on 1 april we took the difficult decision to announce the closure of our growing business and the immediate cancellation of the 4 x sportives planned for this season
as event organizers we can only control the controllable, and have taken great pride in doing so successfully to host 15 sportives between 2019 and 2021 without incident
over the years we have endured covid 19 – unexpected road closures – other events clashing with ours – biblical weather events – lost riders – broken down riders – riders doing extra hills en route – trays of sandwiches not arriving and the odd sign being removed or turned round
after our event last october we discovered an 8 mile + stretch of lanes where 38 of our arrows and several safety warning signs had been removed – which must have taken someone ages – which really upset us
but the final straw came this week – when chris cycled round the ram route and came across the chap who has removed all our signs in the dale head area of the yorkshire dales, every year, making the route unclear and the steep hill down to our feed station unsafe, painting his front door (one of our marshals retrieved our stolen signs from the chap last year after watching him remove the steep descent warning sign he had just put up and following him to his house)
after a brief but fruitless conversation about this chap feeling that our signs are discarded rubbish and his duty is to remove them and chris stressing that they are our property – put out to guide and keep our riders safe – and that their removal is an act of theft – we parted company
chris returned home to find an e mail off our friend – which began a conversation that i will share here –
than you for your visit today to telling me of your intentions to post yet more unauthorized signs and stickers around the north yorks national park and other locations in the dales in relation to a forthcoming cycle race (sorry “event”).
your suggestion to contact cumbria constabulary is welcome and i’m sure they will confirm that what you are doing (unauthorized signage) is not legal.
further, i still hold cctv footage from 2 years ago where of one of your aggressive employees is seen threatening me and shouting……, “i’ll put a fucking brick through your wind screen if you don’t open that car and give me my sign back”. i’m sure you recall the incident and i would be more than happy to provide the police with a sight of said footage. i did point out the cctv camera to your employee while he was ranting at me only to be told “i don’t give a fuck”.
as mentioned earlier, i have no opinion on what your activities entail in other parts of the area. that is for others to confront you. i on the other hand object strongly to you littering the lanes local to me with totally unnecessary stickers and signs which some residents find offensive.
thanks for getting in touch mike
nice to meet you earlier
thought about our situation while riding home – we don t want to upset anyone – but do have a right to go about our legitimate business (i will check legal situation with both police and national park)
as a compromise, we will not put any signs from top road – down the hill or past your house until the morning of the event on 10 april – my team will put them up around 1000hrs and remove them once riders have gone thru – around 1400hrs
i hope this is a satisfactory solution and an end to the issue
hi mike
just spoke to head of park management for yorkshire dales national park about our annual event and he has confirmed what i told you – that we neither need to register it or ask permission from the park authority – as we only use the public highway – which they have no control or jurisdiction over
his details are –
allan hulme
head of park management
01756 751647
am sending this while on hold to north yorkshire police – who our event is registered with – and will let you know what they tell me asap
there seems to be some thing you’re not getting. of course the ydnpa have no jurisdiction over a public highway, this was never in contention. but they do have a duty of care to the natural environment within the park. this includes events using fly posting as means of communication. two local pubs have recently been sanctioned for placing menu boards outside the premises. there are by-laws in place to protect those living in a national park.
i would argue that our signs are neither rubbish or fly posting
over next few days i will be attaching a sticker with our details to each and every arrow and sign we use / possess (around 800) – to show that they are not rubbish or been abandoned – also we do inevitably miss retrieving one or two each season – so hope folk will let us know and we ll take them down asap
rather they mark the safest route around our 68 mile event and warn riders – who we have a duty of care for – of any hazards en route – like steep descents / pot holes / traffic ahead / loose surfaces / horses or sheep ahead
this is all contained in the events thorough risk assessment – which is sent to british cycling for their approval before the ride can take place
this is why it is such a big deal – and would lead to a prosecution – if a sign for a hazard identified in the risk assessment was missing on the day and someone came to grief
thank you for getting touch. while you are in the process of “checking the legal situation” you may consider contacting sldc and ccc who do hold strong views on fly posting especially when it involves their street signage (ccc) and their street furniture (sldc).
