However, the worst thing in my mind about the Sky rides is that they have nothing to do with everyday cycling and fail to see cycling from the point of view of people who cycle. The irony of the route going through zones with CYCLISTS DISMOUNT zones is clearly lost on the organisers.
I spent the morning helping out on the Love Your Bike stall with these two chaps.
Then went out to ride the course in the afternoon with some music.
What is really striking is the overpowering emphasis placed on hi-viz and helmets by the organisers. It is almost as if they want to discourage cycling by making it seem far more dangerous than it really is.
There were a few professional sound systems out on the ride, but far fewer than in previous years. It felt like a cut-price ride this year. I understand that the Sky deal runs out next year, so this is possibly the last Sky Ride Manchester.
I feel it is time to overhaul the whole ride, rather than just look for another sponsor. The current ride fails to have much of a sense of place, instead going through anonymous back streets to reach the velodrome and stadium, rather than touring the parts of the city you might like to visit by bike.
There is also far too much emphasis on cycling as a sport.
This rather sad looking "Sprint Zone" was beyond parody.
Also the route includes some of the worst potholes in the area. This section of Riverpark Road is just dreadful, with some of the holes several centimeters in depth.
So how about a proper Manchester Community Bike Festival with a ride route, a cycle parade and pedal powered events? Above all, lets have an event which atracts people to cycle into the city centre, take part in events and then park up the bikes and enjoy Manchester in the way people flock to the city for the Manchester Day Parade, Dig the City and the Jazz Festival.
My partner, @VoleO'Speed has very similar thoughts!
ReplyDeleteDown here in Bristol, the "Bristol's Biggest Bike Ride" - which has been going for over twenty years - recently got sold (out) to Sky as a SkyRide. There used to be several different routes organised and signposted (ranging from a four mile pootle around the city centre up to a forty mile ride out into the countryside and back). There was a 'family friendly' route marked up which was actually about twelve miles, but on relatively (for Bristol) flat routes.
ReplyDeleteNow its a SkyRide there was just a single route marked out, which was about six miles and never left the city; and that was all (I understand that a lot of people decided to go off and ride one of the old routes anyway).
Hey, but you did get a free branded hi-viz vest!
Yes, I used to go on the early Bristol events, they were brilliant.
DeleteI saw from the BCyC emails that Sky had fucked up the Bristol Rides. I am going to try and persuade Manchester to emulate the Bristol rides when the Sky money runs out in 2016.
What really struck me about this event before it even started were the "road closed" signs.
ReplyDeleteNo roads were "closed" they were just restricted to allow human powered traffic only. This is their day to day purpose, just not for cars on this one day
I'd be inclined to say that this year's Skyride was hidden away because of the diversions and closures caused by the Great Manchester Cycle event earlier this year. I live near to one of the closed junctions on Chester Road and the amount of aggression I hear and see from motorists, who can't be bothered to take another route, is unfathomable.
ReplyDeleteI've never been a fan of the Skyride anyway, with their insistence on riders wearing helmets and their logo'd vests, and I don't think it's worth the money.