Ride London Accident

[Vapin' Joe]

Wonder what happened there? looks serious -

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2...-surrey-london-course-diverted-pyrford-ripley

 

[mark st1]

Oh dear hope all are well could be a long day for those stuck in that lot.

 

[gavgav]

 

[jefmcg]

At 2 serious accidents, so far

The one the Guardian doesn't know location was Kingston Bridge

 

[mark st1]

Yesterday, as I was riding amongst the Freecycle along The Mall to get to the Brompton World Championships, I saw an energy gel wrapper on the floor. Why would anyone need to use gels to ride around London?

Sprinting between red lights must carry a large amount of kudos in the big smoke.

 

[Brandane]

I feel very ambivalent about events like this one. They don't seem to me to be a celebration of cycling so much as a chance for TDF wannabees to experience riding in a make-believe peleton, but without the skills. You start out with little Sky Rides and the Freecycle, and the 100 is marketed as something to aspire to, like joining the big boys - or "serious cyclists" as some would have it. The ride gets packed out, people get impatient, and accidents happen, which just feeds the widespread idea that cycling is dangerous.

Yep; sounds exactly like what "Pedal for Scotland" has become over the years. Started off as a fun ride from Glasgow to Edinburgh and has become exactly as you describe. As a past participant on 3 occasions, I now avoid it like the plague.
Hope the riders involved in today's incidents make a full recovery.

Edited for spellink mistook.

 

[outlash]

I feel very ambivalent about events like this one. They don't seem to me to be a celebration of cycling so much as a chance for TDF wannabees to experience riding in a make-believe peleton, but without the skills. You start out with little Sky Rides and the Freecycle, and the 100 is marketed as something to aspire to, like joining the big boys - or "serious cyclists" as some would have it. The ride gets packed out, people get impatient, and accidents happen, which just feeds the widespread idea that cycling is dangerous.

This. Fact is, faux-racers see sportives like this as racing and a lot of the cycling media feed this illusion. Anyone can ride fast, it's just fitness but to ride fast properly takes skill. Given the regular amount of accidents in mass participation events like these, it's a skill a fair few people lack. I'm curious to know how many of these people actually stick a number on their back and race on other weekends.
A while back, a mate sent me a link to someone's Strava profile page where they proudly stated on their bio that they came first on an Audax. I kid you not.

 

[Vapin' Joe]

I feel very ambivalent about events like this one. They don't seem to me to be a celebration of cycling so much as a chance for TDF wannabees to experience riding in a make-believe peleton, but without the skills. You start out with little Sky Rides and the Freecycle, and the 100 is marketed as something to aspire to, like joining the big boys - or "serious cyclists" as some would have it. The ride gets packed out, people get impatient, and accidents happen, which just feeds the widespread idea that cycling is dangerous.

I agree with you on this. I used to ride sportives before the cycling boom took off and they were enjoyable events, experienced cyclists mostly with a club or racing back ground who knew how to ride safely in a group and follow a wheel. The last one I rode a few years back was an embarrassment, riders scattered all over the road with no consideration for other riders or vehicles. You'd pass people on a climb and fifteen minutes later on the descent they'd come screaming by on your nearside at warp speed with no word of warning. It isn't surprising there are accidents.

 

[PK99]

I agree with you on this. I used to ride sportives before the cycling boom took off and they were enjoyable events, experienced cyclists mostly with a club or racing back ground who knew how to ride safely in a group and follow a wheel. The last one I rode a few years back was an embarrassment, riders scattered all over the road with no consideration for other riders or vehicles. You'd pass people on a climb and fifteen minutes later on the descent they'd come screaming by on your nearside at warp speed with no word of warning. It isn't surprising there are accidents.

I was coming down Box Hill the other weekend and was forced hard on the left side of the road and to almost stop by the 5 or 6 abreast sportive riders on the way up... slow plodders on the inside and various faster riders overtaking and being overtaken. It was chaos and fecking dangerous. I was on my bike Btw not in a car and there was not enough space to ride down safely at anything more than a crawl.

 

[DaveReading]

My experience last year was that any bit of road that wasn't straight and level brought out the worst in some riders. On downhills you got idiots forcing their way past on the inside, on uphills it wàs people pushing their bikes in the middle of the road, and it was amazing how many apparently couldn't hold a line through a corner.

I'm relieved I didn't get in this year.

 

[swansonj]

There's a very recognisable type. It's noticeable to me that most of the photos I have seen of today's event, in whatever context, seem to show nothing but a sea of lycra-clad and helmeted men, all looking very serious and taking themselves very seriously indeed. Even the pictures that women friends have put up of themselves have a backdrop of that very same sea.

I just guessed to my wife that the male:female ratio was 5:1. She didn't believe me. So we counted the next fifty or so riders ... Maybe only 4:1 in that stretch.

 

[outlash]

There's a very recognisable type. It's noticeable to me that most of the photos I have seen of today's event, in whatever context, seem to show nothing but a sea of lycra-clad and helmeted men, all looking very serious and taking themselves very seriously indeed. Even the pictures that women friends have put up of themselves have a backdrop of that very same sea.

It's quite possibly the highlight of their cycling calendar. I equate Ride London to the London Marathon. It's great for charities and if you like being part of a big event, there's probably not much better, but for most people who ride or run regularly, it's a bit 'meh'.

 

[Dogtrousers]

I partially agree. When I did Velo Wales I saw the aftermath of two crashes, both due to inappropriate speed. I saw some exceptionally fast descending and hoped for their sakes that they had skills to match. I also saw fast groups that I would not be comfortable in. I just stayed left and rode at my chosen pace. No one close-passed me.

But I only partially agree because the vast majority of the ride was good fun. Not super fast riding, plenty of chat and humour, people encouraging each other on the hills and when tiredness kicked in, generally a good day out.

it was amazing how many apparently couldn't hold a line through a corner.

I don't think I can do that. I don't know what it means.

 

[Nebulous]

The ride gets packed out, people get impatient, and accidents happen, which just feeds the widespread idea that cycling is dangerous.

It is dangerous, but then so are many other things. What differs with cycling is the response, based on the idea that cycling is entirely voluntary and an unnecessary risk in the age of the motor car.

If a car mounts the pavement and kills a pedestrian it doesn't provoke a huge argument about what the pedestrian was wearing and feed into a campaign for pedestrians to wear helmets. Some of the pedestrians friends don't give up walking.

 

[DaveReading]

I don't think I can do that. I don't know what it means.

I meant that if you are approaching a corner with other riders on either side of you, you leave room for them by not drifting unpredictably across their path. Some sportive riders don't seem to have grasped that concept.