I often walk the paths around Glyncorrwg as I live locally. Occasionally (actually very rarely) I find myself in places I shouldn’t be – like on a bike trail, even though I have not passed a cycle gate or sign restricting access.

On April 6 in early afternoon I eventually found myself on a track which I soon realised was a bike trail. I could either backtrack or walk down a steep incline to a footpath visible at the bottom (about 1 min walk). Unfortunately as I was descending four bikers appeared at the top. We saw each other so I got well out of the way to let them pass.
At the bottom the four were waiting for me – but I was given little chance to explain myself or apologise, I was just subjected to a torrent of shouting and violent abuse. As I tried to walk away I was spat at, pushed and threatened. This is no way to behave to walkers – even if they are in the wrong place they deserve a chance to explain themselves.

My message here is ‘give peace a chance’. In such situations abuse and assault of walkers should not be your first recourse (or second).

I suppose I’m listing this hoping that the riders in question will see it and consider their actions.
Also writing and sharing it is therapeutic for me, as it was pretty shocking after years of only meeting perfectly reasonable bikers.

You were actually assaulted. i think I’d be passing details to the Police

Nice. Doing us loads of favours…

Most people are perfectly reasonable
Some people are ****.
A few of those **** also own bikes.

Hope you are ok.

This is no way to behave to walkers

Report it. Even more so if you have any details/identifying features.

agree report it, disgusting behavior by the sound of it

It’s a shame your first post on here has to be about such a negative action. You are quite correct, there’s no excuse for it. It is though somewhat heartening that this is the first episode in many years of interacting with MTBers. Like all walks of life most people are spot on, but it’s the few **** who get remembered, and potentially show the whole demographic in a bad light.

I’d report it.

Get on strava, I’d bet that you can even find their names.

I’ve linked this to the Mtb Ranger who takes things like this very seriously.

Would have been better if you had wandered a little further off and videoed them to get facial shots.
Then reported the shites. No excuse for behaving like that at all

Also writing and sharing it is therapeutic for me, as it was pretty shocking after years of only meeting perfectly reasonable bikers.

Hope it helps and definitely hope this was a one-off. Sadly there are tossers in all walks of life. Some of them appear to ride bicycles 🙁

What a horrid way to be treated. There is no excuse or reasoning, as you point out.
Sadly, there are some idiots in all walks of life.

As I tried to walk away I was spat at, pushed and threatened

As morecash and others have said, they’d face prosecution for assault or public order offences if identified by the police (writing as an mtber and a copper).

And respect for such a reasonably-worded post – I’d have expected a fairly justified tirade of angry abuse to be more cathartic.

Hopefully future encounters will be more pleasant and give you a more balanced picture of MTBers as a group (placid but garishly dressed, middle aged audi-driving IT workers, mostly 🙂 ).

Strava has made this worse, starting to lose count of the run ins I’ve had with other riders because they’re upset about you getting in the way and ruining their time.

This is reprehensible and there is no excuse for their behaviour; I’m sorry that you were subjected to this. Please report it as people have said. It’s a sad fact that there are people like this in society & that some of them ride bikes too. We love that we get to ride in your hills & you should carry on walking & not let this spoil your enjoyment.

Strava has made this worse, starting to lose count of the run ins I’ve had with other riders because they’re upset about you getting in the way and ruining their time.

Always surprised when people make this comment- never yet had a “run in” with someone on a strava run. Speaking as a bimbler.

Sadly this is becoming more frequent.Friend of mind does a lot of walking and is often shouted at coming on the right by bikers who don’t slow down either, its a bridleway not a XC race.

i have nothing to add,am sorry to hear about your run in with some idiots.

i hope they get a visit from a pc for their abusive actions.

just saying, but you must have got reasonably close to them to be pushed and spat at. Generally two sides to a story. I have had the occassional run in with a walker who has decided to give me an ear full, to which my response is to wish them a happy life and ride off before anyone gets within pushing distance.

But, if you were polite and the altercation is as you say, yes it was out of order and not a good advert for those of us who do our absolute best to try to be overly nice to walkers and the like to give bikers a good name.

At the bottom the four were waiting for me – but I was given little chance to explain myself or apologise, I was just subjected to a torrent of shouting and violent abuse. As I tried to walk away I was spat at, pushed and threatened. This is no way to behave to walkers – even if they are in the wrong place they deserve a chance to explain themselves

but you should have reported them to the Police, can you also link to a site for us cyclists to complain about the obnoxious dangerous and sometimes murdering behaviour of motorists, which is more prevelant than one walkerist being abused.

Idiots with attitude problems drive cars and also sometimes ride bikes and cause us law abiding and legal cyclists problems.

Scumbags.

So what if you were on a trail? No justification for that kind of behaviour.

but you should have reported them to the Police, can you also link to a site for us cyclists to complain about the obnoxious dangerous and sometimes murdering behaviour of motorists, which is more prevelant than one walkerist being abused.

No justification for this comment either. What’s this got to do with the guy who’s posted here?

@Glyncorrwg Walker

This is a map of the Strava segments near Glyncorrwg (you can see more if you zoom in).

