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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To have come to loathe Ride London?

101 replies

MatildaTheCat · 02/08/2019 18:26

For those lucky enough to not know about this event, it started with the London Olympics in 2012 (I think that was the first). It’s a massive event whereby some 30,000 cyclists get to ride from central London down through Surrey and back, covering 100km.

It’s now an annual event and happening again this weekend.

There are mass road closures for miles. I am effectively hemmed in for the day and many, many people can’t get out, park their cars, get to appointments etc. Our local hospital is on the route and has to make special arrangements that the staff, patients and relatives are aware of. Emergency vehicles can easily be delayed access.

It was great the first year, a spectacle and we all watched and cheered. Now it’s just a bloody nuisance and I hate it. No doubt all the cyclists will disagree with me and money is raised for charity but it inconveniences many more people than the number that participate.

I know I’m being grumpy but surely IANBU? ( I totally know I’m going to be told I am😊)

To have come to loathe Ride London?
OP posts:
mmmmmmghturep · 26/05/2022 02:16

Its all over the place......some people who got a leaflet through their doors wont be affected and others who will be affected didnt get a leaflet and found out by chance by scrolling through facebook.

lickenchugget · 26/05/2022 03:35

Yanbu, we are also on the route and everyone here is fed up of it too. People are hunkering down for the whole weekend, I feel sorry for local businesses. Absolutely no-one I know has any intention of going outside to support them.

lickenchugget · 26/05/2022 03:39

Also all of our kids weekly clubs and my gym are cancelled/ closing due to lack of access.

Dunnoburt · 26/05/2022 05:18

Yanbu.....

CaptainBeakyandhisband · 26/05/2022 05:50

YANBU. It’s interesting to see the mixed response, but we get hemmed in for our local marathon/half. Yes it’s only once a year, but it prevents you going anywhere/even doing the shopping. It causes miles of tailbacks on other routes into the city (that we can’t access anyway because we are stuck on an island), and you can’t walk anywhere either because you have to cross the marathon route which is nigh on impossible.

These charity events can be so disruptive to residents and very little thought is given about that.

rifling · 26/05/2022 06:40

It sounds like poor organisation. A couple of hours closure would be better. The Giro d'Italia just came through our town but traffic was only disrupted for 3 hours which I think is more acceptable.

ShirleyPhallus · 26/05/2022 06:44

I know this thread is a few years old now but YANBU! Although it’s quite nice to see the bikes coming past they make such a bloody racket, I can’t understand why cyclists can’t just be quiet and stop talking coming through residential areas at silly o’clock in the morning

londonrach · 26/05/2022 06:47

Yanbu...we the commonwealth games that going to do the same which luckily one off. I've a neighbour who worried her carers can't get through. I remember ride when we lived in London. Wish done in park to limit the impact on the roads

ivykaty44 · 26/05/2022 06:50

This will be another cycling bashing thread by people that can’t get 200meters along a road without a car

literally seen parents get angry at birmingham velo as they wouldn’t walk their children 200 meters to an event as it was blocked by the velo, they tantrumed due to not being able to drive. They shouted at people watching the event who where trying to help them, this was several families not just one individual.

200 meters on a safe path ffs 🤦‍♀️

people are not kept hostage

Oblomov22 · 26/05/2022 06:53

I know OP. I hate it and it causes so much disruption.

TheVanguardSix · 26/05/2022 06:56

PoptartPoptart · 03/08/2019 09:00

YANBU.
My sons long awaited hospital appointment has been cancelled due to this bike event as the consultant can’t get there apparently.

Really? On a Sunday?

lampygirl · 26/05/2022 06:59

Remember the participants have zero involvement in how the company organises the event. A friend of mine was quite badly hurt in a crash where someone had dropped a load of drawing pins in the road at one of these events. If you are frustrated with the organisers then deal with them but many people who attend these events, marathons etc don’t have any involvement with how it’s planned. We’ve just had 3 days of road closures surrounding my workplace due to 2 sets of long running roadworks at the same time and a music event closing the main diversion. It’s not only sports that cause inconvenience but other things don’t seem to get the same level of froth.

