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Surrey residents fume as closed roads trap them during RideLondon 100 (image Prudential RideLondon)Surrey resident launches campaign against closed-road cycle events
A Surrey resident has launched a campaign demanding that the county council not run closed-road events such as the RideLondon 100 sportive, which, he says, turns Surrey roads into a “cycle track”.
An online petition, Stop Surrey Being Turned Into a Cycle Track, was launched by Ian Huggins, 68, from Esher four days before the August 3 RideLondon-Surrey 100. Two weeks later it has garnered 826 signatures. In 2011 the population of Surrey was estimated to be 1,135,500.
Mr Higgins’ primary concern appears to be the effect on local businesses, including his own weekend clay pigeon shooting set-up. He also complained that "lycra louts" rode the route in advance of the event, making lots of noise.
He said: “Last year we were confined to barracks for two days and now I have been told I can’t leave my home unless I leave before 5am or after 7pm.
“No one has consulted me, no one has asked if I mind.”
In a story on GetSurrey.com several other residents voice their objections to the event. They accuse Surrey County Council and the RideLondon organisers of running the event without public consultation and without formal assessment of the impact on individuals and businesses.
Council and organisers were “riding roughshod” over those affected by turning the ride into an annual event, said one objector, Ian Mason, 59, from West Byfleet.
Former county councillor Ian Lake said: “I am incensed by the whole thing. The consultation has been poor, it is a vanity project.”
“People didn’t really mind last year when it was the Olympics and roads were only closed for a short time. This year, the barriers have been up for the last few days and caused a huge amount of inconvenience.”
A spokesman for Surrey County Council told GetSurrey: “We’ve been working with the organisers to ensure everything is done to minimise disruption, with the help of leaflets, drop-in events and the GoSurrey.info website, and to make sure vulnerable people are looked after and emergency services aren’t hampered.”
Event organiser Hugh Brasher of London Marathon Limited was unavailable for comment at the time of writing, but his office have has said he will respond as soon as he’s able.
Here’s the unedited full text of Mr Huggins’s petition:
Apart from the obvious dangers to cyclists,Surrey roads are not suitable.Surrey County Council have, without consultation,decided it would be a great idea to use Surrey as a race track. This in it's self is a thoughtless act but far more importantly residents and numerous businesses are being effected by road closures. This prevents residents of Surrey from leaving their own property and going about their normal business. The road closures were a necessary inconvenience during the Olympic Games but now it looks like Surrey County Council are to make this an annual event. This is all very well but residents of Surrey are pestered and annoyed by cyclists ( practising months in advance of the event ) who ride the route in very large numbers from very early in the morning shouting at each other (have you tried talking whilst riding your bike?) and riding in large groups sometimes three and four abreast or in strings of riders making it virtually impossible for the poor old motorist, many of whom are elderly, to overtake.Traffic violations are common and it is only a matter of time before there is a major accident with the possibility of the loss of life. It will of course be the motorists fault. Have Surrey County Council considered the number of heavy goods vehicles using the roads. The route chosen is all enclosing and no provision has been made for vehicular crossing points. So to facilitate a bike ride many Surrey residents are to be confined to their homes from 5 am until 9 pm.
Surrey versus cyclists
The popularity of the Surrey hills with cyclists has become a source of complaints for locals in the last couple of years. In July Councillor David Preedy told the BBC that local councils were exploring ways in which events could be regulated.
Councillor Preedy, who leads the Lib-Dem group on Mole Valley District Council, said the main problem was the “sheer number” of cyclists.
“Every weekend there are hundreds and hundreds of cyclists and then on top of that, big organised events,” he said. “The pressure on residents is just getting too much, they’re feeling imprisoned, they can’t get out.
“A lot of them, particularly in Box Hill, are older people who feel intimidated driving through large numbers of cyclists.”
In April, Mark Davis, chief executive of Vachery Triathlon organiser Brave Events, said that a meeting he called to discuss road closures for the event was hijacked by protesters.
He alleged he was threatened outside and said others there reported incidents to the police - despite the council agreeing to the road closures. He also said that the event would bring £10 million to the local economy over the next three years.
Mr Davis said: “How many events bring top sports people and that sort of money into the area? You can’t believe how selfish people are because they don’t like cycling. Nobody is going to be trapped. People aren’t going to be stranded on an island.”
Brave Events subsequently changed the event to have partially-closed rather than fully-closed roads.
Fortunately, not everyone in Surrey fails to recognise the money visiting cyclists spend in the local economy. In July, the National Trust painted three logos on the Box Hill climb, reading ‘I love cycling’; ‘I love amazing views’; and ‘I love tea and cakes’.
John has been writing about bikes and cycling for over 30 years since discovering that people were mug enough to pay him for it rather than expecting him to do an honest day's work.
He was heavily involved in the mountain bike boom of the late 1980s as a racer, team manager and race promoter, and that led to writing for Mountain Biking UK magazine shortly after its inception. He got the gig by phoning up the editor and telling him the magazine was rubbish and he could do better. Rather than telling him to get lost, MBUK editor Tym Manley called John’s bluff and the rest is history.
