terrorism and cycle touring

MrsHJ · Post by **MrsHJ** » 23 Jul 2016, 12:51pm

TBH I'd check the road accidents rate far more carefully than anything else. That's how you're most likely to get injured in a cycling holiday and yet everyone seems to accept that risk.

I was caught up in a bombing during the Sri Lankan civil war a few years ago. Fortunately we were far enough away to hear and see (there was lots of small arms fire to try to stop what was a kit plane loaded with explosives heading for the HQ of the Air Force- in fact they shot it down to kand on the tax office and a big hotel nearby) but not to feel it. Hardly reported in the papers so a lot of this is perception - if you've heard of bomb attacks or shootings IS and co are doing a great publicity job and scaring people despite the fact the risk is still low. Your risk was far higher in the UK probably during the last 40 years due to IRA attaches or so than it would have been in France or Germany.

matt2matt2002 · Post by **matt2matt2002** » 23 Jul 2016, 2:18pm

Quite agree with previous posts.
However.....
I'm sitting in Sri Lanka, due to fly back to UK with Turkish Airlines via Istanbul in 2 days.
Perhaps it wasn't terrorism but the country had a wee hiccup last week and now under a state of emergency.
Flights ok. At the moment.

I look upon it as part of the experience.
How else can one live life?

robing · Post by **robing** » 26 Jul 2016, 9:38pm

I accept that the risk of a RTA is much higher than terrorism to a cycle tourist. But the recent spate of terror attacks in France and Germany including the latest one today in Rouen is making me nervous. At least (most!) drivers aren't out to kill you, but the terrorists are. I'm supposed to be doing a French End to End or 'diagonale' in just over a month but I'm having second thoughts. I was planning to cycle through Rouen. It seems like they are waging war on Europe and it's not a question of if but when and where they are going to attack next.

PhilWhitehurst · Post by **PhilWhitehurst** » 26 Jul 2016, 9:41pm

The odds are so low it's not even worth worrying about.

Sweep · Post by **Sweep** » 26 Jul 2016, 9:51pm

robing wrote:. It seems like they are waging war on Europe and it's not a question of if but when and where they are going to attack next.

Agree totally with this but of course this means that nowhere outside your front door is safe. And apart from some obviously unwise tourist destinations (syria anyone?) It hardly matters whether you are 1km or 500km from said door. So you may as well wander at will. A certain sort of trump american always amuses me - the vast majority of their gun killers are pure apple pie fellow americans. Ride carefully folks. But live.

hamster · Post by **hamster** » 27 Jul 2016, 8:22am

robing wrote:I accept that the risk of a RTA is much higher than terrorism to a cycle tourist. But the recent spate of terror attacks in France and Germany including the latest one today in Rouen is making me nervous. At least (most!) drivers aren't out to kill you, but the terrorists are. I'm supposed to be doing a French End to End or 'diagonale' in just over a month but I'm having second thoughts. I was planning to cycle through Rouen. It seems like they are waging war on Europe and it's not a question of if but when and where they are going to attack next.

So you are worried more about a 1 in 60 million risk compared to a 1 in 100,000? Puzzling...

Post by **Vorpal** » 27 Jul 2016, 8:30am

robing wrote:I accept that the risk of a RTA is much higher than terrorism to a cycle tourist. But the recent spate of terror attacks in France and Germany including the latest one today in Rouen is making me nervous. At least (most!) drivers aren't out to kill you, but the terrorists are. I'm supposed to be doing a French End to End or 'diagonale' in just over a month but I'm having second thoughts. I was planning to cycle through Rouen. It seems like they are waging war on Europe and it's not a question of if but when and where they are going to attack next.

I don't personally think it's worth worrying about. There are many things that are statistically more likely to kill you.

But if it really bothers you, just avoid crowded places. Don't go to centres at peak times, avoid historic sites during celebrations and special events, etc.

There is no advantage to a terrorist attacking somewhere when there's no one about.

hamster · Post by **hamster** » 27 Jul 2016, 12:36pm

I'd suggest that if you really want to be safe, worry more about stairs and choking...
http://www.riskcomm.com/visualaids/risk ... ources.php

robing · Post by **robing** » 27 Jul 2016, 2:17pm

The latest killing of the priest near Rouen wasn't a busy or crowded place. I know the roads are more dangerous. But I can take steps to reduce the risk and like to think I can avoid anything ahead of me on the road. The terrorism thing is so random and indiscriminate. No-one knows when and where they will strike next. The situation in France just seems out of control and the authorities seem powerless.

At the very least there's likely to be significant travel delays like we have recently seen at Dover.

hamster · Post by **hamster** » 27 Jul 2016, 2:54pm

Honestly, stop worrying.

Assuming one person is killed randomly in France by terrorists every day, that's a 1 in 62 million chance of it being you on any day.

If you seriously make this a consideration, I hope that you buy lottery tickets as you have a 1 in 15 million chance of winning. Alternatively, worry about being killed by lightning (around 1 in 14 million) - so that is 4x more likely than being killed by terrorists.

You also only have the illusion of being able to prevent road accidents. The drunk driver speeding the wrong side of a blind corner is nothing you can control.

Many people tired to mitigate the risk of flying in the US after 9/11; it led to a 3000 death spike the following year on US roads. Go figure.

r e l a x

robing · Post by **robing** » 28 Jul 2016, 1:53pm

I don't want to give in to terrorists, that's what they want. There's likely to be major travel disruption like we've seen in Dover already.

al_yrpal · Post by **al_yrpal** » 28 Jul 2016, 2:22pm

At festival and gig venues now most promoters are excluding terrorist risk insurance so artists are having to get their own to cover it.

Al

robing · Post by **robing** » 6 Aug 2016, 10:02am

I'm going to go to France, silly not to really. The weather should still be good in September plus the crowds should have gone.

ossie · Post by **ossie** » 6 Aug 2016, 8:27pm

robing wrote:I'm going to go to France, silly not to really. The weather should still be good in September plus the crowds should have gone.

I did Eurovelo 6 through France last September and it was appalling ..however they had a hot summer which I missed.

Off again for a month from Cherbourg to EV6 down to Lyon, the Med and a loop back..and yep the weather and route is much more a consideration than terrorism.

MrsHJ · Post by **MrsHJ** » 7 Aug 2016, 4:28pm

ossie wrote:
robing wrote:I'm going to go to France, silly not to really. The weather should still be good in September plus the crowds should have gone.

I did Eurovelo 6 through France last September and it was appalling ..however they had a hot summer which I missed.

Off again for a month from Cherbourg to EV6 down to Lyon, the Med and a loop back..and yep the weather and route is much more a consideration than terrorism.

How was EV6 appalling? Busy?

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