A long-running annual cycling challenge is to leave Aberdeenshire as participants have ended up injured trying to navigate pothole-riddled roads.
Ride the North will hop the River North Esk into neighbouring Angus for 2024’s event.
Director Neil Innes hopes 2,000 cyclists will roll through the Glens next year, and take in minor roads around Forfar, Kirriemuir, Edzell and Brechin instead.
He’s leaving behind the gravelly, potholed Aberdeenshire roads he fears will leave more participants leaving in an ambulance.
Ride the North gets hundreds on their bikes every year
Since the first Ride the North in 2011, participants have raised more than £2.2 million.
More than 1,400 people took to roads through Huntly, Kennethmont, Rhynie and Rothiemay this year.
They came from around Scotland, the UK and even as far away as Germany, The Netherlands, Slovenia and the USA.
But Aberdeenshire will miss out on the tourism boost in 2024 – and there’s no certainty Neil will ever bring it back.
He tells The P&J: “I would still like to run an event in the north-east, as it’s my home and I am passionate about it.
“But that would need someone to address the concerns which have led to this decision.
“And it does not seem that will happen. I feel cut off.”
The wheels fell off: A frustrating breakdown in communication
As Ride the North grew, so too did Neil’s ambition.
He had hoped to collaborate on a far grander cycling event with Aberdeenshire Council – but the relationship broke down as it became apparent the local authority wanted to go it alone.
Bosses went out to the market, exploring organising their own sportive – though it never happened in June as had been looked at.
Now Neil waits months to hear back from “minimally engaged” officials.
He finally made the decision to migrate to Angus at the start of the month as the silence continued.
He adds: “For the 2023 event, I stripped my aspiration back to cooperation. But we didn’t even achieve that.
“There was virtually no communication and I found it impossible to do my job professionally to my own satisfaction.”
Skitey Aberdeenshire roads have left Ride the North cyclists in hospital
Aside from the communication breakdown, Neil faced a fight to get the roads up to scratch for the event – a bike ride that encouraged cyclists from afar to slow down and take in the Aberdeenshire countryside.
But, what the peloton found were “dangerous” roads the council would not acknowledge.
There was a 999 call in 2019 out on Donside, caused by issues with the road surface.
After a two-year Covid-caused break, there was another – resulting in broken bones – on a slippy surface near Newmill near Keith as Ride the North dallied with Moray.
Back in Aberdeenshire, the roads Neil wanted to use in 2023 were worse than those that had caused the accidents.
He raged at surfaces between Aberchirder and Knock.
Some of it was so bad, he was forced to alter the route away from quieter roads in places, in the direction of more traffic.
Neil adds: “I have red lines on road safety that I have failed to persuade the council on.
“Both falls were caused defects that were known and not addressed.
“I decided I needed to be stronger, to convince local authorities in the logic of sweeping the roads in the dangerous parts.
“I don’t expect perfection but it was impossible to class the 2023 roads as ‘low risk’.
“I was stronger but failed again in 2023. Thankfully there were no serious injuries this time.”
Ride the North organiser took law into own hands… sweeping most ‘dangerous’ Aberdeenshire roads
Neil urged police and Aberdeenshire Council to review the condition of the treacherous roads.
The local authority’s probe into itself maintained the skittery surfaces were “low risk”.
Neil even offered to have the problematic gravel patches swept himself. But the council told him he’d be breaking the law.
He’s since admitted his “guilt”, even posting video evidence of the nefarious sweeping on Youtube.
The Ride the North organiser believes it comes down to a lack of thought for how cracks and smaller potholes can impact a bike wheel, far narrower than those on a car.
It’s an issue national lobbying body Cycling UK has raised, claiming since 2017 one person every week has been killed or seriously hurt due to crumbling British roads.
Maintenance a long and winding road for Aberdeenshire Council
Aberdeenshire Council is responsible for maintaining more than 3,500 miles of road.
Work is prioritised by risk, with roads chiefs “carefully assessing” the defects across the network, including the 2023 Ride the North route.
Roads and infrastructure head, Philip McKay, tells The P&J: “Ride the North has become a popular cycling event which not only attracts local riders but also those from further afield which has helped to put Aberdeenshire on the active travel and sporting maps.
“As with any proposed event on the roads network, we work with organisers to ensure activities can be delivered safely.
“We have liaised with organisers of Ride the North in recent years, looking at various aspects ranging from appropriate signage to the preparation and sweeping of roads ahead of the event.
“While it is the case that there are defects on our network, it is also the case that Aberdeenshire’s roads are routinely placed in the top two or three in the annual independent Scottish Road Maintenance Condition Survey.”
He indicates the local authority would be “happy” to continue talks on Ride the North making a return to Aberdeenshire.
Past Aberdeenshire ambition has Ride the North organiser ‘weeping’
“I look back at talk about the potential of Aberdeenshire cycling tourism at the time of the Tour of Britain and weep,” Neil admits.
The nationwide race finished in Aberdeen after leaving Stonehaven via the Cairn O’Mount in 2021.
It made its grand depart from the Granite City the following year, ending with a climb up to Glenshee Ski Centre.
Then Aberdeenshire Council leader Mark Findlater told us: “I feel sure that the legacy we created here is one which will see cyclist flock to our part of Scotland for years to come.
“This will cement the reputation we continue to attract as a cycling destination.”
Aberdeenshire’s loss is Angus’ gain as cyclist event departs
But now Angus is one garnering attention.
Ride the North will make it the second year in a row that a major cycling event is held in the region.
The UCI World Championships, based in Glasgow, travelled there in August for the time trials.
And Angus Council’s tourism and active travel spokeswoman Serena Cowdy is “delighted” Ride the North is following too.
Booking opens on January 11 on the Ride the North website.
“The event would have come to Angus before now, as it is one of Scotland’s best areas for cycling and its heritage as Scotland’s birthplace adds new and exciting sites for next year’s route,” Neil adds.
“It is a shame that my aspirations and those of Aberdeenshire Council don’t quite match.
“But I don’t have a feud with anyone and I still hope I can return to the north-east in the future if my concerns are addressed.”
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