Tacks again spread on fast descent at Valleys Velo

derricka wrote:

The will always be a minority who will try and spoil things for others. But being at the event the organisers handled the situation professionally and promptly. The event in my experience was a great sucess. The route is fantastic, all marshals are helpful and cheerful, which flows through to the riders. I did not see an unhappy rider. Would I do this event again - definitely yes

 

#STINKING EVENT

WillRod wrote:

Premeditated, therefore attempted murder.

As was mentioned above, set up a sportive, and put cameras up to catch them.

 

And to put tacks on a steep descent is horrific, the police need to take this more seriously.

Doubt they intended to kill so not attempted murder. Reckless endangerment, some kind of assault or intent to wound, maybe.

But yeah, it would be nice if someone took this sort of thing seriously.

dafyddp wrote:

The weired thing is the effort. Must have taken way longer to buy drawing pins, spray/dry them, travel along a four mile stretch scattering them evenly than any amount of inconvenience the sad looser might have suffered by being held up (which I'm guessing is the root of their problem).

It's possible they were just anodised ones off-the-shelf a la:

http://www.officeworks.com.au/shop/officeworks/p/esselte-drawing-pins-bl...

Grumpy17 wrote:

Wonder if this sort of thing is prevalent or ever happens at all during sportive cycling events on the continent? Or is it just a UK thing? My experience driving ,motorcycling and cycling in France and Germany is that attitudes outside of the big cities are  generally more pleasant on the roads ,making life a little more tolerable for everyone including the cyclist. Yet it seems our country excels in producing large numbers of people who are clearly mentally unstable  whenever they get behind the wheel or interact generally with fellow road users . Particularly would like to know if there have been any human behavioural studies carried out to look at why there are so many cyclist hating people in this country.

I've lived in various countries on the continent, mostly Germany and the Netherlands, and I've only ever come across this kind of thing here in the UK. Really not sure what it is either. It must be a mindset thing, but why/what? To do with image or status maybe? The UK is quite a bit more capitalist / less egalitarian than most continental countries after all.

Grumpy17 wrote:

Wonder if this sort of thing is prevalent or ever happens at all during sportive cycling events on the continent? Or is it just a UK thing? My experience driving ,motorcycling and cycling in France and Germany is that attitudes outside of the big cities are  generally more pleasant on the roads ,making life a little more tolerable for everyone including the cyclist. Yet it seems our country excels in producing large numbers of people who are clearly mentally unstable  whenever they get behind the wheel or interact generally with fellow road users . Particularly would like to know if there have been any human behavioural studies carried out to look at why there are so many cyclist hating people in this country.

Not just UK...  Last year's Nordsjøritt here in Norwaysuffered the same fate, with several boxes emptied on a fairly steep downhill stretch with a hard packed gravel surface.  The tacks were spotted by the marshals heading along the route before the start in their quad bikes with trailers carrying the stretchers and managed to get rid of most of them, but still caused a few punctures.  (This is a once a year 92km mixed surface event) One unfortunate rider got a front puncture halfway down the slope and took himself out into a fencepost. One trip to hospital with a cracked collarbone,he was lucky. 

Grumpy17 wrote:

Wonder if this sort of thing is prevalent or ever happens at all during sportive cycling events on the continent? Or is it just a UK thing? My experience driving ,motorcycling and cycling in France and Germany is that attitudes outside of the big cities are  generally more pleasant on the roads ,making life a little more tolerable for everyone including the cyclist. Yet it seems our country excels in producing large numbers of people who are clearly mentally unstable  whenever they get behind the wheel or interact generally with fellow road users . Particularly would like to know if there have been any human behavioural studies carried out to look at why there are so many cyclist hating people in this country.

It has  happened in all three Grand Tours over the past few years. 

Grumpy17 wrote:

Particularly would like to know if there have been any human behavioural studies carried out to look at why there are so many cyclist hating people in this country.

