It is common that I may have to follow even a pair of cyclists for a couple of miles around here as the lanes are so narrow, and I will never take a chance on squeezing past them. If you multiply that by the 600 starters on the sportive that ran past us in the summer, you can see that it would be nice to know in advance and change plans accordingly.

We do cycle proofing here at home just outside the house. OH and 2 teenage sons cycle past on the lane whilst young horse is standing in our open gateway. They stop at intervals to give horse a slice of carrot, and carry on and repeat at greater speeds. Unfortunately we can't replicate a full club run but it is a good start!

 

[lazybee]

Cyclists are a law unto themselves. They abnegate all responsibility for keeping themselves alive and expect other road users to do it for them.

As much as I detest them, I accept they have as much right to be on the road as I, whether I'm walking, riding or driving. What would be nice would be some consideration, including a few signs with dates to let other road users know when they're going to be going pell mell on the road in packs doing their sporties and pantaloons.

Yours and others petty complaints and bile don't sit well against the recent spate of cyclist deaths. I fully expect you to blame cyclists for this, rather than cars, HGVs and buses, despite indisputable data which points to motorists being to blame. One problems is that people like you "detest them"???? and many actively do what they can to make their lives difficult, awkward and downright dangerous. So don't be surprised if you encounter cyclists riding with a little attitude. If you cycle regularly (as I do), you'll soon harden up after several near death experiences.

Imagine if you were reading comments aimed at horse riding in a cycling or car forum.........if you can there would be uproar.
There are endurance events that use (in part) public roads, Castle Acre in Norfolk springs to mind. Do the ADR or BIRA inform all the cycle clubs....I think not.

 

[lazybee]

Duplicated

 

[Mithras]

Ok, so if a car driver slows down and asks you for directions, you should carry on and ignore them? I'm often stopped for directions around here, I of course check that the road is clear before I stop to help them out and keep checking whilst I have a brief conversation. I'm sure that if the cyclist had called out to Mike (hello! type of thing) that he would have got out of the way, but because cycles are silent I expect that he didn't hear him coming. Just some basic common sense and courtesy from the cyclist was required.

If you are going to stop on a public road and block it, you are going to be a potential obstacle to other cars as well as cyclists. Perhaps you have quieter roads than round here, but I wouldn't stop on horseback and endanger my horse like that. I either wouldn't stop, or would move into a gateway. I'm pretty certain this is covered in the Pony Club B Test.

Student son did a solo sponsored 300 mile cycle ride in the summer. I went on line to check reviews for a cycle computer preloaded with OS maps and a cycle specific sat nav to help him. One of the reviews stated that whilst the computer was great, the reviewer had never used the sat nav facility as he preferred to DRIVE the route in advance so that he didn't have to slow down at any point to check the route whilst on his bike! THAT is the mentality of SOME cyclists that are a liability on the roads.

If you think about what you have written here, your explanation doesn't make sense. Why would you criticise someone for driving 300 miles to reccee a route - its hardly possible to cycle the whole thing in preparation. Some people don't like sat navs of routes - its hardly a crime. But if you drove so fast that you rendered the checking of the route pointless, why do it? He is presumably going to drive faster than he can cycle, so none of that makes sense.

 

[Pebble101]

Could the person not simply have walked? Or do they keep their horse miles from their house? .

The horse is kept at her house and nice as it might be you cannot preplan emergencies! We wondered how a vet would get there.

 

[little_critter]

There is a quota system for all sportives. That's one of the reasons they are timed - so they know when the last cyclist will be off the roads, and the busiest times. Entries are quite severely restricted, and most of them have to be entered six months in advance, otherwise they are full up. There are a couple which have to be entered almost a year in advance - as soon as that years one finishes. They are so popular now that organisers could fill them three or four times over but aren't able to do so because of quotas for safety and to keep traffic moving.

I personally think they should simply close the roads to motor traffic, like in Holland. Get people out of their cars for part of one day, encourage a community spirit and try and get them to support the event, or at least ignore it without having some kind of tantrum about not being able to go exactly where they want, when they want.