given that you took the trouble to stop today and inform me of your intentions and given that the race is upon us, i will not remove any unauthorised signage on saturday providing the offending fly posters are removed promptly circa 2pm. however, now that you are fully aware of the situation and you do realise the implications of your transgressing litter guidelines, i will remove any future litter and plastic rubbish resulting from of top dog promotions where ever it is encountered. i recommend you show a copy of this email to you legal advisor.
you are correct to say that you are entitled to go about your legitimate business as we all are. however, you are not entitled to pollute a pristine environment with plastic crap while endeavouring to profit. indeed, many have likened businesses such as yours to maggots where easy profits are made milking the environment with nothing going back in return. how you earn a living is your choice. my choice is to stop selfish individuals thinking the area belongs to them in order to make a quick easy buck.
i have spent 60 odd years riding for leisure and earlier competitively. my old ridding palls from bootle st christophers, mersey wheelers and kirkby cc would turn in their graves at what you and others are doing to the natural environment. please stop it.
finally, i have a question for you. my son recently rode the dales divide 24 hour. the organisers (from what i understand) used not one plastic sign on the whole of the route. do have any thoughts on this.
regards, mike
ps can assure me you will impress on saturday’s race competitors not to selfishly throw wrappers from energy bars and drinks containers onto the side of the road. i do realise the race is the only thing in their minds at the time but we have to live amongst the crap and the jetsam long after they have gone.
brilliant thank you ????
we don t need to seek permission from any other councils or national parks for reasons already stated
however, our events are annually registered – and approved with –
cumbria safety advisory group – run by various councils
lancaster / ribble valley / nth yorkshire / cumbria police
lancaster / carlise / east lancs hospitals (although we have a fully equipped ambulance staffed to 2 x off duty nhs paramedics following our riders on the day)
lancaster + lancashire county councils
all we do is overseen and our events are registered by british cycling – who’s guidelines we adhere to by the letter so they provide £500 million public liability insurance cover
a lot of longer / audax events don t mark routes as we do – or have medical / marshals / feeds / recovery support either – riders just receive a gpx file of the route to follow (which our riders also get – but not all have the devices or knowhow to follow these – one of our regular riders is an 84 year old lady !!)
these events cost next nothing to enter or organise – while each of our events cost around £2500 to put on
i m sure a lot of your riding associates would be rather pleased to see cycling has become so popular over the last few years – and i am proud that events like ours are part of this and will continue to bring visitors from all over uk – to experience the great rides we are so fortunate to have on our doorstep
in time a lot of our riders will return with riding friends and families on holiday – which can only be good for the area – and we are proud to be part of this too ????
no one is questioning the validity of your events (sorry races) or how well, or not, they are organised. no one is questioning the number of peripheral bodies you choose to engage with in order to enhance your perceived standing. what is in question is your entitled arrogance and innate ignorance in assuming that your unauthorised and puerile plastic signage is to be welcomed in the public sphere by local residents and that we should actually see your activities as a positive thing for the dale in particular and the environment as a whole. i will take no vacuous lectures from yourself on ill thought out and under-researched benefits to the environment.
as you seem convinced these races are “only good for the area” then may i suggest you curtail your childish activities to carnforth which, last time i was unfortunate enough to pass through, seems in greater need of improvement than the yorkshire dales. as stated earlier i will accept your desire to proceed with your next race provided the signage is only in place in cowgill between 10am and 2pm on saturday as you have indicated. apart from this, any other signage in this area will either be removed and kept on my premises where you may collect it at a mutually convenient time or it maybe disposed of.
can i ask if you have asked for or received any authorisation from cumbria county council highways, or network rail, relating to your commandeering of the turning space at denthead viaduct for your ‘feeding station’? this area is set aside not only for hgv use but also the local farming community who use it regularly as a turning point for large tractors with trailers.
lastly, for what ever reason, you have failed to answer my two previous questions: 1) how is it the organisers of the 24 dales divide manage to run a largely night time event without the use of signage? 2) will you assure me you will forcibly impress on race competitors that they must not throw drinks tins, plastic wrappers or other jetsam so often associated with such events onto the vergers where i and others pick it up on a regular basis. would you be kind enough to address these issues before sunday’s event and let me know your findings.
i now suggest you share this email with a member of cumbria or lancashire police and/or your legal advisor. i would however refrain from taking your violent employee with you who may be inclined to “put a fucking brick” through one of their windscreens.
