Local Councillor wants to Ban big bike events from rural Galway roads

07Lapierre

ednwireland wrote: »

Try cycling round the burren getting stuck behind coaches blocking the road where it's not wide enough for 2 coaches to pass.

Is that not a valid reason to control coaches? Maybe do what they do on the ring of Kerry? All coaches travel in the same direction? I know the brrden is not a circular route but a bit of planning should be able to sort it. Maybe contact the local councillor?

brocbrocach

magicbastarder wrote: »

interesting that cahirciveen was mentioned, because when we were there last summer, it seemed to be suffering. loads of empty shops.

Yep, the direct benefits of these events are only really felt at start and finish locations - which in the case of Cahircivenn/Caherdaniel etc is about 80 km away. The locals, by an large, are on board though so there's no much ill-feeling about the ROK.

ThisRegard

07Lapierre wrote: »

Actually I think we need to ban local residents! Sure they don't have to book hotels, buy food, petrol etc. They just clog up the roads driving to the car park and then once the event is over, they just drive home!

Years ago I used to do the likes of Gaelforce etc all around the country, including Connemara. We'd make a family weekend out of it by staying around the area.

It's the type of people that I once was that brought a lot of commerce to the area that he has a problem with.

brocbrocach wrote: »

Yep, the direct benefits of these events are only really felt at start and finish locations - which in the case of Cahircivenn/Caherdaniel etc is about 80 km away. The locals, by an large, are on board though so there's no much ill-feeling about the ROK.

We'd often stay in a number of places around the general area, not at the start/finish.

07Lapierre

brocbrocach wrote: »

I don't think very many of these sportives give much back to local areas. Your average Cahirciveen farmer sees little immediate benefit to him if the Killarney hoteliers add to their offshore millions..

Where do hotels in Killarney buy their food? Is it all imported from Germany or something?
What hotels do with their profits is their business not the farmers! Would it be better if the hotels were not making any money?
Any farmer should welcome anything that encourages people to eat!

Chuchote

what_traffic wrote: »

That is pure ignorant alight - can imagine he has done many a person over the years for not paying motortax.

Motor tax is a tax on emissions. Cyclists don't produce emissions (unless they've dined on too many beans). The sooner we follow other European countries and subsume this tax into the cost of petrol, ending the whole concept of 'taxing' cars and all this nonsense about "we pay 'road' tax".

Bloggsie

what are the chances & Im just spitballing here, someone complained to him about "bloody cyclists clogging up the road" (met a few cyclists which delayed the complainee getting to a very important meeting) and he pissed and moaned to the councillor and in a bid to ensure that he gets re-elected next term the councillor jumped up & down banged his drum on the scurge of cyclists preventing local people working, attending appointments etc?

Instead of dealing with the complainee correctly by advising that cycling brings revenue to local business's and will encourage people to come to an area again and again possibly for more than just a cycling event, the councillor takes a easy shot at a group that he thinks wont react.

What are the chances the complainee or councillor would be whinging if the ploughing championships or the Feal Ceiol(pardon my spelling) were being held in the area or someother major event that brought big numbers into the area spending money locally, Ehh I dont think so!

Green Peter

I've heard of a local out there who always has a packet of thumb tacs in his glove compartment and when he meets a prick who won't move in he passes him and sprinkles them out the window half a mile up the road, Connemara people have ways of dealing with problems and ignorant people, I can see this becoming more common. I hope I'm wrong.

Chuchote

Green Peter wrote: »

I've heard of a local out there who always has a packet of thumb tacs in his glove compartment and when he meets a prick who won't move in he passes him and sprinkles them out the window half a mile up the road, Connemara people have ways of dealing with problems and ignorant people, I can see this becoming more common. I hope I'm wrong.

Two can play at that game…

I hope you're wrong too.

PeadarCo

Green Peter wrote: »

I've heard of a local out there who always has a packet of thumb tacs in his glove compartment and when he meets a prick who won't move in he passes him and sprinkles them out the window half a mile up the road, Connemara people have ways of dealing with problems and ignorant people, I can see this becoming more common. I hope I'm wrong.

One of the funniest posts I've ever seen on boards. People who bring in money and support jobs in the local area are now ignorant??

Thumb tacks were put down on the route the Sean Kelly 160km was on in Waterford about 2 years ago. That same day an article in the Irish Times said the event which took place over 2 days with 4 different routes was worth 2 million to the local economy. Obviously it helps the base location in Dungarven and its within easy reach of Dublin, Cork and Waterford.

Peripheral Rural areas like Connemara are going to be more reliant on events like these and tourist in general in the future. Globally there has been a trend towards urbanisation and the focusing of jobs in a relatively small number of locations. Ireland isn't immune to this trend. Anyone who does what you propose is only hurting the local community. They are the truly the ignorant people. Less jobs means less people meaning services such as doctors, public transport, post offices become less viable.

