Wiggle Etape Cymru to dispense with closed roads for 2015?

It's one day a year you sad fucks.

Hell? Crikey, they must lead charmed lives if around 40 hours of closed roads out of 35060 hours (4 years) constitutes a literal hell.

On average UK motorists sat in congestion for 29 hours this year, 72 hours in London so is this counsellor doing anything about that?

Closed roads for good charitable causes. Let's be honest, if motorists could be trusted not to add to the 5 a day fatalities and 70 odd seriously injured there'd be no need to even close the roads. We'll ignore that though eh?

Is the councillor addressing that maybe? Course not, far too much like credible and worthy political work.

I've ridden last two but couldn't this year and also live on the climb up to the Panorama, as such our road was closed most of the day as the least two years.

I and the neighbours I've spoken to don't have a problem with the road closures, it's one Sunday a year and the event has to be a positive for the area.

I actually painted a fence, all the window frames and cut the grass as I watched the riders passing so staying put was actually a result.

PS all the riders who commented on the cooking smells when returning past it was a full Sunday beef roast with roasties and everything and yes it was awesome.

Rgds
Rob

Ah well if the gogs don't want it....you only have to look at the positive effect that the Ironman Wales got last week to see what an event that is bought into by the locals can achieve.

Will be interested, as a Taff, to see how noisy the NIMBYs are when the velothon hits Cardiff next year...

Its a shame that this is still a problem, I spent a chunk of Sunday and Monday defending cycling and cyclist to a few that know Me and so believe I would be the person to moan at about this day (Penycae is my home village). I raised all the above points, that they all have had notice for a very long time prior, maps flyers posted with contact details to gain support advice, its one day a year! It brings lots of people into the area. I also witnessed a rise in the positive too which is a good thing.
The one problem that I see and what makes our area special is that we have some of the best cycling around which is accessible to a large part of population, but we are also not a rural community and the conurbations of Acrefair – Penycae – Rhos and others around have populations of a large towns and so such events impact large amounts of people, who also have only had 4 years to get use to this inconvenience. The suggestion of only partial closers could work, yes the Horse shoe pass – Panorama – Worlds end could be run on closed roads including other sections dependent on route, but bits in between open but policed by marshals. I just hope that this event will continue for the long term and in future it will become part of our yearly calendar!!!

I'm not sure what prisons are like over that side of the country, but from what I gather over this way is that prisoners aren't restricted to being in a building for a few hours once a year, and I'm pretty sure they don't get let out if they ask and wait for a little bit of organisation to let them pass. Could be wrong though...

Take away the closed road element and it becomes just another sportive in an already overcrowded market. I wouldn't travel the 250mile round trip like I did this year.

Boycott it until Wiggle grow a pair and stop pandering to NIMBYism.

This is my local event & I've ridden it for the past 3 years. Quite a few of my colleagues are inconvenienced by the road closures, although I don't detect any animosity.

Looking at the bigger picture it's just one Sunday in a whole year. Early on a Sunday morning most of these roads are very quiet any way. I think the problem comes from the length of time the road closure is in place for the latter part of the route. I was round in under 5 hours, but there are stragglers rolling in at 8 or 9 hours. Perhaps the answer is to curtail the duration of the closure but allow the slower riders to continue on open roads.

Alternatively, I think relocating the event on a rotational basis to different areas of North Wales each year is a good idea. It would give the Penycae locals a break, and I'd fancy a different route for a bit of variety.

Finally, we have a huge problem with obesity in the Wrexham area. Perhaps we should have more of these events to demonstrate that abstinence from use of the motor car is possible, and that exercise is no bad thing.

I rode this- and loved it (though, not entirely at the time!). I did notice there properties with small signs indicating they had some sort of pass to get in and out. And we were warned there may be vehicles on the course despite the "closed road" status.

So, the roads are shut to through traffic, and access is limited- but not impossible.

I bet Cllr Philips gets upset by cyclists in the area when the roads are not closed, too...

I rode the event last weekend. Fantastic route and on closed roads it was absolutely amazing. I was really struck by the way the locals were out supporting the event, sitting by the side of the road waiting for the cyclists to come past. The amount of cheering on we got was really refreshing and we were all made to feel .extremely welcome. I don't think I would have had the same enthusiasm if I had been stuck in my house for most of the day unable to leave, for an event I had nothing to do with. I completely understand any frustrations expressed but am glad that it is from a tiny minority.

Technically it's four days of hell, spread out over four years…

I cannot believe that any road, however small can or should be shut for a commercial venture. Let alone for that period of time. It is irrelevant whether the residents like it, it's plain wrong. An hour or two maybe. For goodness sake, apart from the city centres the roads for the Tour of Britain were not shut that long and that was the countries premier cycle event.
Even taking the promoters side, once is plenty. Change the route on a yearly basis unless a community asks for the event and most definitely do that for road closures. wales has enough miles to do that but oh no the promoters want to "sell" the big one and care nothing about anything else.
I will believe otherwise when they put common sense before profits and selfishness,
As for these events raising money for charity, you did that and could have done the same without all the gubbins attached. you didn't need anyone to do that for you as you obviously had the go ahead to do the hard work anyway.
I shall happily withdraw the above paragraph when it is proved that the promoters made no profits.

This is my local event, I live 2 miles from Penycae. This guy is a penis. The route went through Penycae, and closed one street. My friend's mother lives on this street, and asked a marshal if she could leave, which she was allowed to do after a bit of radio coordination. So this guy is making waves about nothing. I rode for the hospice mentioned (my fiancee passed away there in March of this year) and I raised over £1200. take away this event and how much funding will this, and other charities lose?