[Cyclist]

Article by a completely ignorant twat called Adam Edwards from the Cotswold life magazine. I find the part where he asks if ‘Lycra goes splat’ very interesting.

Thought some of you would like to send him an email. Cotswoldlife.co.uk

I have. Oh guess what? We don’t pay road tax!!!

Topic

[Ants]

I agree that this kind of a
I agree that this kind of a ‘story’ is written to provoke response but it is another tiny droplet in the drip, drip of hatred that seems to be acceptable in either print or on TV. Change ‘cyclist’ to any other group and lawyers become involved. It wont make drivers go out and kill anyone directly but it all helps to fuel the flames of dislike for cyclists – after all they kill pensioners don’t you know. How did he miss including the ‘fact’ that we all hate blind people as well as their dogs. Poor journalism indeed!

Makes me quite sad that this kind of shite is ever published. What a pathetic little man.

[crazy-legs]

Most local rags have such an
Most local rags have such an individual.
A town or district free newspaper is generally little more than advertising for local businesses, a step on the job ladder for aspiring hacks and the occasional mildly exciting article when there’s a car crash. Otherwise they exist on a diet of reporting that Mrs Miggin’s has won the local flower arranging competition and Old Bill’s cat went missing for 2 days.

So they need a “Mr Angry” (and a letters page) to fill in the tedium. The “Mr Angry” in my local paper had about 4 stock rants which he rotated. Council incompetence, litter louts (or sometimes just “young people” in general), cyclists and public transport. Each week would entail the same old clichés and once-funny-now-tiresome anecdotes; the same spiel about lycra louts, road tax…

Never worth responding to – that’s what these deluded fools actually want. I can imagine a little party in the newspaper office – look, we got a letter, someone actually reads the drivel we print! Drinks all round!

[bashthebox]

Poor man’s Clarkson in every
Poor man’s Clarkson in every way – and Clarkson’s enough of a c**t as it is.

[Scrufftie]

Have a little sympathy for
Have a little sympathy for the poor chap, all of the really easy targets for bigots to mock are now out of bounds. Once upon a time, people of this ilk milked their audience by poking fun at disabled people, women, those with darker skin, victims of sexual crime etc., etc.

Now, because of what they sneeringly refer to as political correctness, most bigotry is unacceptable, even in their circles. Cyclists, or ‘people who happen to ride a bike sometimes when they are not in their car’, as I call them, are not protected against the stirring up of hatred.

Sticks and stones and all that but commentary like this encourages the feeble-minded in a car to believe that they have rights other road users, especially cyclists, do not. They then drive with less care than they should, lean on their horn when we impede their progress by a few seconds and drive too closely to us. Sometimes, this turns to tragedy but generally it just makes life a little less pleasant than it could be.

It’s not in the same league as racism and probably doesn’t lead directly to deliberate killings but what’s the point in generally being so banally unpleasant?

Thankfully, this rag is probably one of the least read journals around.

[Must be Mad]

Quote:I live there, on the

I live there, on the whole what you say is true, and as I notice in Devon when visting the SO’s mum, if the car has a London plate expect an a***h*** to be driving. Wish it wasn’t so clear cut but it really does appear that way.

People seem to get past Bristol, and suddenly forget how to drive. I have no idea why, but it seems to be true!

[Must be Mad]

What a moronic article. It
What a moronic article. It assume that the author was trying to be funny, but just confused ‘funny’ with ‘hate’.

The closing quip about mid life crisis seemed particularly ironic…..

[mrmo]

SteppenHerring wrote:I

SteppenHerring wrote:

I sometimes ride in the Cotswolds as my Dad lives up that way. It’s very different from Surrey. More than once (in the Cotswolds) I have been riding a narrow rode and an oncoming vehicle has pulled over and waited for me. Yes, even a 4×4 and a bin lorry have done this. Drivers are almost all nice and considerate.