BremoreDave

Green Peter wrote: »

I've heard of a local out there who always has a packet of thumb tacs in his glove compartment and when he meets a prick who won't move in he passes him and sprinkles them out the window half a mile up the road, Connemara people have ways of dealing with problems and ignorant people, I can see this becoming more common. I hope I'm wrong.

I hope you have reported this person to the Garda , this is a very serious act of aggression. How does this person deal with other road users (tractors , horse riders , pedestrians) who don't succumb to their sense of entitlement and cause them a delay.

brocbrocach

07Lapierre wrote: »

Where do hotels in Killarney buy their food? Is it all imported from Germany or something?
What hotels do with their profits is their business not the farmers! Would it be better if the hotels were not making any money?
Any farmer should welcome anything that encourages people to eat!

Hotel buys from Aldi or Lidl or Tesco i suppose. Farmer don't care, he just sells to the factory who don't work on a local basis.
Yeah where they put their money is everyone's own business but the farmer will have little interest in adding to a rich stranger's pot, is my point.
The farmer should be encouraging us to stay off our bikes and get fat, sell more quarter pounders!

ThisRegard

Green Peter wrote: »

I've heard of a local out there who always has a packet of thumb tacs in his glove compartment and when he meets a prick who won't move in he passes him and sprinkles them out the window half a mile up the road, Connemara people have ways of dealing with problems and ignorant people, I can see this becoming more common. I hope I'm wrong.

Move where? A cyclist is entitled to be on the road as much as the motorist.

ThisRegard

brocbrocach wrote: »

Hotel buys from Aldi or Lidl or Tesco i suppose.

Unless it's a tiny little place, they wouldn't.

Chuchote

In relation to farmers and income, there's an interesting piece of archaeological evidence showing how diversification of skills and work is vital for farmers:
http://linkis.com/www.npr.org/sections/Nu42f

Green Peter

In fairness, most of these cyclists leave Galway and are only concerned with completing a circuit in the fastest time and fairplay to them, it would be rare for them to stop for a few pints and a feed, especially on a day of a race! I doubt they'd evening bring money as it may weight them down! I cant see any jobs in that! Unless of course a thumb tac factory gets set up!!!

Chuchote

Green Peter wrote: »

In fairness, most of these cyclists leave Galway and are only concerned with completing a circuit in the fastest time and fairplay to them, it would be rare for them to stop for a few pints and a feed, especially on a day of a race! I doubt they'd evening bring money as it may weight them down! I cant see any jobs in that! Unless of course a thumb tac factory gets set up!!!

Do the fees go towards local charities in Connemara, as they do in the Ring of Kerry? Do lots of local people from Co Galway take part as they do in the Dublin sportives?

07Lapierre

Green Peter wrote: »

In fairness, most of these cyclists leave Galway and are only concerned with completing a circuit in the fastest time and fairplay to them, it would be rare for them to stop for a few pints and a feed, especially on a day of a race! I doubt they'd evening bring money as it may weight them down! I cant see any jobs in that! Unless of course a thumb tac factory gets set up!!!

You couldn't be more wrong!

Green Peter

Chuchote wrote:

Do the fees go towards local charities in Connemara, as they do in the Ring of Kerry? Do lots of local people from Co Galway take part as they do in the Dublin sportives?

That's a good question? Some events are for good causes but given what we have heard about the likes of console recently I've lost faith in the more commercial larger charities and wonder if your just paying the wages of unnecessary staff and ceo, I certainly would like to see local small charities benefit, I wonder if the Greenway was built would cyclists use it instead of the n59?

Green Peter

BremoreDave wrote:

I hope you have reported this person to the Garda , this is a very serious act of aggression. How does this person deal with other road users (tractors , horse riders , pedestrians) who don't succumb to their sense of entitlement and cause them a delay.

No I have not, no evidence, I hear his gripe is mainly with cyclists of the ignorant variety and not other road users who he seems to find are generally OK.

Chuchote

Green Peter wrote: »

That's a good question? Some events are for good causes but given what we have heard about the likes of console recently I've lost faith in the more commercial larger charities and wonder if your just paying the wages of unnecessary staff and ceo, I certainly would like to see local small charities benefit, I wonder if the Greenway was built would cyclists use it instead of the n59?

I suppose the way to find out would be to ask local people involved with charities. Here's who the Ring of Kerry brings millions in for: http://www.ringofkerrycycle.ie/charities/

Green Peter wrote: »

No I have not, no evidence, I hear his gripe is mainly with cyclists of the ignorant variety and not other road users who he seems to find are generally OK.

