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Post by fit4fifty on Jun 15, 2014 14:47:44 GMT
Think I just saw a guy injured right in the finishing straight. Not sure if he was off the red triban or if it was the guy who was helping him.
Anyway if it was you. Hope you are ok!!
Well done to everyone!
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Post by baldbloke on Jun 15, 2014 16:53:54 GMT
This happened just in front of my family who were waiting for me. They said the chip was shaken but got back on the bike and finished.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 15, 2014 19:16:58 GMT
Several crashes on the London to Brighton ride today. One looked bad two ambulances and an air ambulance. Getting up the beacon was good as the people walking kept over to the left, much better that last year, but getting out of London was a real pain.
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Post by fit4fifty on Jun 15, 2014 21:03:11 GMT
My pals made it unscathed. There must have been a couple of finish line tumbles as this other fella was on the ground for about 20 mins before 5 St. John's people and a St. John's ambulance attended him for at least another 30. Never saw what happened after that. Poor fella
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Post by stevo on Jun 15, 2014 21:18:52 GMT
I did the ride a few years back. Didn't enjoy it as it was massively over subscribed. Probably even busier these days? :-(
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Post by Spoakes on Jun 16, 2014 9:17:58 GMT
Apparently 30000!
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Post by Deleted on Jun 16, 2014 9:49:29 GMT
It's an excellent cause but the event has become far too dangerous with very poor riding standards. Here's the most serious of the crashes that occurred yesterday; www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/london-brighton-bike-ride-crash-3700122 Numbers have also got out of control. If you add unofficial riders joining in the true number of participants is thought to be nearer 70000. Like stevo I took part a few years ago and it was dangerous enough then, but friends of mine who regularly take part said yesterday was the worst they'd ever seen in terms of bad and dangerous riding, with at least one rider being attended to by medics at the bottom of each descent. One guy they encountered was weaving all over the road whilst texting as he descended Cooper's Hill, another guy fiddling around trying to replace a drinks bottle whilst descending another steep hill and veering dangerously, and several drinks bottles falling onto the road from various riders along the route.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 16, 2014 12:12:32 GMT
Yes the standard of riding was quite poor and the rules of the road were being flagrantly broken leaving London
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Post by Spoakes on Jun 16, 2014 14:08:22 GMT
Riding on the pavement seemed to be very acceptable . I however sucked on the exhaust pipe of the busses !
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Post by Deleted on Jun 16, 2014 15:53:16 GMT
It's not my idea of fun to be honest. Given the numbers involved and the mixed abilities of the participants, accidents are inevitable.
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Post by Spoakes on Jun 16, 2014 16:08:50 GMT
I would do it again but will be up for a TOC trip if anyone fancies it. No break neck speeds though. I got up to 36.5mph but looking back at it it was a bit dangerous considering the amount of people there were. In my defence I did do that in areas where the riders were thinned out.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 16, 2014 16:46:02 GMT
Some of the riding was a bit iffy, though I wonder if it's ever much different at an event of that size with the same come-have-a-go kind of demographic. In some places it was like a mad school-day-out; in others, it was pretty easy to identify those who spend a lot of time in the middle lane of motorways, and those who have genuine difficulty operating a supermarket trolley.
Whilst I saw a couple of unfortunate accidents, where people were basically hurt as a result of riding beyond their abilities, the vast majority of accidents I witnessed (i.e. the low-speed scuffs, scrapes and tumbles) could be eliminated from future events if clipless pedals were banned... Or perhaps just banned after a 07:00 start, maybe? If you can use them as faultlessly as you can open a can of Coke, fine; if not, they simply don't make sense in a grossly over-populated stop-start environment of so many novices. Really pleased I stuck with trainers!
Hope those who were injured recover well.
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Post by Steph on Jun 16, 2014 17:38:29 GMT
I considered doing this ride but was too late really plus it was going to cost a fair bit. Was planning to do it next year but after hearing these stories and seeing pictures of just how crowded it gets I don't think I will bother with it. I would be up for doing it another time with fellow BROC members though.
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Post by ChrisD on Jun 16, 2014 17:43:02 GMT
BROC London to Brighton - seems like a plan coming together!!
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Post by Deleted on Jun 16, 2014 17:55:36 GMT
I considered doing this ride but was too late really plus it was going to cost a fair bit. Was planning to do it next year but after hearing these stories and seeing pictures of just how crowded it gets I don't think I will bother with it. I would be up for doing it another time with fellow BROC members though. One of guys I cycled with missed the bus and you can actually register on the day. Costs Β£50 at that point though. I'd be up for a BROC cycle also - we can sort road closures too, right?
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