Crap Sky Ride Circuit

[GrasB]

So according to bikehike & ridewithgps a shade over 10m climbing per km & gradients over 10% at spots. That's not what I call novice friendly & some of those roads look a touch narrow for a lot of riders with little to no experience of riding in a large group.

 

[Biglad82]

I have to say, that route is rubbish, but not for the same reasons as the op. Most of the roads ( with the exception of calthorpe rd) are quite narrow, so once they have the contraflow going it's going to be very difficult with hundreds of cyclist going up and down. I expect it will crawl to a near standstill in parts. The route last yr was really good (apart from one bit through the market) as the pershore rd is nice a broad and made the whole thing very spacious. I expect they got a lot of flak from various 'motoring' groups about that closure, so have gone for a much smaller route, which is a real shame as this is the only event in Birmingham using closed roads for kids to cycle on.

I did last yr's event with my two boys in a trailer, but will miss this as I'm doing a sportive in France.....hmm after today, maybe I should sport some Wiggo inspired 'burns' to annoy the locals .

EDIT : according to bikehike each lap is 6.44miles long (not the 6.6km the map states) and total ascent is 345 feet.

"Wiggo burns" now theres an idea for next week!

 

[Biglad82]

Who's up for it then ? Pic on bike with wiggo burns ?

 

[Chris S]

I've just seen the official map - they're going to funnel a road full of cyclists down a narrow canal towpath - I didn't think it could get any worse!

 

[Rob3rt]

Are any of the Skyride routes actually any good? (Please only comment on the routes, not whether skyride is a good thing or not)

The Manchester one is sh*te too. Not for any "technical" reasons, but because it is largely based in the least scenic area of the city, the road surface is bad (they dig it up and re-lay it on a yearly basis because of the buses and heavy volume of traffic tearing it to shreds and the winter ruins the road surface yearly, and also because of the major water works going on in the city, being carried out in stages) and its pretty much a grimey commuter alleyway into and out of the city centre. I have never done it on the day, BUT my appartment looks out onto a long stretch of the road it follows and I have cycled a large proportion of the roads many times getting in and out of the city.

There are much nicer places they could choose, possibly even one of the larger park's in the Greater Manchester area. But then again maybe the number of people poses a problem in other locations? Plus parking and public transport access is needed for those who cant cycle all the way into the city and do the ride?

 

[fossyant]

The Manchester one is pretty grim, certainly past the railway up towards the Velodrome, but you've not really got any better route if the ride goes out that way, which it should being the National Cycling Centre. That part of town is a dump, but you can't do much about that.

The roads are terrible, hence I pootle along on my MTB with the Family. The Castlefield area is better, and through the centre though.

 

[pepecat]

It's a terrible route.
I've done the last two skyrides here, and the route along the pershore road and into the city centre has been brilliant. Seems like they're trying to hide cyclists from the rest of the city.
The old route went past the cricket ground into the city centre through the wholesale market and chinatown so took in some familiar landmarks. This new route (apart from starting and finishing at the uni) doesn't do that at all. Even the loop at the top end is a housing estate.
Fun......
Doing it sunday anyway, so we'll see.....

 

[Muddyfox]

I'm sure there's a job waiting for you at the HSE. In the real world though, kids bikes have brakes - and if kids do not know how to use them, then they should not be on the ride anyway.

black'n'yellow Must be one of Noodleys cock wombles

 

[Cheshire Celt]

I am doing the sky ride over in Macclesfield tomorrow any other cc going to be there

 

[Chris S]

I've just been around the Birmingham circuit, they couldn't have chosen a worse course for beginners if they tried. Just about evey part of it was hilly and there were constant streams of people pushing bikes uphill. The course was also littered with traffic calming measures, anybody with skinny wheels would have probably buckled them.

 

[black'n'yellow]

black'n'yellow Must be one of Noodleys cock wombles

I don't even know what that is - but anyway, which bit of my post about kids being safe on the road did you disagree with...??

 

[Cheshire Celt]

Well I went went on the Macclesfield sky ride today it was spoiled by people unable to cycle the course having to stop ever time we hit A hill . first 20 miles where ok after that it was a pain having to wait at every junction . But it's another 33 miles in the bank it was advertised as a strong ride

 

[pepecat]

I've just been around the Birmingham circuit, they couldn't have chosen a worse course for beginners if they tried. Just about evey part of it was hilly and there were constant streams of people pushing bikes uphill. The course was also littered with traffic calming measures, anybody with skinny wheels would have probably buckled them.

Yup, it was rubbish. Far too narrow in places, too hilly for beginners - we're not meant to be putting people off cycling - and as you say, traffic calming measures all over the place.
I know a couple of people who've emailed skyride or the city council to complain about the route - I'm going to email the council to ask why the route was so bad. Skyrides are meant to be fun, and I heard a lot of kids complaining!!

 

[Chris S]

Somebody on another forum averaged 10mph around the course but hit 28mph going down one particular hill. It was definitely unsuitable for young children.

Another forum member saw somebody falling off their bike because of the gradient. On his next lap he saw them being taken away in an ambulance. Hopefully Sky will learn from this.

 

[robgul]

As soon as they published the Brum route it was obviously going to be poor and dangerous .. last year going through the markets wasn't exactly great but at least the rest of it worked and was fairly safe.

Looks like another "we've ticked the box" project from Brum City Council. So that's all good then!

Rob
PS : I was not there this time - I was at Blenheim, as a spectator, which was interesting ... and having seen the entry cost, numbers of riders etc must have made a MASSIVE amount for the Blenheim Estate - but not a lot for the charity involved.