Mithras - I think we are on the same 'side' here....live and let live.
Just to clarify I ment a quota system on numbers of events in an area within a set timeframe. Is there currently anything that prevents company A organising a sportive on weekend 1, then company B organising one in the same area the next weekend, then Company C organising one the weekend after that, again in the same area? I can totally understand the locals getting annoyed if they live in an area that has events practically every weekend.

I realise the entries are limited - OH has entered one for March and I think that filled up pretty quickly.

 

[criso]

A certain level of sporting achievement necessitates a certain movement at speed. Which is still slower than most road traffic. I certainly wouldn't get any training benefit from pootling around like a kid on a tricycle. You sound as if you have little experience of the balance and skill required riding a bike at speed, and are therefore unable to compute anything beyond your own personal experiences. I trust you do go faster than a walk when riding?

There is not just one set speed which is safe and over which it becomes dangerous. As with speed limits on roads drivers, cyclists, horses riders should adjust their speed and behaviour depending on road conditions, weather, traffic and hazards.

A less experienced cyclist could be more of a risk at a slower speed that a more experienced one.

If as in my example the cyclists are undertaking a car that has slowed down and pulled out slightly to go round me then they are riding faster than the speed that other traffic on the road considers appropriate. The horse I was riding did not react and I only reacted to make sure my toes were not pointing out and move my whip in front of my leg make more space but had one of them just bumped against the horse even slightly then 17 hands of chunky wb may well have thrown them off balance and under into the car.

I have no problem with the dozens of cyclists in singles and pairs I meet every time I ride but with the bigger organised events that happen very frequently.

Something like the Tour de France which happens once a year is a big international sporting event which completely justifies closing off roads and making allowances. The rides near us (not sure whether they are actually sportives but do involve cyclists riding in a group and a timed element) were happening twice weekly. They seem to have stopped at the moment but I don't know if they are using different routes or will start up again.

Introducing a competitive element whether it be the other riders in your group or a target time makes people behave with less patience and care than they would otherwise - more likely to squeeze through gaps or not wait for a clear view of the road ahead and I don't think activities whether it be on bikes, horses, cars or traps that are competitive and make risk taking more likely should happen on the public roads with special measures.

 

[Mithras]

Mithras - I think we are on the same 'side' here....live and let live.
Just to clarify I ment a quota system on numbers of events in an area within a set timeframe. Is there currently anything that prevents company A organising a sportive on weekend 1, then company B organising one in the same area the next weekend, then Company C organising one the weekend after that, again in the same area? I can totally understand the locals getting annoyed if they live in an area that has events practically every weekend.

I realise the entries are limited - OH has entered one for March and I think that filled up pretty quickly.

I've no idea. I would have thought so. I wouldn't have thought many cyclists would want to do the same route time after time anyway. The trouble in the UK is that its so busy and the road system so badly planned and poor, avoiding many routes or dangerous routes highlighted by risk assessments required under the HSAWA74 don't leave that many roads to use. Theres also a lot of traffic on UK roads. I keep saying UK roads because I've lived in Holland and Belgium where it was quite different. Not that there weren't detractors, but I would say the majority of people didn't travel everywhere by car in their whole lives and had some empathy and enjoyment for cycling events. There also seem to be more country roads where you hardly see one car every 15 minutes, despite having a higher population density.

I'm absolutely horrified and disgusted by some of the remarks made on here. As a law abiding person in a responsible job, I really take exception to being labelled "an idiot", of "abregating responsibility for keeping myself alive", of "being detested". It really makes me think the writers are sociopaths. Its not a normal healthy human response, and I'd be wary of meeting them on a road in a car, never mind on a bike or on a horse! Its also a bit horrific how many people just have no experience of riding a bike other than a long, long time ago.

Criso - how do you think people get to TDF level? How would up and coming British cyclists train or gain competition experience?!

