The St Kilda ride in the news
Posted September 4th, 2006 in Culture, Advocacy
Although I had earlier said that the planned St Kilda CC ride paying respect to James Gould was too much too soon, it looks like it went well given the reports in the Age. Happily I’m wrong.
Let cycling tragedy be a turning point.
The appeal and benefits of cycling for commuting, enjoyment and health reasons still greatly outweigh the risks: cyclists are here to stay, in great numbers. For the past six years bicycles have outsold cars, and petrol prices have boosted the trend. Melbourne is on the way to being a European-style city of cyclists; planning is still catching up with that fact. A fresh look at high-use areas is needed. Upgrading roads and pathways will be costly, but the need is there. The best way to remember James Gould is to make the bayside he loved a safer place for all.
Cracks in the code on ride for respect.
Then, with the blessing-cum-warning “ride safely” ringing in its ears, the human snake winds its way back towards the city. The majority of cyclists hope the code of conduct will hold, though there is concern this morning’s discussion was preaching to the converted. The cowboys on bikes who many claim are giving all cyclists are bad name were probably not at the service.
In addition to the mainstream media stuff, Wheels Of Justice has comprehensive wrap up of the reaction on forums and blogs to the death of James Gould.
Technorati Tags: cycling, bicycles, australia, hellride
What others have to say…
September 9th, 2006 at 3:26 pm
As a regular hell rider the recent incident has provided me with a lot to think about over the last two weeks.
A lot has been said about the Hell Ride, and almost without exception it has come from people who don’t even do the Hell Ride. People who have no connection to the ride feel free to dump shit on it because they have nothing at stake. They have no idea how important it is as an institution for racing cyclists in Melbourne.
The SKCC ride was the right thing to do. I know Jeff from SKCC, and I also know that he doesn’t do the Hell Ride frequently. He’s a really nice guy with a big heart.
The Hell Ride goes through stages where 1 or 2 cyclists insist on doing the wrong thing. Some people say it used to be worse 10 years ago, some people say that its worse now than its ever been. The truth of the matter is that mostly everybody does the right thing. To highlight this point, for the first 1.5 years I did the ride it had a police escort every week. About three months ago they stopped doing the escort. Why? because people by and large were doing the right thing. All this talk about self policing and cracking down on the hell ride is a complete overreaction.
There are hundreds of groups of cyclists on Beach road each weekend. The only thing that differentiates the Hell Ride is that it is a fast training ride full of fit riders. In fact, many other bunch rides are just as fast as the hell ride- but they fly under the radar somewhat. It is not for lunatics, corporate cowboys, or try hard cafe racers- all the stereotypes that get trotted out by people who don’t know what they’re talking about. The Hell ride is A and B grade club racers trying to get a hit out into their legs when there is no other racing on.
Sometimes on the Hell Ride I will see a person do something that I don’t approve of. That can happen anywhere, any time in any walk of life. It doesn’t help to say that everyone who has done the Hell ride is a lunatic. I feel safer on the HEll ride than on many races conducted by Cycle Sport Victoria or clubs. The midlands team race two weeks ago was the most dangerous thing I have ever done on a bike- and that was ‘organised’ and sanctioned by officials.
None of the media attention that has focused on the hell ride over the last two weeks will have any impact on the ride. There is no organisation, no head, no directing mind or will. The ride is a puff of smoke, a collection of people who turn up in the one spot at the one time each week to ride as fast as they can for 70km.
This is what the media, bloggers, cycling clubs and organisations and the police hate. They can’t control it. They can’t tell the hell ride what to do. This is the undercurrent of all that has been said in the media about the ride. ‘Official’ types don’t like the ride because they can’t collect money from the riders, and they can’t control what the riders do. The number of tinpot dictators in cycling clubs and organisations in Victoria is just ridiculous- especially Caufield Carnegie and the bayside clubs.
There has been talk of removing racing licences from people who take part in the hell ride. If you did that there wouldn’t be many A or B grade riders left. If you’re at the VIS you probably don’t need to do the Hell ride, because you do motorpacing three mornings a week. I frequently see Will Walker, Baden Cooke, Matt Wilson, AIS-Mapei riders etc etc in the Hell ride over summer. Are we going to kick them out of the sport too?
I’m going to keep writing about the Hell ride because I’m passionate about cycling, and I’m passionate about the hell ride and the people who take part in it. That doesn’t mean I approve of every person and everything that takes place on the ride. I’ve seen everything in terms of bad cyclist behaviour, bad pedestrian behaviour and bad driver behaviour. But I’ve seen all that and more on other rides- so it seems ridiculous to single out one ride.
Thanks for linking me Phil, and I have naturally returned the favour. This support is great encouragement, because I’m just getting started in blogging. So thanks heaps.
September 9th, 2006 at 10:02 pm
Well Timboy that wins as the longest comment ever here at Spinopsys.
I get your drift believe me, and my take is as a rodie who has seen much that is similar to what you describe in the Hell Ride here in Sydney.
No worries as far as the link goes. Like all the other Oz cycling bloggers I’m very happy to see another in the ranks, especially a roadie. Bring on the conversation.
BTW guessing at your politics you might enjoy the other blog I write for.
I should have a couple of quick posts from Friday still residing on the front page.
[…] Like Phil over at Spinopsys, I wasn’t really in support of the the memorial ride for James Gould held on Friday. But I’m happy to say that it received suitably respectful treatment in all media reports I’ve seen, for example the Herald Sun, The Age (which also produced a photo gallery and a video report), and ABC Stateline Victoria: […]
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