New Month Old Post: first posted 28th April 2017. This event no longer runs, but here is what I wrote about it in 2017.
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In the early nineteen-sixties, I remember going along to Boothferry Bridge to watch The Milk Race pass by – a national cycling event also known as the Tour of Britain, sponsored by the now defunct Milk Marketing Board. Some blokes on racing bikes flashed past amidst the everyday traffic and it was all over in less than a minute. It wasn’t worth the bother. Cycling must be the sport with the biggest disconnect between doing (riding a bike is fun) and watching (tedious). I’ve never been to a cycling event since.
So it’s irritating to find the Tour de Yorkshire imposed on us this weekend, with roads closed most of the day bringing maximum disruption to our activities, just to see people on bicycles for a couple of minutes. I’m keeping well away.
And they call it “le Tour de Yorkshire”. What pretentious twaddle! Et le moins dit à propos de la côte de Silsden et de la côte de Wigtwizzle, mieux c'est.*
Surely, if it’s in Yorkshire, shouldn’t it be called t’baiyk race roun’ t ‘roo-ads?
[* The less said about “côte de Silsden” and “côte de
Wigtwizzle” the better.]
I am well on the road to being a grumpy old man and I would have said exactly the same.
ReplyDeleteI've been a grumpy old man since I was young. It's not so much the cycling as the artificial French stuff that irritated me most.
DeleteYou should live over here...
ReplyDeleteSeveral notable cycling events are scheduled for the Isle of Man in 2025, including the Isle of Man Youth Tour, Gran Fondo Isle of Man, and Isle of Man Lighthouses Challenge. The Isle of Man Youth Tour, a prestigious event for young cyclists, in early May. Gran Fondo Isle of Man, a competitive gran fondo event, is set for July 19-20. The Isle of Man Lighthouses Challenge, a sportive, is scheduled for July 6-7. Additionally, the Isle of Man Cycle Challenge, with 100km and 100-mile options, in April 25-27.
Nightmare, but at least on the island spectators have to pay for things. With this, they drove in from plated like Lancashire, blocked up the roads, then went off without spending a penny.
DeleteGrit your teeth - it will soon be over . . . in the blink of an eye, you might say! 😀
ReplyDeleteThe roads were closed most of the day!
DeleteYes, that moment when the cyclists go by is over in a flash, but it IS exciting to see how FAST they're going!
ReplyDeleteReally! Bored people looking for things to occupy their minds. Why don't they grow vegetables or do something creative, rather than watch a passive spectator sport.
DeleteEe by gum lad. Ah've bin t' boath Silsden an' Wigtwizzle an' boath R nice Tyke places tha nose.
ReplyDeleteAs for cycling as a spectator sport - I am with you all the way. I saw Le Tour de France flash by at High Bradfield a few years ago - a waste of a nice afternoon - especially with all the commercial razzmatazz.
Better to keep well away and go for a nice walk. Why does everyone want to be entertained now? We used to just sit on a wall.
DeleteThroughout Goole, you were known as Humpty Dumpty.
DeleteHumpty Grumpty?
DeleteUnless I really am in the mood, and everything else fits (company, drinks, food, time, relevance), I find watching ALL sports tedious, no matter what. My Mum used to be a huge Tour de France fan, and once she went to watch from a spot along the road near the French border with my Dad, when they were both in their late middle age and rather fit. She loved it and even bought a cap with the Tour's logo on it, but even she had to admit that the cyclists were whizzing past so fast that it was all over in a flash, and had it not been easy to get there, it would not have been worth the bother.
ReplyDeleteSomehow she stopped taking an interest years ago, probably because she was too busy looking after my Dad and couldn't really settle in front of the TV long enough to watch it properly while he was still up.
In the summer of "Le Tour de Yorkshire", one of my aunts in gave me and my sister teatowels as a little welcome-to-Yorkshire gift, printed with the tour's route and the names and illustrations of the places it went through, including Ripon. I still have those towels and use them in my kitchen regularly, simply because I like the sketches representing the various towns and places around Yorkshire.
having the towels without having to watch sounds a good compromise. I generally agree about watching sports. Some are OK, but many seem to be overly commercial now, looking for ways to extract money from spectators.
DeleteWhat is annoying is having roads closed all day for a two second event.
ReplyDeleteIt's the same everywhere - too many tourists.
DeleteLove your name for it 😆
ReplyDeleteMuch more realistic than the fake French.
DeleteMy husband likes car racing. Watching it. Noisy as hell. Dusty. And you just sit there watching cars going round and around. I hate it. I tried to go for his sake. Nope...no...not doing it ever again. Bike racing sounds every bit as exciting. I will go watch paint dry, thanks.
ReplyDeleteI think it comes down to how much you can feel involved. Football yes. Bicycle racing no.
DeleteReminds me of when we were in France on a camping holiday. We got to this town and were looking for the campsite. Wondered why there were so many crowds lining the roads as we drove along. We suddenly got stopped by gendarmes who told us the Tour de France was coming along at any minute and would we please get out of the way!! You didn't see us for dust!
ReplyDeleteInteresting isn't it, that in the 1960s there were no special provisions for the Milk Race. It had to dodge the traffic. And there were very few spectators.
Deletecote de buttertubs ..... i remember the milk race too..... and i worked in a pub that had the more recent tour de rance passing by.... lot of fuss about nowt..... i do like watching le tour on t'telly though, they pass through some nice gaffs
ReplyDelete