You also "don't squeeze through gaps" when cycling in a bunch. You would get a *******ing if you didn't follow the standard paceline or two up rules - in the latter, one cyclist pulls out to the right and falls to the end of the bunch, the one behind him moves up and the one originally beside him moves over to the left.

While yours and some others are sensible response, actually stepping away from this thread now because I find some of the comments so disgusting, and I find it embarrassing to be associated with it.

 

[Tiddlypom]

If you think about what you have written here, your explanation doesn't make sense. Why would you criticise someone for driving 300 miles to reccee a route - its hardly possible to cycle the whole thing in preparation. Some people don't like sat navs of routes - its hardly a crime. But if you drove so fast that you rendered the checking of the route pointless, why do it? He is presumably going to drive faster than he can cycle, so none of that makes sense.

Apologies if I didn't make myself clear. I am a humble touring cyclist (though I did once do a 100 miles in 10 hours event.). My point was that the guy (not my son but a total stranger) was not prepared to slow up at any point to check his route, as he was so focused on the time that the trip was going to take him. That is a bit scary as presumably he may have been similarly disinclined to pause for any other reason on the trip if he thought that it would adversely affect his time. Not really a good frame of mind to be in on a public road IMHO.

Student son rode his route (from north of Liverpool to the end of the Hadrians Wall cycle way) without any recce using the old fashioned navigational aid of a Landranger paper map clipped onto his handlebars! (Cycle computer had dodgy reviews so didn't get it.)

When I cycled the End to End in 1979, we had a pannier full of all the OS maps needed for the route (a lot!) and posted them back home in bundles as we no longer needed them! I quite welcomed the points when we had to stop and check the route as it was a chance to get my breath back!

 

[lastchancer]

I see. Thankfully the law doesn't agree with you, and I hope the person above (Mike...) who described his fantasy of his point to pointer kicking and killing a cyclist doesn't extend his sociopathy to real life. I am a cyclist, and I personally was extremely worried to read this. Because if his point to pointer does kick or even injure someone, he is going to be strictly liable already for the actions of his animal under the Animals Act, but he has also admitted on here to a knowledge that his horse kicks, and he implicitly encourages it to do so.

I'm pretty sure Mike isn't a sociopath, thats rather offensive. As for the potential for getting kicked, well, that is why the Highway Code tell us not to pass too close to horses. You should read it, it's full of useful information like that.

I'm surprised so few people have the insight on this thread to spot the irony in a bunch of people criticising another bunch of people doing a perfectly legal activity, yet describing them as "idiots", "deserving to die", etc.. - it doesn't really give a very good impression of horse riders. And from the people who have written describing stopping in the middle of roads on horseback, ambling around with no idea whats going on around them, struggling to control their horses on the roads, and struggling themselves to cope with other road users on country roads, it sounds like you would be a liability to meet on horseback, as well as a bike. .

Who said anyone deserves to die? I must have missed that post. Who are you referring to as a liability and why exactly?

I was taught from an early age to respect other people's right to do legal things that may not be my own choice, to leave them in privacy, and generally not to behave like a selfish spoilt brat if the world doesn't revolve around me. .

And then you say....

I personally think they should simply close the roads to motor traffic, like in Holland. Get people out of their cars for part of one day, encourage a community spirit and try and get them to support the event, or at least ignore it without having some kind of tantrum about not being able to go exactly where they want, when they want.

Ahh - bit of a contradiction there Mithras....

No ones seriously anti bike on here, we just don't appreciate the holier than thou attitude and the perceived right to expect everyone else to get out of their way and yet think it's fine to block roads themselves.

 

[Blurr]

I reserve the right to detest cyclists if I wish. I never used to, years ago, before lycra was invented and the TDF was virtually unheard of in the UK. I used to enjoy riding a bike when I was a kid, great fun.

