Perhaps the riders could have been more sensitive to the situation
but similarly there are many people that are over obsessed with the
idea there is some sort of difference between walking and riding
slowly.

Come on! the cyclists were bloody disrespectful. There's no other
way to paint it.

It the road was closed to through traffic, the correct thing to do
was to wait until the end of the ceremony or find another way round.

They did not do that but people want to make an issue out of them not
getting off to walk.

I have driven through a ceremony where they obviously didn't get
permission to close the road. Should I and all the other drivers
going through have got out and pushed?

You're attitude stinks. I would have immediately dismounted and so
would any other members of my family.
It's cyclists like you that give decent cyclists a bad name.

You know absolutely nothing about me. I do not give cyclists a bad name.

If you want to be constructive try suggesting why a person should walk a
bicycle where someone else can drive a car.

In the situation we are talking about, the word is *respect*.
BTW, the road was closed.