Bintang, Just so you know, the closures were for the Ironman UK Triathlon which had 1,500 international atheletes taking part. They swam 2.4-mile (3.9km) in Sherborne Castle lake then a 112-mile (180km) cycle race and a 26-mile (42km) marathon.
Anyone else have a quiet day with the Sunday papers?
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I used to cycle, mainly time trials which dont need a road closure, so was on the other end of it however it it is frustrating to be inconvinienced or even severely delayed by an event in which one has no interest, particularly if it is a matter of simply getting home or from home to the village etc.
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A stretch of the A1 dual carriageway north of the Tyne Tunnel was often "hijacked" for pony and trap racing by the travelling fraternity.
They would block all traffic from getting close to the competitors by two strategically positioned traps at the rear of the race
I would find this particularly frustrating when this happened at about 7am on a Sunday morning on my way to work as it meant I would be late and cost me a few quid as Sunday was double time for me.
Nobody ever dared to spoil the race and the local plod seemed to turn a blind eye.
Talk was that there was serious amounts of money being bet on these events.
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As a racing cyclist I take umbrage about us not paying tax for the roads ,roads are paid for out of generall taxation for the benifit of all the population so called road tax(exise duty) is to pay for polution and the damage you do to the roads.I think you will find that most cyclists also own cars and have for more important thinks to complain about like the state of our roads.
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Rural roads round us are regularly closed for motor rallies (no RACING, allegedly). This is regulated by the RAC, not the police.
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The rallies may be controlled by the RAC, the road closures are not SFAIK. They are a matter for the Local Authority/Council and/or the police
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Cycling events are applied for many months in advance now to the council,the police with a method statement and a risk assessment before and after the event.and unless they have any specific problems on that day they cannot object.
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The rallies may be controlled by the RAC the road closures are not SFAIK. They are a matter for the Local Authority/Council and/or the police
"How is Welsh Road Rallying governed?
All four wheeled motorsport events in England and Wales are governed by the Motorsports Association (MSA). The MSA is recognised by the Department of Transport as the organisation which will regulate motorsport competitions which utilise the public highway. The RAC is an 'Authorising Body' under the The Road Traffic Act 1988/91 and the administration for this is done on the RAC's behalf by the MSA."
In practice this gives the rally organisers the right to close the road. Just try driving round it the "wrong" way, or taking your dog for a walk!
The police are not interested unless an offence has been committed.
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What a bunch of miserable sinners!
From the comments here anyone would've thought cyclist were the scourge of the earth and that closing a road was a sin one notch below murder!
nobody has a right drive on the roads, hence why your licence can be revoked.
Chill out and get over yourselves.
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Aim low, expect nothing & dont be disappointed
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Closing any public road, to the inconvenience of hundreds of people who have paid to fund it and use it, for the benefit of some cyclists for some race or time trial is, on balance, not a good thing. If it is some major event like the Milk Race or the Tour de Drugs then local businesses will benefit and there is some justification. Any one driving a fully legal car and holding a valid driving licence has the right to drive on a public road and if they offend then their licence can be withdrawn, by means of a driving ban.
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There are thousands of cycle races held in Britain over the course of a year. Fewer than half a dozen, at the very most, are on closed roads. Roads are never closed for a time trial, which is the most common for of cycle event in this country.
I think all the complaining on this thread smacks of "Disgusted of Tonbridge Wells", handlebar moustaches bristling with indignation. The original poster said that this was the first time he had come across a cycle race in fifty years of motoring. Hardly a reason to ban a whole sport, is it?
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Or a good reason to have his eyes tested.
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"Closing any public road, to the inconvenience of hundreds of people who have paid to fund it and use it, for the benefit of some cyclists for some race or time trial is, on balance, not a good thing. If it is some major event like the Milk Race or the Tour de Drugs then local businesses will benefit and there is some justification. Any one driving a fully legal car and holding a valid driving licence has the right to drive on a public road and if they offend then their licence can be withdrawn, by means of a driving ban."
Whay utter rubbish
Plus the tour de drugs resulted in 3 positive tests out of 190 riders over 20 days ,if they were to do the same stringent testing on drivers,football players ,rugby player,track athletes ,golfers,then there these occupations would have a lot less particepents it would not be 1.5% it would probably be more like 50%
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In reply to Armitage Shanks and his Tour de Drugs, cycle racing is one of the cleanest sports in the world. They catch a few cheats (three out of 189 starters in this years tour) because they actually look for them, and with the most rigorous testing procedures available. If you want to complain about traffic congestion caused by sports events, don't go near London when the Olympics are there and thousands of walking chemical factories are lining up on the athletics track.