I go out of my way to avoid knocking them off their bikes, even if they're flying towards me on my side of the road from behind a blind bend. I'm very courteous, never overtake when it's not safe to do so etc. I abide by the law and am happy to do so, even when they don't. I follow the blighters for miles just so that I can pass safely without a word of complaint from me ... or a word of thanks from them. I do my damndest to keep them alive, just wish they'd show more of an interest in that themselves.

 

[criso]

Criso - how do you think people get to TDF level? How would up and coming British cyclists train or gain competition experience?!

You also "don't squeeze through gaps" when cycling in a bunch. You would get a *******ing if you didn't follow the standard paceline or two up rules - in the latter, one cyclist pulls out to the right and falls to the end of the bunch, the one behind him moves up and the one originally beside him moves over to the left.
.

I sympathise but you wouldn't get car racing experience on a public road. There needs be somewhere safe where people can train for whichever sport but if you are going to train on the public roads then more needs to be done to inform locals and educate the cyclists on the potential hazards that horses can repent.

No the ones that squeezed between me and the car shouldn't have behaved like that under any circumstances but in that moment they clearly felt that not slowing down was more important than road safety or their own guidelines.

 

[Mike007]

I see. Thankfully the law doesn't agree with you, and I hope the person above (Mike...) who described his fantasy of his point to pointer kicking and killing a cyclist doesn't extend his sociopathy to real life. I am a cyclist, and I personally was extremely worried to read this. Because if his point to pointer does kick or even injure someone, he is going to be strictly liable already for the actions of his animal under the Animals Act, but he has also admitted on here to a knowledge that his horse kicks, and he implicitly encourages it to do so.



,I meerly stated a fact that another horse I owned (long ago ) would almost certainly have lashed out at a "predator" rushing up at him from behind at speed. I fail to understand how that simple fact makes me a sociopath in your eyes. Nor do I understand how you infer that I would be implicitly encouraging him.The particular country lane I refered to incidentaly is also used by the local racing yards walkers . Nobody drives along it at the speed this cyclist was going.

 

[Indy]

I'm lucky with my old boys that they aren't perturbed by cyclists whether there's 5 or 50 or 500. My little mare on the other hand would have a wobbler is she saw a lone cyclist a mile away - which is why, in the interest of mine/hers/the rest of the world's health and safety we haven't yet ventured out - she's a work in progress. It is a pity that people can't enjoy their individual hobbies without conflict though - we all work hard enough to do them.

A little different but not by much we have a local running club and they always hold a road race smack bang during harvest and the amount of naughty words they spout because we dare to try and earn a living while they're trying to run a race is pretty crackers - you'd think that the running club would maybe try and organise a rural road race when there's not so much heavy machinery on the road (they must have figured out what's a busy time and what's not by now, it happens every year for as long as I can remember). It doesn't bother us shout at a combine if it makes you feel better but is must spoil an individuals enjoyment a bit, But then some of the local equine fraternity have been known to scream abuse at a switched off tractor - people really do just need to learn to chill out.

 

[Tiddlypom]

,I meerly stated a fact that another horse I owned (long ago ) would almost certainly have lashed out at a "predator" rushing up at him from behind at speed. I fail to understand how that simple fact makes me a sociopath in your eyes. Nor do I understand how you infer that I would be implicitly encouraging him.

Your post was quite clear and did not display any evidence of sociopathic behaviour, just a simple statement of fact. Mithras does seem to be firing off at random on this thread, it's nothing personal!

 

[ester]

Cyclists training can slow down if they have to - road conditions/hazard- and it would be foolish if they didn't.

Cyclists 'racing' really aren't going to want to do that, which is what seals it for me.

 

[Copperpot]

I think UK cycling should make Mithras their official spokesperson. Perhaps others would see what selfish attitudes some cyclists have then.

Why should I walk cos you think the road should be closed. I don't to walk or cycle anywhere!

And with regards to Mike's comment if the bikes passed at a safe distance they wouldn't get kicked. If your close enough to get kicked, your too close.

Perhaps if cyclists in large groups extended the same courtesy to others that they expect when they are being passed by a car, we would all be happy.