It’s a lovely place to ride if you’re used to the arseholery of the South East.

I live there, on the whole what you say is true, and as I notice in Devon when visting the SO’s mum, if the car has a London plate expect an a***h*** to be driving. Wish it wasn’t so clear cut but it really does appear that way.

[SteppenHerring]

I sometimes ride in the
I sometimes ride in the Cotswolds as my Dad lives up that way. It’s very different from Surrey. More than once (in the Cotswolds) I have been riding a narrow rode and an oncoming vehicle has pulled over and waited for me. Yes, even a 4×4 and a bin lorry have done this. Drivers are almost all nice and considerate.

It’s a lovely place to ride if you’re used to the arseholery of the South East.

[mrmo]

Strongly suspect the idiot
Strongly suspect the idiot isn’t actually a local, more likely a London expat just like the nimbys in the New Forest. move out and are shocked to discover their are locals!

It must come as such a shock to discover that people are concerned by jobs and transport. rather than the beautiful landscape etc.

And in light of the Cheltenham rider who died last week, not the best of taste, but I guess this went to press before that happened, which doesn’t excuse the article from appearing in the first place.

I guess next month the article will be how the locals don’t get out the way of his 4×4 on the lanes, or how people might object to shooting, hunting, etc. That there are people riding horses on the roads, that they don’t pay for etc etc.

[glynr36]

notfastenough wrote:”cyclists

notfastenough wrote:

”cyclists dress in childishly coloured rubber” eh?! Are these fetish dogging cyclists or something?

“a rubber sheath astride two orbs” what in the name of poor journalism is this guy on about?!

He even manages to have a dig at the whole of Yorkshire for being positive about hosting the grand depart…

So this wasn’t posted on their website then Glyn? I wonder why… 😕 That would have been amusing.

Nope I had a look (slow day in the office), then took a look at his twitter. Pointless challenging him there, last tweet was 2 years ago, and he has a handful of followers.
He’s also a writer for the Telegraph, says a lot…

[glynr36]

simon.thornton wrote:They

simon.thornton wrote:

They don’t want visitors so best to avoid confrontation – just avoid that area.
Plenty of other places to visit.

More a him than they, the Pub/B&B me and 10 riding mates stayed in last week was very happy to have us there, let us move the bikes inside after they closed the bar too, suggested a few potential rides/climbs to take in as well.

[simon.thornton]

They don’t want visitors so
They don’t want visitors so best to avoid confrontation – just avoid that area.
Plenty of other places to visit.

[edster99]

I’ve sent them a mail too. I
I’ve sent them a mail too. I await a response.

[arfa]

It might be worth pointing
It might be worth pointing out to the editor that the article is at best somewhat crass and insensitive in light of the loss of a Cotswold based LEJOG rider and they might wish to withdraw it/issue an apology.

[7thGalaxy]

Dear Editor
Regarding the
Dear Editor

Regarding the article written by Adam Edwards in September, about cycling in the Cotswolds.

I have never read such unnecessary vitriol, exaggeration, ignorance and contempt in a professional publication. If it was meant to be tongue in cheek, it doesn’t come across that way at all. To use the roads in this country we have to respect each other. Cyclists have just as much right to enjoy the Cotswolds as a car driver does, and pollute, clog up and damage the roads an immeasurable amount less

I’d like to point out that no car driver pays ‘road tax’ either – it’s an emissions based tax, and electric vehicles are also exempt.

Given how successful the ‘tour de yorkshire’ was at promoting tourism, and boosting the local economy I can only think that your columnist must have been jealous of Yorkshire – and his sniffy and patronizing attitude towards that gorgeous county, and welcoming people only serves to rankle further.

I would seriously consider whether you should continue employing this sad and lonesome person, or maybe he should get on a bike and try and work off some of his obvious problems in the clean, sweet Cotswold air, hopefully unpolluted by the petrol fumes he seems to be so proud of.

Yours faithfully.

[Author]

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