Let us know if the incident happened on/near one of these segments. With a good idea of the timing, it may be possible find the name of one or more of the culprits (unless thay see this first and hide their ride!).

There’s no excuse for it.

Sorry to hear about your experience glyncorrwgwalker.
Would you describe the scrotes as young*, or old enough to know better.

*I appreciate that yoot are also old enough to know better 🙂

but you should have reported them to the Police, can you also link to a site for us cyclists to complain about the obnoxious dangerous and sometimes murdering behaviour of motorists, which is more prevelant than one walkerist being abused.

Go and have a cup of tea project. Maybe some nice biscuits too.

project – Member
Pointless whataboutery.

POSTED 9 MINUTES AGO # REPORT-POST

FFS.

I would of run you down 😉
The amount off dirty looks we get for riding on bridleways 🙄

correct action of the riders…

screech to a halt, sweating and swearing, “Jebus Foofin Christ mate, do you realise this is a bike trail, you’ll get yourself killed, watch it, there are three more behind me…..”

A walkerist was walking up the main Glyncorrwg climb on saturday morning. Me and DezzzyB chased him up the climb hurling abuse about this being a bike trail , then we wee’d in his shoes and bent his 2 walking poles in half and threw them in the brambles .

Not really, old bloke was as quick as us up the main drag ( mainly because we had to double back as my bike broke ) so he got to the top first . He was polite and moved to the side so we could wobble past wheezing .

Shame as the actions of a few tar the rest of us with the same brush .

strange there is no description of the alledged cyclists, their bikes or age group etc and no mention of reporting it to the police or wardens in the area. and also his first post on here and it alledges wrong doing by a mysterious group of cyclists.

as a mtber for the last 30 years plus, first time ive ever heard of cyclists threatening a lone walkerist, yet every day us road cyclists get similar intimidation, perhaps some of you need to ride bikes more.

I assumed the OP was some sort of ironic take on a cyclist getting hassle from walkers.Perhaps I’ve been on STW too long 😕

+1

That sounds like a way over the top reaction by these cyclists – not everyone is the same.

If it was turning violent, spitting etc I’d report them to the police.

That’s not good.
Honestly, reporting it will do us all a favour.

However.
Fiver says its the Zoofighter.

Echos of his early work, redolent of spring – it gambols across the screen like a newborn lamb.

In such situations abuse and assault of walkers should not be your first recourse (or second).

Indeedy

I was slightly sceptical of the post initially but thinking about it a colleague of mine had a similar experience at Gisburn last year. Went to show his daughter one of the newer steep bits just off the fire road, and got a hail of abuse from riders coming down it. He is an experienced biker and was several meters off the trail.
Not the end of the world, but not pleasant when on a day out with your 6 year old

Glyncorrwg Walker, as many (but not all) previous posters have said, behaviour as you have described is wholly unacceptable. FWIW, I’ve had problems with whilst riding at GC in the past. I was encouraged to report it to the local Police who were VERY good about it and dealt with it very promptly indeed. I live near Ammanford and had an answerphone message waiting for me by the time I got home.

What really swung it was a few seemingly unimportant pieces of information I was able to give (their dog’s name). Steve, Andy and the others in Skyline cycles plus the staff upstairs in the cafe may well remember something about their clients that day- maybe they were camping, who knows. I’m assuming you are local- were they too (accents?)

I really hope that this never happens again.

Could be a troll or could be entirely valid and truthful in posting what he encountered, unfortunately you get dicks in all walks of life and bikers or walkers it makes no difference – once a dick, always a dick. I was poked in the chest t’day by a walking pole as i came to a halt to allow walkers to pass nr to the speyside way path at Boat of Garten, previously i would have responded by grabbing the pole and snapping it followed by the usual tirade of verbal abuse but on hearing how others have responded i’ve changed my tact as it seems to confuse them, I merely said to the elderly english walker “that’s no way to instigate bum hole sex with a stranger” he got incredibly flustered and started to shake and quiver then wandered off. I continued my utterly fantastic bike ride with a smirk of pure joy across my face.

I once burned my fingers on a toaster, but that’s not relevant to the OP. The whole point of riding off road is that conditions are unpredictable and you could come up to an obstruction at any moment. There is always the chance of another rider walking down the trail due to a mechanical problem, so there’s no excuse for an us-&-them mentality. Sorry to hear of your experience GP Walker and I agree that you should report it.

What dicks. 🙁
There is no need at all for that!

As some have said, some people are idiots.

I don’t think you being a walker or them on bikes is relevant. If your version of events is true, i’d report it to the police.

First off GPWalker I’d like to thank you for your apparently opening acceptance of bikers, and I’m really sorry it wasn’t reciprocated in this instance. No excuse for that behaviour, at all.

Several reasons someone could be walking along a trail. ONly one of which places them in the wrong IMO (bloody minded rambler I have the rightness), but that still would not excuse this behaviour, though I suspect that’s what you were suspected of. Since you stepped of the trail any thinking person would have realised this isn’t what you were doing anyway.

Other reasons you might be there is exploring a path that then turned to a bike trail, or like I often do, inspecting the trail as part of maintenance program.

When I encounter people walking on a trail I try to offer explanation…