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both Reading and Coventry to name but two annually shut large numbers of roads to allow marathons and/or cycle races to take place
both these cities organise it very badly
terrible disruption
Reading has countless examples of drivers being trapped for hours as one set of coppers lets them pull into a street, and the next set wont let them out the next, trapping innocent motorists in their cars for hours
Coventry has the most arrogant marshalls imaginable, stopping cars (hello they are not coppers) and sending them on wild goose chases, to say nothing of shutting roads way in excess of those authorised by orders
Sunderland shuts the coast road for nonsense like this all the time, which wouldnt be an issue if they hadnt speed bumped and chicaned the heck out of all the other routes, and regularly shuts many more roads than the relevant orders allow, but then they employ usless companies as the marhalls who take it upon themselves to act like nazi gaurds
never been persuaded that any of this is worth the disruption to the economy and free movement of ordinary folk
Coventry last time was touch and go as there were many loud exchanges between drivers and marshalls (i was on foot) and as I had every sympathy with the drivers
really folk shouldnt be allowed to shut roads and direct traffic without much more training than these muppet marshalls get, and road closures should be much tougher to obtain
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really folk shouldnt be allowed to shut roads and direct traffic without much more training than these muppet marshalls get and road closures should be much tougher to obtain
That's the nub of it, the real issue. Not the fact that these thing happen, but that they need organising and marshalling properly.
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Aim low, expect nothing & dont be disappointed
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Closing any public road to the inconvenience of hundreds of people who have paid to fund it and use it for the benefit of some cyclists for some race or time trial is on balance not a good thing.
Yeah, maybe you're right. After all, these cyclist can go to a velodrome if they want to race can't they. Two wheel, pedals. It's all the same, isn't it? Save getting in your way.
If it is some major event like the Milk Race or the Tour de Drugs then local businesses will benefit and there is some justification.
But with a major event, even more people that don't give a monkeys about cycling get inconvenienced, so the balance is restored.
Any one driving a fully legal car and holding a valid driving licence has the right to drive on a public road and if they offend then their licence can be withdrawn by means of a driving ban.
You do not have a right to hold a license or drive on any road.
Yours
Annoyed of Oxford
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Aim low, expect nothing & dont be disappointed
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An individual does have the right to hold a licence provided he/she meets the criteria (pass the tests, be medically fit, pay the fee, etc). The state has the right to take it off you if you breach these conditions in some way. Are you claiming that 30million people are breaking the law by driving on public road, on the basis that they do not have the "Right" to do so? Please quote the Act ot Parliament which states this.
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An individual does have the right to hold a licence
Yes, but you have to have a licence, so you don't have a right - a pedestrian, for instance, does - he doesn't need a licence. It's perhaps a bit of a difficult concept.
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Talk was that there was serious amounts of money being bet on these events.
Fine! I think I will organise an illegal motorbike race on the Macclesfield - Buxton 'Cat & Fiddle' road. Serious amounts of money could be made/lost doing this as well! If non tax paying travellers are allowed to do so, then so should the rest of us!
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you only have 3 "rights" under law in England
the right to a name
the right to drink in private above the age of 5
the right to a bank account
thats it
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Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, sort of, up to a point.
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nope ur mixing us up with our american friends
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nope ur mixing us up with our american friends
Well, we are mixed up with them. The republican ideals of the American revolution originated in the European Enlightenment like those of the French Revolution, and were shared of course by English radicals. The fathers of the American revolution were English gentry.
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Not so! What about Human Rights legislation which guarantees the right to family life, among other things. Some low life who stabbed a headmaster some years ago cannot be deported as this would deprive him of his right to a family life as they live here! You do not have the right to a bank account - try getting one if you have been declared bankrupt! I do not speak from personal experience but from work in the financial industry.
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human rights stuff is not primary legislation
right to bank account is usually met by post office account which bankrupts can open
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There is a difference between being allowed, or licensed, and having a right.
I have the right not to be persecuted for various reasons, no matter what I do, whether I'm a saint or a latchkey asbo terrrrist.
I am allowed to drive as long as I fulfill certain criteria.
see the difference?
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Aim low, expect nothing & dont be disappointed
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Well sort of! I can do something and somebody can take away my right/permission/licence to do it if they feel like it? In the end I either can do something or I can't, depending on who wants to stop me and why!
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A right is something that you cannot lawfully be denied. A licence (to drive, for example) is granted provided you can meet certain criteria and can be revoked if you breach certain conditions. Therefore you cannot be said to have a right to drive on the public highway. Whilst I can see an argument for taxing/insuring cyclists (which I wouldn't condone) at the moment there is no such requirement. And so, whether you like or not, the postion is that cyclists are free (have the right?) to enjoy the public highways (subject to the limitations of the Highway Code) whilst a motorist must earn/pay for the privilege.
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