He sounds really dangerous and stupid. I've had people like that scream on me as I pootle along the road on my bicycle, and it terrifies me. The only other time I see behaviour like that is on the back of the top deck of Dublin Bus buses, where the drug users congregate, on late-night buses, where people can become dangerously unstable.

2RockMountain

Green Peter wrote: »

I've heard of a local out there who always has a packet of thumb tacs in his glove compartment and when he meets a prick who won't move in he passes him and sprinkles them out the window half a mile up the road, Connemara people have ways of dealing with problems and ignorant people, I can see this becoming more common. I hope I'm wrong.

It would only be a matter of time before they're caught on a dashcam or helmetcam, so the 'cute hoor' with their country ways won't feel so clever when they are up in the District Court with the local journo misspelling their name.

07Lapierre

Green Peter wrote: »

I hear his gripe is mainly with cyclists of the ignorant variety and not other road users who he seems to find are generally OK not as easy to target.

FYP

PeadarCo

Green Peter wrote: »

No I have not, no evidence, I hear his gripe is mainly with cyclists of the ignorant variety and not other road users who he seems to find are generally OK.

To be honest your main gripe seems to be people slowing you down in the road and to hell with the benefits that those people bring to the local area. You haven't really addressed any of the points in terms of the benefits the events bring. Even leisure cyclists regularly stop for coffee/lunch. No point in travelling to nice locations if you don't stop to take in the scenery.

CramCycle

Green Peter wrote: »

No I have not, no evidence, I hear his gripe is mainly with cyclists of the ignorant variety and not other road users who he seems to find are generally OK.

So those tacks that may affect animals, walkers, locals, local kids just popping down to their mates house, local person down to his neighbours to get a lift to work, local going down to the pub to meet friends.

The person you are referring to is an unthinking d1ck, and will cause more issues to locals than he does to people who are only there for a day.

It is assault and criminal.

buffalo

crusier wrote: »

No problem with them if they are considerate to other road users, it's the guy who thinks he's in the tour De France and that the road is closed to others while he fulfills his fantasy and that Connemara is his personal playground.

How do you know what he's thinking?

brocbrocach

PeadarCo wrote: »

To be honest your main gripe seems to be people slowing you down in the road and to hell with the benefits that those people bring to the local area. You haven't really addressed any of the points in terms of the benefits the events bring. Even leisure cyclists regularly stop for coffee/lunch. No point in travelling to nice locations if you don't stop to take in the scenery.

He's been pointing out that the big sportives don't bring much benefit to most local areas that are affected, you don't seem to understand.
A very small selection of sportive riders will stop during a 3-4 hour ride to have a coffee or buy a bar. Very few. Coffee. Once. On a c.100 km stretch of the countryside. You'd swear the average cyclist was like Catherine the Great, showering gifts on the grateful populace as she passes.
ThisRegard mentioned that some people will rent a house in the local area for a week/weekend and that's a fair point but those houses might be rented without a bike event being on anyway.
Nobody is having a go at leisure cyclists or clubs enjoying their usual spins, it's the full-blown, traffic-stopping sportives or "adventure races" that the councillor has the trouble with.

Chuchote

It's odd; I'd always thought of Connemara people as welcoming, generous, intelligent. Not the kind of people who would endanger someone's life by causing him to crash.

Money into the area: how do people bring their bicycles in? Most won't cycle from all around the country; they'll drive in with the bike on the car, stop, have a meal, stay in a B&B or self-catering, buy snacks and papers and souvenirs, and if self-catering, food in the local shops. Or they'll take buses, but again, it's unlikely a bus will come from Dublin or Cork with the food for the breaks packed in; it's more likely (from the point of view of both good sense and goodwill) that these meals are locally made. Some of the marshals will be volunteers; others will be doing it paid, even if only on Jobbridge, bringing money into the area. Sportives don't just appear, plonk down in an area and disappear; there's a considerable local support network that costs money, and brings money in for the locality.

Galway K9

On behalf of people in moycullen galway, please stop using the ****ing road and use the newly built appointed cycle path.

Chuchote

Galway K9 wrote: »

On behalf of people in moycullen galway, please stop using the ****ing road and use the newly built appointed cycle path.

Is that like the one near Clifden, that keeps stopping and starting and at one stage wanders across the road and resumes on the other side, and has gaps of several miles between half-hearted bits of cycle path, which are in any case nothing but a painted bit of road?

crusier

Chuchote wrote:

Is that like the one near Clifden, that keeps stopping and starting and at one stage wanders across the road and resumes on the other side, and has gaps of several miles between half-hearted bits of cycle path, which are in any case nothing but a painted bit of road?

There's a gap of about 50km between moycullen and Clifden , is that the gap your on about?