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Post by LondonExplorer316 on May 21, 2023 17:01:12 GMT
What you have said is perfectly valid (and I agree with you!), although it does close a lot of roads which causes traffic chaos across the city so I can see why others may disagree with you. A bit of exercise is what we all need these days anyways that said so I'll sit on the fence for this one. This was always likely to be a highly contentious thread : someone had to defend the regular participant viewpoint, may as well be me. I’m not in the slightest bit bothered if my view upsets people on this I’m afraid - it is one of just a very few things in this world I feel exceptionally strongly about. And you're well within your right to feel however you want to on this topic (as all are!), I do feel though too many people criticise events only based on the road closures that come with them.
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Post by twobellstogo on May 21, 2023 17:08:13 GMT
This was always likely to be a highly contentious thread : someone had to defend the regular participant viewpoint, may as well be me. I’m not in the slightest bit bothered if my view upsets people on this I’m afraid - it is one of just a very few things in this world I feel exceptionally strongly about. And you're well within your right to feel however you want to on this topic (as all are!), I do feel though too many people criticise events only based on the road closures that come with them. Yep. For this reason, I shall never live in Wapping! I think ultimately, the anti comments such as those above by southlondon413 and towerman hurt because essentially I perceive them, rightly or wrongly, as an attack on part of what makes me, me. And that’s going to be very hard not to reply to. I know I’m not selfish, but it will always be the case that an awful lot of people will perceive me to be on this, whatever I do.
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Post by northlondon83 on May 21, 2023 17:16:55 GMT
I find this view very hard to sympathise with, I’m afraid. Regular readers of my spiel will know I am a regular long distance runner - I have a couple of London Marathons under my belt, as well as many shorter races, including the East/South East London Big Half every time it’s been on. Indeed I told a taxi driver I was doing the second LM and instead of best wishes it was very much how people like me were being selfish blocking all the roads up denying him his livelihood. It was really quite vitriolic and unpleasant. RideLondon is very much the cycling equivalent of the London Marathon. Like the LM, the organisation is excellent. Cycling, like running, is an increasingly popular activity, and having this one day of racing (or in my case, likely to see if I can get round in one piece, if I ever try it') in my book is ok. It’s no worse than the closures for running events. So sorry, absolutely zero sympathy for you and others of the same viewpoint. If that makes me selfish, as the taxi driver screeched at me back in 2018 on my final prep for London Marathon number 2, so be it. Oh - and thanks for that diversion list, WH241 : I’m sure it’s most appreciated. I think that absolutely makes you selfish. Glad you can live comfortably in your elitist ivory tower whilst the peasants suffer because they aren’t able to work to provide for their families. 👍 Sorry but this opinion isn't a fair reflection on the event, as twobellstogo said in another post, the marathon is for charity and the Ride London is the cycling equivalent. The road closures are unfortunately something negative to come out of it. However in the UK we are used to road closures so for one day of closure it's not something worth get stressed about. Instead it should be seen as a positive development for sport. Without stuff like the marathon and the Ride London we can't celebrate the successes of athletics and cycling. At least it's not an environment protest!
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Post by southlondon413 on May 21, 2023 17:23:32 GMT
And you're well within your right to feel however you want to on this topic (as all are!), I do feel though too many people criticise events only based on the road closures that come with them. Yep. For this reason, I shall never live in Wapping! I think ultimately, the anti comments such as those above by southlondon413 and towerman hurt because essentially I perceive them, rightly or wrongly, as an attack on part of what makes me, me. And that’s going to be very hard not to reply to. I know I’m not selfish, but it will always be the case that an awful lot of people will perceive me to be on this, whatever I do. It’s not about you, it’s the whole disruption that I have a problem with. I have no strong opinions about runners or cyclists, but rather the lack of thought for those whose lives are disrupted. Even if it’s only for a weekend, just to raise some money for a charity CEO.
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Post by northlondon83 on May 21, 2023 17:23:52 GMT
Why should people who pay nothing towards the upkeep of the roads inconvenience huge parts of London just to ride around on a bike.As for the marathon a lot of the local residents In east & south London dread it coming. Not sure why you're getting bothered about it tbh Road closures and diversions happen all the time in the UK, most of the time not due to sporting events. Near where I live Breakspear Road South between Ruislip and Ickenham was closed on and off since 2016 for HS2 works. Arguably much worse because it breaks cross Hillingdon traffic and although it's quite lightly used I'm sure no one wanted HS2 especially those living in the area. My house in Ruislip before I moved our would have been knocked down if it wasn't safeguarded by the West Ruislip to Northolt tunnel. So I can assure you that disruption caused by a cycling event is very insignificant and I'm sure outside this forum very few people in the capital will be bothered about it
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Post by northlondon83 on May 21, 2023 17:27:19 GMT
Not sure why people are getting so argumentative about it and in fact it's become quite a toxic thread for such a petty issue.
