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Saddle soar! Nearly 800 cyclists to take part in Macmillan Dorset Bike Ride this weekend

7:00am Friday 3rd July 2009 in


WATCH out for cyclists this Sunday as nearly 800 cyclists take to their bikes in the 2009 Macmillan Dorset Bike Ride. Broadstone will be a busy place for cyclists as riders from around the country arrive and depart throughout the day, but motorists are asked to be particularly vigilant as the riders cross the main roads: the A31, between Roundhouse roundabout and Red Post near Bere Regis, and the A350 between Lytchett Matravers and Spetisbury.

The 21st Macmillan Dorset Bike Ride will be officially started by Daily Echo Editor in Chief Neal Butterworth, who will then get on his bike and ride the 40 mile course supported by a team of cyclists from The Daily Echo.

Neal, who had not been on a bike for 35 years, said: “Not having ridden a bike for many years this is going to be something of a challenge but after training for the last three months I am now looking forward to joining with the hundreds of other cyclists on Sunday”

Former England cricket captain David Gower has also been in training on his new bike and will see the 15 milers off at 10am.

The Macmillan Dorset Bike Ride offers a choice of six different courses, including 15, 25 40, 50, 60 and even 100 miles.

Perhaps as a sign of the nation’s increasing fitness, this year’s event has seen a rise in the number of people signing up for the challenging 100 mile ride.

Broadstone’s big biking event gets underway at 8am in Tudor Road.

The public are invited to visit the Broadstone Youth Centre throughout the day to find out more about Macmillan and perhaps make a donation or sponsor a cyclist.

Poole’s Peter Carter is set for a first having taking part in all 21 rides during the event’s history.

The Dorset Bike Ride was started in 1989 by Peter Smith Nicholls, the year after he cycled from John O’Groats to Lands End following the death of his father from cancer.

The Dorset Bike Ride is Peter’s way of continuing the fund-raising he started on that End to End bike ride.

To read the editor’s entertaining blog, Neal’s on Wheels, visit bournemouth echo.co.uk/nealsonwheels

Comments(9)

Insurgent says...
9:03am Fri 3 Jul 09

800 speeding bikes on a Sunday? Are the organisers crazy? Road racing should be banned and kept to an airfield, this is not France! But hey, we've only had half a dozen people killed on Dorset roads so far this year so why not add a few push bike riders to the pot?

security word: sure-mass


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thesyrup1 says...
10:04am Fri 3 Jul 09

Insurgent wrote:
800 speeding bikes on a Sunday? Are the organisers crazy? Road racing should be banned and kept to an airfield, this is not France! But hey, we've only had half a dozen people killed on Dorset roads so far this year so why not add a few push bike riders to the pot? security word: sure-mass
It must be so sad to negative all the time. I say more power to them. Hope they all do well and raise lots of money for Macmillans, who do a tremendous job.

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Insurgent says...
10:27am Fri 3 Jul 09

I'm not being negative. Can you imagine the chaos? can you imagine what it'll be like being a driver of a large vehicle? Are you not a driver yourself? if nobody gets knocked off then it'll be a good thing. I could spend days explaining why but would be put down by the so called 'goody 2 shoe brigade'. I'm not allowed to race on the road so why the bloo-dy he-ll should they be allowed to just because it's for charity mate?

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MandinVerwood says...
10:40am Fri 3 Jul 09

Insurgent - do you think you own the roads??

Cyclists actually have more rights to them then us car drivers who actually own have licence to the roads. That is why we have to pay for a road fund licence and they don't.

Still I think it is a great thing and we should all get along - your approach that it is too dangerous for them to be on there is wrong and the only reason it could be deemed too dangerous is by bad drivers who don't have any respect or care for anyone else.

Following your logic - everything should be banned.


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Insurgent says...
10:54am Fri 3 Jul 09

No I don't 'own' the road but I pay enough to be on them and since when did push-bike riders have more rights than other road users? If they use the roads then they should be subject to the same stringent rules and regulations that I spend ££££s on every year. Perhaps those bike riders would like to pay £300 in Insurance before setting off just in case THEY hit someone?

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rook says...
12:53pm Fri 3 Jul 09

Does the route include the promenade in Bournemouth? It could be combined with the "Bournemouth Council It's a Knockout" where council employees try to knock speeding cyclists off their bikes.

Calm down, just joking! Good Luck to everyone taking part.

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MandinVerwood says...
1:23pm Fri 3 Jul 09

Push Bikes, Horse riders & Pedestrians have a natural right to the road and has long been so thanks to British law. Cars actually don't have a natural right to be on them and may only do so by means of a licence and other conditions like having road fund licence, insurance a car road worthy and MOTed.

It's like when people say I pay my road tax which means I pay for the roads - actually there is no such thing - you are actually contributing to central government who then use the money for what ever they like. The local roads are paid for by local government which comes from council tax and the like.

Did you know that 1 in 10 of car drivers on the UK roads are not insured - but less than 2% of journeys are made by bike. I make that there are many more people on the roads right now in uninsured cars than on uninsured bikes. A lot of cyclists are actually covered by household or even specialist insurance too.

Next - someone is going to tell me that they will all ride on the pavement and jump red lights too.

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godzillareturns says...
2:05pm Fri 3 Jul 09

Going away from the subject a tad here!! the main purpose of the bike ride is for the MACMILLAN CHARITY this is not the place to be arguing about who's right it is to eb on the road,I am sure this is a well organised event as it has been going on for some years. Lets keep the dispute re bikes and cars and walkers to the other articles.

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cyco44 says...
2:51pm Fri 3 Jul 09

This is not a road race. This is a safe well organised event on mainly quiet rural roads. The main bulk of the riders are not club cyclists at all, there are people of all shapes and sizes and levels of fitness. All of them are doing this for one purpose, to raise much needed funding for Macmillan cancer care. The vast majority have either lost loved ones or have suffered themselves with cancer. To make insinuations that a few cyclists should be "added to the pot" of road death statistics, when in all likelyhood, the money they raise wiil help you or someone close to you in the future, is a terrible thing to say.

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