TheVanguardSix · 26/05/2022 07:01

Oh for fuck's sake... I've just commented on a 3-year-old thread.
Who's the clown that decides at 3am they're going to dig up a body from the MN churchyard and strap themselves to the corpse, 'walking' it around the place, waving its dead arms like it's still got life in it?

ivykaty44 · 26/05/2022 07:10

@Samcro Where I live carers are disrupted by congested traffic, and if there is a crash on motorway if major A road then the town grinds to a half for several hours. No one thinks of the carers then, with hundreds of drivers coming of the motorways to avoid delays themselves and creating further delays for these essential workers.

ChaiTea20 · 26/05/2022 07:16

lljkk · 03/08/2019 08:51

I guess the city Marathons are hated just as much?

Yes!

Lindy2 · 26/05/2022 07:22

I know this is a zombie thread but sadly these whingers got their way and ride London no longer comes through Surrey.

The road closures were for a few hours 1 day a year and often access across the route was still made possible by marshals.

It was a great fun event watched by massive crowds.

It raised millions of pounds for charities. As well as rides getting sponsorship the organisers made massive donations to charities in the area of the route the race followed. Often to quite small local charities that don't often get significant donations.

Unfortunately the desperate need for some people to have 24 hour entitlement to do exactly as they wish without any thought for others or to support a good cause won. Very sad. Most of those moaners probably won't even go anywhere in the few hours the race would have been on.

herethereandeverywhere · 26/05/2022 07:37

It's been moved to Essex - so all those wonderful benefits you've just listed get to go to different communities, instead of the same ones as for the last decade. Sharing is caring, right?

BertieQueen · 26/05/2022 07:46

We Recently moved and have found out we are very near the route.
It’s going to be a nightmare on Sunday as I have to get to work 30 miles away and get my son to a event before I leave.
Judging by the local social media page majority of people are very unhappy with it.

SueDeNeem · 26/05/2022 07:48

TheVanguardSix · 26/05/2022 07:01

Oh for fuck's sake... I've just commented on a 3-year-old thread.
Who's the clown that decides at 3am they're going to dig up a body from the MN churchyard and strap themselves to the corpse, 'walking' it around the place, waving its dead arms like it's still got life in it?

Such a great explanation of a zombie thread 😃😃😃

ShirleyPhallus · 26/05/2022 09:22

TheVanguardSix · 26/05/2022 07:01

Oh for fuck's sake... I've just commented on a 3-year-old thread.
Who's the clown that decides at 3am they're going to dig up a body from the MN churchyard and strap themselves to the corpse, 'walking' it around the place, waving its dead arms like it's still got life in it?

To be fair, the search function is so shit that if you type in any key words to look and see if there is a recent thread on a specific topic it’s really easy to accidentally bring back zombie threads

artisanbread · 26/05/2022 13:10

It might be a zombie thread but it has been revived because Ride London is being held this weekend.

yellowsuninthesky · 26/05/2022 18:14

If you are a carer (or are someone who relies on a carer) there could be issues, but they accommodate that.

Otherwise, can you really not work around it for one day, or a few hours? I'd just go out for the day. People whine like mad about our half marathon - the roads are closed for 3 hours tops and some for (much) less than that. Same with the dog walkers who moan about parkruns for the 45-60 odd minutes a week that they use the park.

I don't like carnivals. So I go in the opposite direction when we have the one in our town. Ditto all the Jubilee nonsense next weekend, I am going abroad!

I agree with the people who think the year round disruption from packs of MAMILs who (for example) refuse to use perfectly good cycle paths along the A24 near Dorking is worse.

I didn't realise Ride London was returning to Surrey this year, I thought it was in Essex now. And then I finally realised this was an old thread, and realised that is IS in Essex now Grin So the people who live in Surrey and commented on this thread don't need to worry anymore.

yellowsuninthesky · 26/05/2022 18:16

It’s not only sports that cause inconvenience but other things don’t seem to get the same level of froth

Oh the roadworks do where I am. Mainly because they are constantly scheduling several sets at the same time and you get to the stage where you can hardly get in or out of our town!

balalake · 26/05/2022 18:36

Whilst I think it should have been in August when more people are away, I agree that some of those objecting are lazy people who never walk anywhere.

mmmmmmghturep · 26/05/2022 19:57

Its because of all the roadworks by rude fuckers like Gigaclear that people have had enough and this is just one more thing. All the roadworks seemed to start when eveything went back to normal despite nine months worth of lockdowns when they could have been done.