New Forest pony maintenance cancelled due to cycle sportive

I honestly think that everyone belly-aching needs to just use some imagination, get a few mates together over a pint and a map, a plan a route of their own. Far more fun and challenging. What are we? Cyclists, sheep, or lemmings?

Aren't the locals the ones who stand the most to benefit from the success of the sportive? I mean if it draws 3,000 plus people they are clearly traveling from outside of the area and bringing new tourism dollars into the market

+1 for more regulation of sportives. Other than filling the pockets of the organisers I still don't really understand the point of them anyway.

Sportives have grown very fast and are in desperate need of regulation. It's crazy that anyone can organise one which sends any number of riders along a route on open roads and make a profit on it. This has groups of riders all over the route which can make it very inconvenient for other road users.

Think about the large amount of regulation there is for actual road races where the riders are all experienced and the only disruption is a group travelling all together at a fast speed along a long circuit of fairly quiet roads. Compare this to sportives which have different sized groups of riders all over a very long route, many of whom seem to think they're in a race but may have very little experience. Yet there doesn't seem to be much regulation about what is allowed and sportives have been organised that have caused road races to be cancelled.

Losing a large number sportives would not be such a huge loss, the ones like ride London have there place in promoting cycling but most just seem to be a publicity and profit making event seeking to corporatize cycing when anyone could ride the route of there own or with friends and clubmates anyway.

Although going by past reports the new forest residents are clearly anti-cycling. In this case they have a point, but can you make clear which was organised first the drift of sportive over a year ago? The best thing to do would be have riders come down to ride the new forest for free under their own steam rather than part of a corporate event.

They've actually had to go and create controversy with this story.

UKCE listed their 5th-6th October event back in October 2012. A year ago. That means that to open ticket sales, they'll have already had permission from the Police and the New Forest Show Society to hold the event on that date, they'll have booked the showground.

Now I don't know when the drift was planned but surely, someone, somewhere along the way brought this up? But the Verderers had to go and make a huge song and dance about how they've been "forced" to change their date - I'm sure that their world has fallen apart by having to shift one weekend either way...it reads like making a story for the sake of it.

Quote:

There were also too many people not following the rules of the sportive - single file traffic.

To be honest, on some of the roads that the ride goes over, you can't fit a car plus a single file bike on it anyway so where that's the case, I don't see a problem with riding 4 abreast - it's no different to a car being there. But yes, you're entirely right, other times cyclists do themselves no favours whatsoever. I rode in the New Forest a while ago (outside of any Sportive) and I have to say looking at some of the Strava segments, some of the speeds on there could be described as "irresponsible"...

I did the Sunday one and have to say there were too many people on the road at any one time. There were also too many people not following the rules of the sportive - single file traffic. Overtaking is fine, but on one of the more main roads I often saw groups running 3 or 4 abreast, and they were giving the poor motorists who were unnecessarily delayed dogs own abuse when they honked to remind them of the law of the road.

All cyclists who enjoy the sport like I do need to work with other road users and show respect to each other. One bad experience with one driver doesn't mean all drivers are bad. Same as one bad cyclist doesn't mean all cyclists are bad.

As per Nod's comment, 'cycling wars' is overstating it somewhat, and a little sensationalist.

Still, it drew me into reading the story!

Use a route with some hills and that will cut the numbers in half the southern softies.

^^

That's the end of the thread right there.

People are being shot and killed every day in Syria and in the New Forest this is all they have to worry about?

I felt a huge amount of negativity as I read the headline and clicked. I thought to myself "not more conflict between cyclists and the public who seem to hate and want to kill us with their cars".

When I read the article, all I saw was a scheduling conflict, and then I spotted the words 'Daily Mail' and all became clear. Pointless scaremongering.

Why are you recycling Daily Mail stories? Aren't there more deserving stories?

The event organisers 'giving notice' is a very different thing to the event organisers speaking to the verderers.

Drifts happen a couple of times a year and have done so for a very long time, they are the traditional method of rounding up the stock for identification (I don't believe ponies are hot branded any more), separation, medical check etc. So it's not just the verderers involved, all the owners are there, as well as vets and other staff.

As stock grazes all over the forest, it is almost impossible to know beforehand whether the drift would have encountered the sportive, so I think the verderers have done the most sensible and safe thing in delaying this drift.

But, given that the relationship between sportives and the commoners is pretty shaky (at best) having to delay the autumn drift will have done the cycling communities reputation an awful lot of harm.

Have to say I did the Sunday ride and thought Wiggle/Uk Cycling Events had sold way to many places for the ride. Quite frankly that number of riders on the small roads of the New Forest is quite ridiculous and some of the road junctions were very dangerous. Have to say I am with the locals on this one and they should drop the number of places by at least half.

Given that the cyclists probably spend some money in the local area on the day (food, fuel for cars, the odd souvenir) perhaps Wiggle should just say "fine, not bothered, plenty of other places to go" and see if they're asked back?

Just a thought.

As far as I am aware the New Forest Pony 'drift' round-up is mainly an off-road event, so it is not clear how cyclists on the public highway are causing a problem.

If cyclists are a problem, so presumably is the normal motor vehicle traffic?

The Verderers produce extensive statistics of animal deaths in the New Forest here.

http://www.verderers.org.uk/roadaccs.pdf

In 2012, 82 animals were killed or seriously injured, all by motor vehicles and mostly at night, and quite often by local drivers.

Since the 1990s the percentage of animals killed/injuried has been steadily declining, to 0.73% in 2012.

Cycling levels have been steadily increasing since the 1990s so therefore I would conclude that animal safety improves with the volume of cyclists.

I was on the ride today and have to say the ponies didn't look in the least bit scared of the cyclists - they were casually ambling down the middle of the road towards us, and approaching us when we stopped (presumably looking for an energy gel).

I did unfortunately see two dead ponies by the roadside - but I doubt either of them were hit by a cyclist.

The New Forest roads are simply not suitable for the Wiggle ride; commoners are a small but hugely influential pressure group and local residents are notoriously bad drivers and intolerant of any disruption to routine. Provision for off-road bike riding is poor and mainly on disused railways lines and aimed at holiday makers and their children. I feel the Wiggle organisers are spoiling it for local cyclists who get the backlash for the antics of large groups of riders who behave very selfishly and take risks to get fast times.

Ah, I got a little confused, because of the bit right before.

“Drifts are planned at least a year in advance and always include Sundays to minimise disruption to both residents and commoners' jobs.”

Martin Barden of UK Cycling Events said that due notice had been given of the event, which was planned last year."

I thought that meant that UK cycling events had been told the drift was taking place that day. Not that they had told the Verderers.

So in that case, its fuss about nothing, they choose to change their day to drift.