Overly-competitive cyclists criticised for leaving "piles of excrement" on village green

Cyclists desperate to achieve the fastest possible time refused to queue for toilets and used a village green instead. That is the claim being made by campaigners in the New Forest in Hampshire following the latest mass cycling event to be held in the area. The New Forest 100 Sportive route included Godshill, where villagers agreed to let cyclists use the village hall as a refreshment stop.

But one councillor has claimed “piles of excrement” were found by litter wardens along the route while another described the cyclists as “Lycra louts” Parish councillor Ann Cakebread said: “The organisers always emphasise that these events are not races, but the riders are timed to 100th of a second. Although they’re listed in alphabetical order, you only have to push a few buttons to see who has ‘won’.



“Our village hall only has two male and two female toilets. The longer cyclists stop the worse their time is, so rather than queue to use the toilets they used the village green instead. Our litter warden found piles of excrement with toilet paper on top.” District councillor Ann Sevier, said: “Cyclists are behaving like Lycra louts.

“There have been a lot of incidents, including cyclists riding in front of vehicles, banging on cars and indulging in a lot of swearing and cursing. They seem to think they own the road – but the New Forest is a shared space.” Cllr Sevier confirmed that roadside areas in Godshill area had been used as toilets. “Defecating at the side of the road is totally unacceptable,” she said. “If it happened in a town there would be a big outcry.”