Marathon 2011 -alert-alert-alert-

My record* will stand 4eva! :)

I thought this would happen at some point. The idea of doing it the night before is a good one. It's still a classic London route. Doing it so early (8pm) should still leave some time for a drink at the end, no? Might be worth considering where to go for afters.

either that, or have a nice drink in blackheath before and then leave from there. the princess of wales on the edge of the heath is a nice pub, it also has a nice spacious garden out back.

good work VB, i think that was the correct decision... night time sounds good

1. Velocio
   
2. superjoe
   
3. HatBeard
   
4. wibble
   
5. marcom
   
6. JAMIE
   
7. pt
   
8. tiswas
   
9. almac68
   

fuck!! looks like i am off to german then.

Can we get Sky to provide us with some flouro jackets with their brandimg and we'll just say it's one of their sanctioned events in exchange for free advertising.

either that, or have a nice drink in blackheath before and then leave from there. the princess of wales on the edge of the heath is a nice pub, it also has a nice spacious garden out back.

... and then tramp stylee beers I suppose

... and then tramp stylee beers I suppose

indeedy

Would the streets be emptier if we start later say around 2230?
Not good for pub after and tramp beer is timeless

in anyhoo

1. Velocio
   
2. superjoe
   
3. HatBeard
   
4. wibble
   
5. marcom
   
6. JAMIE
   
7. pt
   
8. tiswas
   
9. almac68
   
10. skydancer
    

This is really disapointing. Last years ride was, as far as I saw, a safe event for riders and stewards alike. The roads were clear and the people working on the roadside seemed pretty excited to see a large bunch of bikes unexpectedly rolling past.

Last year there were a number of reported incidents from our stewards and suppliers of cyclists racing and very nearly causing injuries.

Did anyone witness any such incidents? The only hint of racing was the final mile on the clear stretch down to the finish.

For instance 2 years ago riders went along Lower Thames Street when there were over 2,000 children lined up on the road for the start of the Mini Marathon.
Is the childrens marathon planning to start at 7.30am this year?

Last year riders tried to go through the Finish when work was still being undertaken.
I was at the front group when we arrived at the finish. There was no work being done, the finish was set up and the only problem was a grumpy old jobsworth of a woman who took umbrage at what she saw as our audacity (her in the red coat).

Velocio is the man but I don't think we should roll over so easilly.

I'm doing some therapy work on the day of the Marathon, so as i'll be in the area - stick me down.

1. Velocio
   
2. superjoe
   
3. HatBeard
   
4. wibble
   
5. marcom
   
6. JAMIE
   
7. pt
   
8. tiswas
   
9. almac68
   
10. skydancer
    
11. Pistaboy
    

that loses most of the reason for doing it...

yeh.

I appreciate that people have realised there's now basically no literal way we could get away with this and are trying be as positive about it as possible, but for me sadly there's a fair difference between getting down to ldn early with the prospect of a nice afternoon hanging out with forum people, and being stuck in ldn in the middle of the night after a ride with nowhere to go and nothing to do other than sit in the cold waiting for the trains to start running. So the revised plan means I'm out, which is a shame as I saw this as one thing I could get involved with being not london based. But who cares.

I also love it how whenever 'authority' does anything authority-like, they always try to make it as creepy and obvious that they've got all the power and there isn't a fuck you can do about it. Like with the withdrawal-of-funding threat, and the REALLY weird and creepy bit about 'yeh also I got your mobile off the site, we've now literally got your number, shall I call you up?'

How about offering to courier some stuff around the route, get a turn out of people to help, travelling marshals to ride the route, reduce the vehicles, become a part of it.??
Seems like the door isn't totally shut, and they appear to be a cycle friendly bunch.

^+1

Although they might want to publicise the fact that they used less vehicles, it's doubtful that cycle couriers could adequately take over the job of a van in a reasonable manner. The guy says they're mostly setting up water stations etc.

As I see it the benefit of a cycle courier in any case is to cut through the traffic of central London. There will be no traffic on closed roads.

@marcomarcos- i think i was in the same group as you who were met by that lot. to echo your sentiment- all the stewards and police that i saw were either indifferent or excited/happy to see a whole bunch of riders.

For selfish reasons - wouldn't be able to make it on the morning of the marathon.

My 2p: the guy sounds reasonable, and he makes some fair points (apart from the sponsorship threat). Now that he's contacted you, if you did it anyway it could look pretty bad.

Sort out somewhere for drinks after?

1. Velocio
   
2. superjoe
   
3. HatBeard
   
4. wibble
   
5. marcom
   
6. JAMIE
   
7. pt
   
8. atticus
   

This guy was reasonable and had a point.

But is this the emergence of a new trend? Will the Gestapo be watching and squashing more of our rides?

He has a legitimate gripe about stopping traffic on police closed roads.

He is not the gestapo, just an event organiser making a request.

It is doubtful that more of our rides will get squashed without reason.

just properly noticed the thread title loving the "-alert-alert-alert-"

This is fucked. It was always going to happen with the original thread being posted so early in the public domain.

Annoyed, Brockley.

He is not the gestapo, just an event organiser making a request.

I was not referring to him as the Gestapo and was using it in a purposefully exaggerated way.

This guy was reasonable and had a point.

But is this the emergence of a new trend? Will the Gestapo be watching and squashing more of our rides?

The police often view the forum, they like to know who is planning what on the streets

Lets be honest, we rode like twats last year. Even without this communication I would highly doubt we could make it all the way on the day for the simple fact we were so visible last time. A night ride is the best compromise and if you want to hit up some of the route on the day, go for it and see what happens at your own risk.

Not on the new list as I have plans that evening.