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Post by twobellstogo on May 21, 2023 17:30:35 GMT
Yep. For this reason, I shall never live in Wapping! I think ultimately, the anti comments such as those above by southlondon413 and towerman hurt because essentially I perceive them, rightly or wrongly, as an attack on part of what makes me, me. And that’s going to be very hard not to reply to. I know I’m not selfish, but it will always be the case that an awful lot of people will perceive me to be on this, whatever I do. It’s not about you, it’s the whole disruption that I have a problem with. I have no strong opinions about runners or cyclists, but rather the lack of thought for those whose lives are disrupted. Even if it’s only for a weekend, just to raise some money for a charity CEO. Well, we shall never agree on this, and I don’t intend to quote you further after this, but over the years I have raised an awful lot of money for ‘charity CEOs’ as you say, doing various events, and the loss of them, as clearly you want, is to be regretted. I know you’re not aiming at me, but this does feel personal, simply because I support these events very strongly. It is ultimately a day, and much is done to make such events as disruption free as possible.
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Post by twobellstogo on May 21, 2023 17:31:55 GMT
Not sure why people are getting so argumentative about it and in fact it's become quite a toxic thread for such a petty issue. As I said above, was always going to happen. I’ll go with heated rather than toxic, as I certainly don’t wish any of my adversaries ill at all!
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Post by northlondon83 on May 21, 2023 17:33:14 GMT
And you're well within your right to feel however you want to on this topic (as all are!), I do feel though too many people criticise events only based on the road closures that come with them. Yep. For this reason, I shall never live in Wapping! I think ultimately, the anti comments such as those above by southlondon413 and towerman hurt because essentially I perceive them, rightly or wrongly, as an attack on part of what makes me, me. And that’s going to be very hard not to reply to. I know I’m not selfish, but it will always be the case that an awful lot of people will perceive me to be on this, whatever I do. Whilst I agree with your opinion it's important to consider other's opinions too. Like they might have been affected by it if they live in the area for example
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Post by northlondon83 on May 21, 2023 17:35:57 GMT
Yep. For this reason, I shall never live in Wapping! I think ultimately, the anti comments such as those above by southlondon413 and towerman hurt because essentially I perceive them, rightly or wrongly, as an attack on part of what makes me, me. And that’s going to be very hard not to reply to. I know I’m not selfish, but it will always be the case that an awful lot of people will perceive me to be on this, whatever I do. It’s not about you, it’s the whole disruption that I have a problem with. I have no strong opinions about runners or cyclists, but rather the lack of thought for those whose lives are disrupted. Even if it’s only for a weekend, just to raise some money for a charity CEO. Unfortunately these events are going to disrupt people's lives one way or another. I'm sorry but if you live in the area disrupted the best thing to do is to put up with it. After all by the Monday things go back to normal
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Post by twobellstogo on May 21, 2023 17:36:15 GMT
Yep. For this reason, I shall never live in Wapping! I think ultimately, the anti comments such as those above by southlondon413 and towerman hurt because essentially I perceive them, rightly or wrongly, as an attack on part of what makes me, me. And that’s going to be very hard not to reply to. I know I’m not selfish, but it will always be the case that an awful lot of people will perceive me to be on this, whatever I do. Whilst I agree with your opinion it's important to consider other's opinions too. Like they might have been affected by it if they live in the area for example I considered it, then kept to my own opinion, with the greatest respect. It’s only a day (or two if you are a Wapping resident - both the Big Half and the London Marathon largely trap Wapping residents in Wapping if driving).
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Post by southlondon413 on May 21, 2023 17:37:14 GMT
It’s not about you, it’s the whole disruption that I have a problem with. I have no strong opinions about runners or cyclists, but rather the lack of thought for those whose lives are disrupted. Even if it’s only for a weekend, just to raise some money for a charity CEO. Well, we shall never agree on this, and I don’t intend to quote you further after this, but over the years I have raised an awful lot of money for ‘charity CEOs’ as you say, doing various events, and the loss of them, as clearly you want, is to be regretted. I know you’re not aiming at me, but this does feel personal, simply because I support these events very strongly. It is ultimately a day, and much is done to make such events as disruption free as possible. Did you read me write I wanted them gone? Save yourself looking as the answer is no. I merely want them to be more respectful to the hundreds of thousands who depend on the road network daily. As I said involve more parks in the planning to limit large scale road closures, doesn’t mean they can’t spread onto roads but a good portion could involve large parks where a minimal amount of disruption. As for charity you are better off volunteering or sponsoring directly rather than through a charity, there are a lot of charity investigations.
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Post by greenboy on May 21, 2023 17:42:26 GMT
All that so that some idiots can swan about on their bikes. Didn't you say the same thing yesterday? If you really can't tolerate a bit of inconvenience for an event that raises a lot of money for charity it's pretty sad.
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Post by twobellstogo on May 21, 2023 17:45:32 GMT
All that so that some idiots can swan about on their bikes. Didn't you say the same thing yesterday? If you really can't tolerate a bit of inconvenience for an event that raises a lot of money for charity it's pretty sad. Oh I love you greenboy! (I never thought I’d ever say that, and I don’t mean it in the way some of you may be thinking 😂)
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Post by greenboy on May 21, 2023 17:50:12 GMT
Didn't you say the same thing yesterday? If you really can't tolerate a bit of inconvenience for an event that raises a lot of money for charity it's pretty sad. Oh I love you greenboy! (I never thought I’d ever say that, and I don’t mean it in the way some of you may be thinking 😂) I never thought I'd read those words on here 🤣 🤣 🤣 but I get what you mean and I'm sure most people appreciate the efforts of people like your good self to raise money for charity👏
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