Thursday 19 September 2019

The World Championships

The World Cycling Chanpionships are coming to North Yorkshire at the end of this month - coming in fact past the end of my road - it will be closed for one hour as they pass on 26th September and the centre of our little town will be closed for one hour on the 29th as they pass going the other way or something.  So far there is not much information other than (very large) yellow signs at intervals - many intervals - along the roadsides telling us this vital piece of information.   No, I shall not be going to the end of the road to see them pass - they will be gone in a flash.   Then, if my guess is correct,  all the large, yellow, metal signs will be there for a while before they are collected up.   If they are efficiently collected straight after the two races pass through I will report it here.   And, as a matter of interest, the lettering on the signs appears to be permanent so presumably it can't be peeled off and the signs used for anything else, which prompts the question who is paying for them all?

I read that it is expected that the event will generate huge income for the area over the few days they are here.   I do remember a similar even when local eating houses expected large crowds but everyone was far too eager to follow the cyclists to hang about eating - so that is also open to question. 

Alright, tell me I am a miserable old git - it may well be true but I do know that often, when we have events like this in the town, our shop keepers and cafe owners suffer as everyone stays out of town.   And really I suspect it is hard enough for them to make a living without things like this. 

I hope I am completely wrong and that all our pubs, cafes and businesses benefit greatly from the week-end - in which case I will eat my words.

25 comments:

Terra said...

I hope the local shops and restaurants benefit from all the cycling enthusiasts. About 5 years ago a national race went past my house so I took photos and found it exciting to watch. I cheered along the racers, including the slower ones at the end.

Rachel Phillips said...

Nothing like looking on the bright side hey Weave!

Gwil W said...

I'm sure you will eat your words Pat.

Jennyff said...

I’m a devoted fan of cycling, Tour de France and Giro spectator, so I am disappointed not be be supporting the World championships in my home county. I know the Yorkshire grand depart was fantastic showcasing our region to the world and bringing thousands of visitors so I did a Google search.. Here’s a quote from Georg Spazier, Innsbruck 2018 chief exec regarding last year’s UCI event
"In total the regional economy received additional expenditures generated by the Road World Championships and provided a €39.8m boost to the economy of Innsbruck and the surrounding region.” Good luck Yorkshire, it will be amazing and I feel so proud.

Heather said...

I hope at least some enthusiasts will help to swell the coffers of local establishments, but I can understand that disinterested locals would stay away until it was all over.
Sad that you won't be by the side of the road with your camera to capture the moment for us!!

JayCee said...

Friends of ours are very keen cycling fans and regularly travel to watch such events, all over the UK and Europe. I am sure they must spend quite a few pennies here and there so hopefully Yorkshire will benefit from this event.

gz said...

The local economy will gain....we tried to book a accomodation....all full!!
Hope it all goes well...the weather looks set fine, unlike the mens' and womens' Tours of Britain. The mens' tour went through a village near here...the village committee ran a pop-up cafe to raise funds for the village...a win all ways!

Helen-at-Horsehouse said...

Hard to forget the Tour de France when eateries were warned to expect crowds and then the roads were closed so early that no-one could get there. Lets hope that lessons were learned!

Derek Faulkner said...

I think you've got it dead right Pat, just another excuse for lycra clad men to clog up the roads and for people, who can't park anywhere near your town, to clear off home after the event.

Sue said...

I would love to watch them go through.

Debbie said...

Pat -Thank you so much for posting this. We are staying in the area next weekend right in the middle of all the various race routes and had no idea the event was even taking place. We had planned to do various things in Harrogate but that is well off limits - but thanks to you we can make other plans.

With respect to the effects of events, we used to live in the East End of London right in the middle of the marathon route - it passed us both ways on to the Isle of Dogs. Basically we were physically trapped all day unless we got up and out early. My lasting memory was being in Canary Wharf one Sunday evening as they were cleaning up. There were literally mountains after mountains of plastic water bottles discarded by competitors and spectators alike. It made me wonder about the carbon footprints of these events - waste, use of fossil fuels to get everybody there; international travel. Industry gets a bad rap (quite rightly) but we never really question sporting or leisure pursuits do we?

Rachel Phillips said...

It gets questioned a lot after Glastonbury.

Carruthers said...

You can't just measure the economic effect of an event like this by money spent on the day. People come to the area to watch and then come back again when they fancy a day out or a weekend away.

And you can't just measure the effect of such an event economically. People enjoy watching it (and it spurs them on to getting out and keeping fit). I would suggest that one of the several purposes of economic activity to make fun available to people.

I think one has to try to go with the flow when these things happen.

Simon Douglas Thompson said...

I hope it's an exciting race, as a huge cycling fan and regular cyclist. And there will be benefits

Su said...

The Tour of Britain came through my town last week, this necessitated signs being put on EVERY lamppost, several old bikes being spray painted gaudy colours and planted with flowers ( apparently to spur the riders on) the roads to be miraculously swept, some very lacklustre bedding displays to appear and every accompanying emergency vehicle to put its sirens on! It was a farce of the highest order.

Joanne Noragon said...

No, you are not a miserable old git, for that is exactly how it works. The miserable old gits are those who tell the locals there will be benefits for all the bad behavior they will put up with. There won't be.

marlane said...

We had them come through near us and went to watch then were gone in a flash, but it was exiting. Possibly those who are standing around in you town/ village will look around and think how about some refreshment or a souvenir.

Cro Magnon said...

Any benefit to local traders will probably be the day before the event. If it's on TV, watch it at home. Outside it would all be very fleeting!

Alphie Soup said...

You a miserable old git, Weaver Pat? Never! You're just taking a different view point to those people who enjoy cycling and cycling events.
Alphie

thelma said...

I get miserable about cyclists as well, but I'm sure it is a lot of fun. You have to admit what with WW1 shows and old vintage tractors not to forget steam engines. Then there was vintage motorbikes and sports cars the other day, the roads do get a tad clogged. Welcome to Yorkshire the playground of the North.

the veg artist said...

We've just had an Ironman weekend in West Wales - fun to watch, the B&Bs and campsite will have been full, but many locals will have stayed off the roads, unable to do their shopping as normal because of clogged car parks. We have to plan around things like this.
There was a letter to our local paper the other day saying "We are full!". Our coastal roads were so badly clogged in places that local people could not get home, and emergency vehicles would not have been able to get through. These are single lane roads with cliff and sea immediately on one side, rocky inclines on the other - no handy gateways or flat fields to nip into here, just the odd passing place which some people think are handy to park in! There is a limit to how much tourism an area can cope with - and, in places, we reached it this year.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Such interesting and varied comments - more or less what I expected. I do hope they have good weather and I can't deny that when we had one section of the Tour de France - or something like that - through a few years ago it certainly put us on the map and made a huge difference to the number of cyclists using our roads and facilities afterwards. Yes - I am absolutely sure there are benefits - but I do know that the actual cafes and shops do not benefit 'on the day'. It has been interesting to 'test the water' on you all - and thanks for responding.

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