Zog The Undeniable wrote:
> triddletree wrote:
>
>> The sooner this excuse for a 'sport' is taken off the public highways
>> the better.
>
>
> OK, I'll bite. It allows people who would be dropped in a mass-start
> race to compete, otherwise we'd all just have to ride with the CTC.
I agree some RRs can be like this, and it is good to see BC's
Competition Review which tries to address this. There are of course
other events that can 'test' you personally such as audax events or the
growing number of cyclo-sportif events. Then of course there is a wide
range of offroad racing.
The
> minimum fitness level for even 4th cat road racing is HIGH, and even
> with training many cyclists (i.e. me) can't sustain that much power.
See above. There are many events that can test you.
> Plus the lower categories have frequent accidents due to incompetent
> riders; both the races I've marshalled had at least three people carted
> away by ambulance, and they were only about an hour long.
I suspect that is unusual. Last year I attended perhaps a dozen road
races and only witnessed one 'crash' which was treated with the
organiser's first aid kit.
ISTR that more riders have been killed in TTs than RR's.
A major difference with TTs are that they are held on the Open Road
whereas most road races are on closed circuits or use a form of rolling
road closure. RR's have police permission for each event while TT's have
a less regulatory notification system. IMO there is no place for any
racing on roads where it mixes _directly_ other traffic.
> You may have noticed that mass-start racing is practically impossible to
> organise in Britain these days because of traffic densities and police
> vetoes. Our club's event now has to be staged 30 miles away on the
> other side of the county because the "B" road route we've used for years
> now has too much traffic, according to Plod.
Regrettable.
In my area road races on public roads have virtually ceased. Much of
that is because the events require increasingly higher levels of
marshalling to ensure segregation from other traffic. Often costly
police marshalling is required which can be prohibitive. Nearly all
events are now on closed circuits/tracks.
We are becoming a much more densly populated country and roads are
becoming busier. As a one-time race organiser I know the problems.
> But maybe you're just a motoring troll?
Don't be silly.
When people see ****-up/head down 'cyclists', chasing Tesco lorries on
near motorway standard roads, it does not send out the message that
cycling is a responsible activity.
TTs on _public roads_ will either die out because so few are entering
the 'sport' or they will be banned from the roads on grounds of safety.
Whichever comes first doesn't really matter, but IMO the sooner the better.
If TT-ing is to survive it needs to move to closed roads/circuits.
tt