Since then he has worked on MTB Pro magazine and was editor of Maximum Mountain Bike and Australian Mountain Bike magazines, before switching to the web in 2000 to work for CyclingNews.com. Along with road.cc founder Tony Farrelly, John was on the launch team for BikeRadar.com and subsequently became editor in chief of Future Publishing’s group of cycling magazines and websites, including Cycling Plus, MBUK, What Mountain Bike and Procycling.
John has also written for Cyclist magazine, edited the BikeMagic website and was founding editor of TotalWomensCycling.com before handing over to someone far more representative of the site's main audience.
He joined road.cc in 2013. He lives in Cambridge where the lack of hills is more than made up for by the headwinds.
Latest Comments
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I read it as somehow I got behind the paywall and whilst the article was great a lot of the comments below were the normal telegraph readers expect...
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Fantastic effort Dave! Really makes me want to do it.
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I've had an SKS for 35 years. Fantastic track pump for getting proper track pressures. I think I prefer mine to this latest version, though.
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The Evans store in Bristol city centre, which has been going downhill more and more rapidly since the Ashley takeover, is now full of badly printed...
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Oi, Nigel. Check this out: (13 drivers run red light consecutively.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ck9NQ-S0NCI
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Not sure being on the beach is going to do it any good...😀
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I think what you've described might be not be a "backfire" but a beneficial side-effect in the eyes of the "anti-cycling brigade". They seem to be...
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108 comments
I think he needs to have his Irono-Meter recalibrated.
Usual load of biased responses here.
Of course he doesn't like it but he is entitled to his opinions. The huge events are a complete PITA for local people and a large amount of riders show no consideration.
Might I suggest that those here who moan about his clay shoot listen to themselves. You are exactly the same as him. I bet you would moan if I started banging away at clays and obstructing your drive ways.
People can't even moan about facts when they get them wrong themselves. Rifles and clays. yeah right. Small issue to point out the stone throwing in glass houses here.
I'll be honest here. I don't blame cyclists , I blame greedy promoters, those who want quick and dramatic attention and those who are too damn lazy to work out a ride for themselves, which I am about to do.
The cycling world has to realise that you cannot have your gel and eat it. Like many sports/activities when you get big you intrude on others. I am pleased about Britain's sporting success by recreational cycling was far more fun in the past.
I've only collated the very same public information he has put out there, as for winning him over, I am not sure there is a hope in hell is there? I appologise to stooping to his level by even helping him publicise his mad rant.
And to think that French towns pay a fee for the privilege, the raised profile and the boost to tourism that comes with having a Tour stage take place in their community.
It's one f***ing day for gods sake ..... you always get idiots like this with this nonsense.
Why not share your comments:
Mr Ian Huggins
[address etc redacted. Let's not do that eh? - Admin]
That may not help if a wild cycling version of Ian Huggins sends remarks that make their way into the Guildford Dragon.
@ Georgee -Yeah, because harassing him on his mobile and personal email is a sure way of winning him over...
It is also illegal, as is encouraging others to do the same.
But it is legal to abuse cyclists? read his petition that is clearly defamitory and designed to insite hatrid....
We don't tolerate racism, sexism, ageism etc. and cyclists?
He is not advocating that people knock cyclists off their bikes, or assault them from their cars. He is not publishing cyclists home addresses and with a knowing wink, suggesting that people get in touch to let him 'know how they feel'.
I have read his petition and cannot find a single instance of anything you claim is there. Maybe your inability to spell correctly also manifests as an inability to read correctly?
He is entitled to his opinion, not matter how conflicting to your way of life it is, and as long as he does not advocate nor encourage others to cause you harm or injury, he is legally within his rights to express it as much as he likes.
He is running a clay pigeon business that people most likely travel to exclusively by car.
It's not entirely clear from the rant, but I'm assuming that rather than being imprisoned in his house he is, in fact, just not able to drive out of it? That, in fact, he has two bits of equipment attached to his torso that would enable him to circumvent this terrible limitation?
"Richard Doran TADWORTH, UNITED KINGDOM 8 days ago
Liked 4
Hugely congested roads made worse by cyclists, who pay no road taxes and continually break the law. Many accidents will ensue."
He could have made it sound more reasonable, but it really is just big ill informed rant.
All over a few hours one sunday a year!
He could always have a weekend away that particular weekend.
I live not far from the Ride London route in SW London and it made the area so much nicer that day with less traffic.
I feel intimidated cycling through large numbers of cars. So we should ban cars no?
I'm regularly intimidated by old people in cars... Now what?
I rode this event and felt privileged to ride on the closed roads. I've thought about how I'd feel if I was closed in by something like this and came to the view that you either stick around and support events like this or Go away for the wknd. Its 24 hours once a year, that's all.
On the Flip I don't think it would be to unreasonable to change the route each year so it doesn't effect the same set of people.