morning mike
further to the progress we are making – i would like to clarify a few points –
- all our events take place on sundays when traffic is lighter
- they are all non-competitive sportives – some serious riders do go for a fast time – but the majority just want to enjoy a safe and supported ride in an unfamiliar area – our age range goes from 12 to 84 years old
- we – put great effort – around 2 x 12= hour days into marking the 68 mile route – so our riders take the prescribed route on the day – they move along the roads and lanes as well as through villages ect as quickly and safely as possible – should they become lost – they will clog up the roads – stray onto private property – as possibly onto dangerous roads – causing a danger to themselves and drivers alike
- everyone involved with our team pride themselves on our “leave no trace” policy – hence i personally spend around 14+ hours the monday after each event – removing all signage so it can be reused in the next event – and by the tuesday you would not know any event had taken place
- this season onwards every sign will have a sticker with our contact details on – so folk can let us know if they object to them or i miss any
- we do brief our riders to not drop / throw or leave any rubbish while on the ride – all rubbish from the feed station under the viaduct is bagged up and returned to lancaster where it is recycled if possible and the remainder goes into an industrial waste container
- we cannot however vouch for or control the actions of other riders in popular areas who are not part of our events
- we are local to the nw – we live in carnforth and dearly love the areas we operate our business in – lakes – dales – bowland – silverdale ect as we also ride on and off road – run – walk – climb and paddle in them as much as possible
- i also believe that far from “not giving anything back” – we are in fact showcasing these great areas to cycle to visitors from all over the uk – have a look at the “rider reviews” section on our website – as well as showcasing local places to stay and visit on the “associates” section – but actions by some locals can easily jeopardise this by spoiling our events and therefore visiting rider’s experiences of the area
- i think you mentioned riding in the milk race in years gone by – you would have enjoyed racing on closed roads – which we cannot do and would cause major upset to locals if we did – and enjoyed the events financial support from milk marketing board that made it possible – we are an independent business and have no sponsors at all – so have to charge entry fees to cover – marshals wages – refreshments – fuel use – medical and insurance cover ect – i used to watch the milk race go over crossleys bridge in blackpool as a boy, before the final climb up and over warbreck hill to the finish on middle walk on the prom
don t know if you still ride – but if you do you are welcome to a free place in this year’s dales event to come and see what we do first hand
this the final communication from me.
i wish to clarify a few issues for you which i will set out in point order as per you last email.
1) contrary to your imagination, we are not making any progress on any front.
2) traffic is not lighter on sundays in the dales. it is the busiest day of the week. simple research would have told you this.
3) they are all races. you know it and i know it to try and suggest anything else is misleading and mendacious. the clue is in the name; top dog.
4) i have not the slightest interest in your organisation methods.
5) no trace awareness is not a gift bestowed on the top dog racing promotion team, it is the responsibility of every one.
6) people are objecting to them. it not just me who removes your tatt. i’m the only one who has the guts to confront you.
7) the riders are clearly not listening to you. discarded crap can be found every where after these road races.
8) i don’t give a fig what you enjoy doing in carnforth or any where else. that is you business.
9) i am not interested in riders reviews. i am not interested in your excuses of “show casing” the area. i do not wish to live in a show cased goldfish bowl.
10) i am not spoiling your ‘events’. i am asking you to stop spoiling the environment with your insane signage.
11) you are upsetting the locals as it is. you don’t need any help from the milk marketing board.
12) a free entrance pass for me? i have no wish to join a gang of intellectually bankrupt nutters racing around on public roads try be top dog.
finally, i notice you have failed to answer my relevant questions yet again. i will take this an indication that you know only too well that your childish antics (fly posting) have not been sanctioned by either ccc highways or sldc.
you should therefore not be surprised when your illegal-unauthorized-irresponsible signage is removed when left at the side of the road in this area. i have tried my best to be clear and frank with you. i, and others in the community find your some of your activities irritating and unacceptable and we will remove all unauthorised signage you or your agents post at the road side in or around cowgill. i cannot be clearer.
will you now, as you promised, approach the police and make a complaint against me and a number of cowgill residents. i may be wise to mention to them your hired thug who threatens to damage vehicles in cowgill. if you don’t, i will.