Scottish 6 Days - Day 5

[blindasabat]

From day 5 info

Cycling
Whilst cycling can’t be banned, please be aware that the road is very narrow and that slow cyclists would hold up the flow of traffic, and there are not many places to pull over to let cars past. So in the interest of traffic flow and safety we request that cycles are not used to get to the assembly field.

It's great that the organiser has managed to overcome the parking difficulties - well done. But we always need to keep an eye on the local impact that our sport has, so before we set any precedents by banning cycling to an event perhaps we need to remind ourselves of the BOF guidelines for environmental good practice. (sect 3.1)
http://www.britishorienteering.org.uk/images/uploaded/downloads/events_appendix_f.pdf

This would also seem to question the advisability of trooping competitors across the saltmarsh too...

[distracted]

The GR given for the new parking appears to still be to the east of the saltmarsh, which doesn't correspond to the map on the updated Day 5 page. Are the first 3 digits of the GR meant to be 888 rather than 898?

[HarryO]

Great news about Day 5 parking. Well done to everyone involved - thank you for listening to parents' concerns.

[Paul Frost]

Are the first 3 digits of the GR meant to be 888 rather than 898

You are correct, I've updated the website to reflect it and tweaked the postcode and lat/lon as well. Apologies for that.

But we always need to keep an eye on the local impact that our sport has, so before we set any precedents by banning cycling to an event perhaps we need to remind ourselves of the BOF guidelines for environmental good practice. (sect 3.1)
http://www.britishorienteering.org.uk/i ... ndix_f.pdf
This would also seem to question the advisability of trooping competitors across the saltmarsh too...

The original proposals would have been ideal from an environmental perspective, as there was less vehicle travel and more walking and cycling, so would you like to suggest to everyone that we should revert to the old plan?
We haven't banned cycling, but have pointed out the problems that could be caused and requested people think about it.
There are marshes and marshes, any potential damage to the estuary will have been taken into account before the decision was made to use it.

[blindasabat]

We haven't banned cycling, but have pointed out the problems that could be caused and requested people think about it.

Ho, hum... here we go again. Why is it always the bikes that are the problem?

Cars are the problem!

[Familytaxi driver]

Well I was going to cycle but probably won't on day 5 now. Got to justify taking bike up there (apart from MTB score event of course) and taking up room in car/causing Mr taxi driver more hassle etc.

Can I ask without adding fuel to the fire if cycling will be relatively ok on the other days - no long stretches extremely narrow roads with a line of O cars trying to pass etc.


Thanks!

[Paul Frost]

Ho, hum... here we go again. Why is it always the bikes that are the problem?

Cars are the problem!

I'm a cyclist, but also a realist.
The old plan was very very cycle friendly, but people were asking for refunds as the walk or cycle was too far. So don't see the new plan as hostile to cyclists, but friendly to competitors.
We have a small time window in which to move 3200+ people, so some compromises had to be made.

[superstartradesman]

Great news about Day 5 parking. Well done to everyone involved - thank you for listening to parents' concerns.

+1 from me. Thankyou to the Oban 2011 organising team who've worked so hard to come up with a solution.

[Urban]

Yes well done, hugely appreciated.

[pete.owens]

We haven't banned cycling, but have pointed out the problems that could be caused and requested people think about it.

Ho, hum... here we go again. Why is it always the bikes that are the problem?

Cars are the problem!

Spot on.

It reminds me of the attitude of council cycling officers who's idea of encouraging cycling is to tolerate us so long as we do not cause (or are even perceived to cause) as much as a microsecond delay to the really important people in motor cars reaching the back of the next traffic jam.

I am astonished at the fuss caused by this issue. For those of us camping at the event campsite it is and always has been the most convenient venue so I was pleased to get an early start block for day 5. I always intended (and still intend) to ride to the event - but even a 45 minute walk is infinitely preferable to the 90 minute drive to Tullochriosk at the 2009 event (where I also had an early start).

[andypat]

My my isnt someone missing the point again!

I'm sure anyone is allowed to cycle to the event if they want to - I might even do this myself- but I think the organisers are trying to tell you that this might not be a very safe or pleasant option given the fact that the shuttle buses are likely to take up the entire road width.

[blindasabat]

My my isnt someone missing the point again!