For the same reason that millions of people voted to leave the EU: a limited sense of what freedom means. To many people, what is essential is to be personally free from external interference, whether that be eurocrats telling them how bendy their bananas should be, cyclists preventing them from driving as fast as they otherwise could, or event organisers closing the roads for one day of the year. It doesn't occur to them that other people might want to be free to actually go out and do things: to trade overseas enabled by common standards, to enjoy riding in a nice part of the countryside, to live, study or work abroad in a culture that might suit them better than the one they happen to have been born in. Cyclists are an underclass in Britain and its former colonies because there is a hint of enjoyment in their use of the roads, even when the primary purpose is to commute to a job they hate as much as the motorists "stuck" in queues they pass. They're getting some freedom without having to suffer for it which, for some people, just isn't acceptable if it means inconveniencing them, even for a second. Of course, they'll let their employers or the government buy their liberty, with money or a sense of security. But giving it away out of consideration for their fellow man? Nah, fuck 'em. Ultimately, the cause might be traced back to the failure of the English revolution, and the reaction to the French and Russian ones.

handlebarcam]</p>

<p>[quote=Grumpy17

wrote:

...... Ultimately, the cause might be traced back to the failure of the English revolution, and the reaction to the French and Russian ones. 

Yes, I can quite see that any reasonable, English person would prefer to be a French or Russian citizen.

handlebarcam wrote:

Grumpy17 wrote:

Particularly would like to know if there have been any human behavioural studies carried out to look at why there are so many cyclist hating people in this country.

For the same reason that millions of people voted to leave the EU: a limited sense of what freedom means. To many people, what is essential is to be personally free from external interference, whether that be eurocrats telling them how bendy their bananas should be, cyclists preventing them from driving as fast as they otherwise could, or event organisers closing the roads for one day of the year. It doesn't occur to them that other people might want to be free to actually go out and do things: to trade overseas enabled by common standards, to enjoy riding in a nice part of the countryside, to live, study or work abroad in a culture that might suit them better than the one they happen to have been born in. Cyclists are an underclass in Britain and its former colonies because there is a hint of enjoyment in their use of the roads, even when the primary purpose is to commute to a job they hate as much as the motorists "stuck" in queues they pass. They're getting some freedom without having to suffer for it which, for some people, just isn't acceptable if it means inconveniencing them, even for a second. Of course, they'll let their employers or the government buy their liberty, with money or a sense of security. But giving it away out of consideration for their fellow man? Nah, fuck 'em. Ultimately, the cause might be traced back to the failure of the English revolution, and the reaction to the French and Russian ones.

Love it - brilliantly put.

jasecd wrote:

handlebarcam wrote:

Grumpy17 wrote:

Particularly would like to know if there have been any human behavioural studies carried out to look at why there are so many cyclist hating people in this country.

For the same reason that millions of people voted to leave the EU: a limited sense of what freedom means. To many people, what is essential is to be personally free from external interference, whether that be eurocrats telling them how bendy their bananas should be, cyclists preventing them from driving as fast as they otherwise could, or event organisers closing the roads for one day of the year. It doesn't occur to them that other people might want to be free to actually go out and do things: to trade overseas enabled by common standards, to enjoy riding in a nice part of the countryside, to live, study or work abroad in a culture that might suit them better than the one they happen to have been born in. Cyclists are an underclass in Britain and its former colonies because there is a hint of enjoyment in their use of the roads, even when the primary purpose is to commute to a job they hate as much as the motorists "stuck" in queues they pass. They're getting some freedom without having to suffer for it which, for some people, just isn't acceptable if it means inconveniencing them, even for a second. Of course, they'll let their employers or the government buy their liberty, with money or a sense of security. But giving it away out of consideration for their fellow man? Nah, fuck 'em. Ultimately, the cause might be traced back to the failure of the English revolution, and the reaction to the French and Russian ones.

 

Love it - brilliantly put.