I'm kind of with TheHatter on this - a reasonable case made very badly indeed. Having your road sealed off and your business shut down in the middle of summer must be a real pain in the arse, and people taking part in closed-road events should remember that their fun causes a lot of inconvenience for some other people. The future of such events does depend on the goodwill of local people, local councils and so on.
So wishing him an early death from high blood pressure isn't especially helpful.
But Mr Huggins shoots himself in the foot by complaining about noisy bicycles and cyclists having the bare-faced cheek to ride on public roads and "intimidate" car drivers. He also seems to be complaining about cyclists using the roads when they're closed AND using them when they're not closed, which rather suggests that he's just an anti-cycling numpty who's looking for any excuse to shout "pay road tax" at anything on two-wheels.
Once again, he has no case whatsoever, these closures are essential for the event to go ahead safely otherwise the events could not be held with drivers on the same roads causing chaos.
A main road was opened an hour after the event and all the peace and quiet and the chance for people to walk and cycle on it without fear of drivers hitting them was lost.
I'm not disputing that the closures were essential for the event to go ahead. I'm saying that running the event and closing roads obviously has a big impact on people who live and work along the route, that the impact needs to be taken into account when planning and staging such events. Is that so unreasonable?
For all we know, the first Sunday in August might traditionally be Huggins' biggest, most lucrative weekend of the year, the day on which he makes the money that sees him through the quiet winter months. If that's the case, you can see why he'd be unhappy - especially if there was a lack of consultation with local residents and businesses, as he suggests.
BOOM, nail and head there.
Things like this DO need to be looked at, rural communities need to make money when they can so when things tail off through the leaner months, they can afford to get by.
The first week in August is ALWAYS busy for clay pigeon shooting, as people dust off their shotgun's ready for the "Glorious 12th"
If this was the case and he had phrased his argument better, I'd be quite happy to support him and have the event moved to another date...
The way its written out though makes it seem like just an anti cycling rant though.
As far as i'm aware notification of the event was giving a year in advance, plenty of time. It's one day a year, and there's plenty of other public highways and ways for his customers to reach him and enjoy their shooting past time.
This is nimby moaning it seems.
Hang on, nobody is forcing them to shut down their business. THEY choose to do so because they believe that without cars on the road, people don't go out. I saw many coffee shops closed in Surrey, and I was quite shocked b/c the area was packed with people cheering the race on. Those people would have spent a decent amount of money buying food in those coffee shops. If the Ian Huggins of Surrey think that the world ends with the car, then that's not Surrey Council's fault, nor the organizers.
And we are talking about ONE day, for chrissakes! A day and road clossures that were announced months and months in advance. If he chooses to ignore what happens around him, tough shit!
Unfortunately for us, this twat reached 1000 + signatures, which means he will no present this bullshit to SCC.
I fucking hate this people!
Ok, this little sh*t called Ian Huggins is trying to reach 1000 signatures in order to "present his anger" to Surey County Council. At the moment, he reached 750 signatures.
Anybody here a hacker...?
This is his latest update:
"Thank you all for taking the time to sign my petition. Please go to the Prudential Ride London website and look at the FAQ's. This will show just how little respect SCC have for you and your views.
I have been interviewed by Eagle Radio and hope to have this aired soon.
I would like to thank Steve from Richmond in Yorkshire for his comments but have to ask him "what makes you think that your pass-time/sport is more important than those of residents of Surrey?" He feels we are being selfish by objecting to his bike ride!!
There now appears to be two separate issues 1. The disruption caused by the road closures and 2.The staggering increase in numbers of racing cyclists using the roads of Surrey as their own private road race circuit. When my petition reaches 1000 signatures I will present it to SCC. so please keep your comments coming.
Once again thank you all (and yes that even means those who disagree with me)."
Hmm, hundreds of cyclists on a weekend obviously making life hell for the poor souls.
How many cars on the same roads during the same time periods? I bet a lot more!
Dangerous metal boxes being driven at high speeds on narrow roads. Loud engine and tyre noises. Causing obesity and pollution.
Which should be limited on Surrey roads again?
Ppffffw, good luck with that...
"Two weeks later it has garnered 826 signatures."
Well the London100 2014 website has already passed the 55,000 entries from last year in TWO DAYS.
The phrase pissing into the wind comes to mind. Perhaps he doesn't want the £250 I spent on entry, food, accommodation, train tickets and reservations, and bit for my bike going into the local economy or charity.
Looks like the people of Surrey have run out of important matters
Noisy lycra louts? LOL nothing like a daily mail headline phrase to try and gain yourselves some attention it seems.
It's quite amusing really as the noise when i was watching both events was all caused by the motor vehicles being used to support the event, oh the irony.
The caption for the photo says 'Surrey residents fume as closed roads trap them during RideLondon 100'. Shouldn't that say 'Hardly any Surrey residents fume as closed roads trap them during RideLondon 100'.
68 years old? Time to retire Mr Huggins to your back garden to do some pottering where you won't be bothered by cyclists anymore...
WTF is this ageist bullshit?
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