I'm sure anyone is allowed to cycle to the event if they want to - I might even do this myself- but I think the organisers are trying to tell you that this might not be a very safe or pleasant option given the fact that the shuttle buses are likely to take up the entire road width.

For heaven's sake the country has tens of thousands of miles of single track road that cyclists use in perfect safety every day. Why is this one so different? Remember it's not usually the bikes that make cycling occasionally unsafe - it's the other road users. So as long as all the motorists are behaving themselves anyone cycling to the event won't have a problem, will they?

By the way, Google's little orange man shows that the road has plenty of grass at the side where a cyclist might momentarily stand while the bus goes by.

[andypat]

The difference (and the key point here is that there IS a difference which some posters seem to be missing) is that Paul and co are trying to organise a shuttle bus and convoy type system for cars along a narrow road within a very short time window.

If you want to stand on the verge while several hundred cars and a few buses trundle by I guess thats up to you - Paul & co are gently trying to tell you that this is unlikely to be a good idea.

[pete.owens]

First – I’d like to make clear that I am not having a go at the orgasnisers who are obviously working extremely hard to make the event run as smoothly as possible. They have far more to think about than worrying about causing offence to cyclists.

I know this may appear over sensitive, but, as someone who has used a bike for normal daily transport for 40 years or so, I have encountered this sort of casual unthinking anti-cycling bias far too often to leave it unanswered. I know we are not talking about the sort of Clarksonesque run-em-off-the-road hostility, and as I pointed out earlier, I have seen far worse from people who are actually employed to promote cycling. However, the constant drip of low-level discrimination is depressing – and the sort of patronising comments that some have posted makes the blood boil.

What we are talking about a 10 minute bike ride to the event – to which we need to add a bit to allow for slowly filtering past queuing cars obstructing the road. Even if you didn’t have to allow for contra-flow arrangements for the shuttle buses AND the road was swept clear of pesky cyclists AND you could be sure none of the locals would set off for a shopping trip to Oban at the time - how long do you think it would take to get a car from the campsite into the event car park? Or rather more to the point, casting your mind back to previous S6Ds - How long do you imagine the queue for the car park will be?

So let’s get this straight – on the day it will be drivers causing delays to cyclists and not vice-versa. Even if you cannot exercise your god given right to overtake a cyclist the very second you come across them and, horror of horrors, have to slow down to cycling pace for a few hundred metres (assuming that the traffic would have been moving faster than that in the first place) this is not going to delay your arrival at the event – you will still take your place at the back of the very same queue you would have anyway.

Now it is clear that the organisers have a major traffic management issue trying to send hundreds of motor vehicles down a single track road, while simultaneously running a shuttle bus service. This will lead to serious delays and frustration for anyone wanting to take a car with them to the event. You would have thought that they would be doing their utmost to reduce the volume of motor traffic and would be positively encouraging as many of us as possible to take to our bikes to ease the congestion – as has been the case at previous events.

[DeerTick]

First – I’d like to make clear that I am not having a go at the orgasnisers who are obviously working extremely hard to make the event run as smoothly as possible. They have far more to think about than worrying about causing offence to cyclists.

I know this may appear over sensitive, but, as someone who has used a bike for normal daily transport for 40 years or so, I have encountered this sort of casual unthinking anti-cycling bias far too often to leave it unanswered.

I'm sorry, Pete, you are having a go at the organisers and they do not deserve it. Those of them I know personally are all cyclists and very much pro-bike.

You are also having a go at your fellow orienteers who drive cars, by attributing to them the worst habits you have experienced in the general car-driving population:

Even if you cannot exercise your god given right to overtake a cyclist the very second you come across them and, horror of horrors, have to slow down to cycling pace for a few hundred metres (assuming that the traffic would have been moving faster than that in the first place) this is not going to delay your arrival at the event – you will still take your place at the back of the very same queue you would have anyway.

I am a cyclist too, and know exactly what you mean, but to suggest that those who choose to use their car to travel to the assembly area will all be guilty of this is quite offensive.

I may well cycle to the assembly area and am quite happy that I can travel at the same speed as the cars are likely to be moving, but it's nice of the organisers to warn me of the volume of vehicle traffic. More to the point, though, is that, were I a parent of young children, I would be pleased to know of the likely road conditions if I was considering having them cycle to assembly.

AP.