Nailed it. Or should that be tacked it?

handlebarcam wrote:

Grumpy17 wrote:

Particularly would like to know if there have been any human behavioural studies carried out to look at why there are so many cyclist hating people in this country.

For the same reason that millions of people voted to leave the EU: a limited sense of what freedom means. To many people, what is essential is to be personally free from external interference, whether that be eurocrats telling them how bendy their bananas should be, cyclists preventing them from driving as fast as they otherwise could, or event organisers closing the roads for one day of the year. It doesn't occur to them that other people might want to be free to actually go out and do things: to trade overseas enabled by common standards, to enjoy riding in a nice part of the countryside, to live, study or work abroad in a culture that might suit them better than the one they happen to have been born in. Cyclists are an underclass in Britain and its former colonies because there is a hint of enjoyment in their use of the roads, even when the primary purpose is to commute to a job they hate as much as the motorists "stuck" in queues they pass. They're getting some freedom without having to suffer for it which, for some people, just isn't acceptable if it means inconveniencing them, even for a second. Of course, they'll let their employers or the government buy their liberty, with money or a sense of security. But giving it away out of consideration for their fellow man? Nah, fuck 'em. Ultimately, the cause might be traced back to the failure of the English revolution, and the reaction to the French and Russian ones.

Miss, miss, handlebarcam's dropped his Gcse politics notes all over Road.cc, miss.

Grumpy17 wrote:

Wonder if this sort of thing is prevalent or ever happens at all during sportive cycling events on the continent? Or is it just a UK thing? My experience driving ,motorcycling and cycling in France and Germany is that attitudes outside of the big cities are  generally more pleasant on the roads ,making life a little more tolerable for everyone including the cyclist. Yet it seems our country excels in producing large numbers of people who are clearly mentally unstable  whenever they get behind the wheel or interact generally with fellow road users . Particularly would like to know if there have been any human behavioural studies carried out to look at why there are so many cyclist hating people in this country.

Grumpy17- Read Jeremy Paxman's book 'The English: A portrait of a people.' Basically the English were (and many still are) a bunch of thugs whose idea of a fun night out was to go to a neighbouring village and beat the shit out of the local residents. Go to Guildford on a Friday night if you need any proof. My ex (German) wife used to refer to us as 'island monkeys' and in that respect she was correct. We are a nation of narrow-minded individuals who guard their precious little spaces viciously and spend their time tending tiny vegetable gardens, looking after corner shops and drinking tea. Anything which disrupts our dull routines needs to be stamped out regardless of the benefit it may bring to the community at large. And this is why cycling on British roads is no longer safe and probably never will be. Very sad.

Grumpy17 wrote:

Wonder if this sort of thing is prevalent or ever happens at all during sportive cycling events on the continent? Or is it just a UK thing? My experience driving ,motorcycling and cycling in France and Germany is that attitudes outside of the big cities are  generally more pleasant on the roads ,making life a little more tolerable for everyone including the cyclist. Yet it seems our country excels in producing large numbers of people who are clearly mentally unstable  whenever they get behind the wheel or interact generally with fellow road users . Particularly would like to know if there have been any human behavioural studies carried out to look at why there are so many cyclist hating people in this country.

Grumpy17- Read Jeremy Paxman's book 'The English: A portrait of a people.' Basically the English were (and many still are) a bunch of thugs whose idea of a fun night out was to go to a neighbouring village and beat the shit out of the local residents. Go to Guildford on a Friday night if you need any proof. My ex (German) wife used to refer to us as 'island monkeys' and in that respect she was correct. We are a nation of narrow-minded individuals who guard their precious little spaces viciously and spend their time tending tiny vegetable gardens, looking after corner shops and drinking tea. Anything which disrupts our dull routines needs to be stamped out regardless of the benefit it may bring to the community at large. And this is why cycling on British roads is no longer safe and probably never will be. Very sad.