Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 77 total)
  • Anyone else not enjoy 'cheeky trails'?
  • tomj
    Free Member

    Maybe I’m just too much of a law abiding goody two shoes? My local loop involves a couple of km of cheeky footpaths. When riden in the evening or early morning there’s no one about. I know how daft the laws on access are. No one has ever said anything. But despite those 2 km being done of the best bits of the ride I just don’t enjoy them. I’m all tense waiting for conflict or an argument. So much so that I even think about missing these bits out.
    Is it just me or does anyone else feel like this? How do I get over it?!?

    holmes81
    Free Member

    I feel the same but just ride them at sensible times. Early morning or night rides.

    MoreCashThanDash
    Full Member

    Sensible times and speed appropriate are my rules.

    And apologising profusely for not spotting the no cycling sign when the Ranger has a chat…..

    Fresh Goods Friday 696: The Middling Edition

    Fresh Goods Friday 696: The Middlin...
    Latest Singletrack Videos
    weeksy
    Full Member

    Hopes, doesn’t enter my head at all.

    Cheezpleez
    Full Member

    Just act responsibly. If anyone has a go, either explain politely that the access laws are silly and you’ve decided to ignore them in favour of enjoying your limited time on earth responsibly, or smile sweetly and ignore them.

    Nobeerinthefridge
    Free Member

    I love venturing down from Alba and pillaging your cheeky trails… 😆

    Poopscoop
    Full Member

    tomj,

    I feel *exactly* the same.

    Just can’t relax and enjoy the ride on cheeky stuff.

    Is is daft as some of the footpaths I venture on are almost entirely devoid of walkers.

    I almost feel like I’m the only one keeping them accessible my mowing down the undergrowth. lol

    Anyway, no, your definitely not the only one mate. 🙁

    Nobeerinthefridge
    Free Member

    Sounds like a religious guilt.

    tmb467
    Free Member

    Cheeky Trails

    I know there’s not much happening but I still enjoy it when I visit

    However – as long as you don’t transfer your guilt onto others who do ride em then I don’t mind

    Pawsy_Bear
    Free Member

    what happens if I ride a footpath? Cessation of chocolate ration?

    carlos
    Free Member

    Too much good cheeky stuff about, it’d be rude not to ride it. do I feel guilty?? Err….. Nope

    plumslikerocks
    Free Member

    +1 know what you mean. Strangely, Im happier poaching trails in a group even though I know the likelihood of strife is probably higher.

    Last place I lived, what swung it for me in the end was the fact that a ride on legal bridle ways and tow paths was just as likely to result in strife from knob heads…it was open season for me after that….!

    honourablegeorge
    Full Member

    Sometimes get a guilty feeling when using a chainsaw in a forest i’m not supposed to be in. It passes when I get to ride the trail.

    breadcrumb
    Full Member

    Cheeky meeshky.

    It’s the outdoors, go and enjoy it.

    Some of the best riding around is “cheeky”. Don’t limit yourself with bridleways and trail centres.

    Just follow the number one- Don’t Be A Dick.

    Garry_Lager
    Full Member

    Would it be a sensitive trail if you rode it in the day, conflict and argument guaranteed? If so, I can see how that might influence your feelings riding it in the evening, even if it’s just on a subconcious level.
    I noticed a thread up today about Brown Knoll in the Peak – I rode that once at a weekend and ran into a dickhead convention walking across it – must have had 4 or 5 confrontations in abar 2 miles, including one trekking pole in the chest from an old bloke, and a 5 min frank exchange of views with a pair of Teds who didn’t understand that we were on the slopes of Kinder Scout. So on the odd occasion I’ve ridden it since it doesn’t seem that enjoyable a trail [it’s just a link-up in any case, not a notable MTB trail].

    If it isn’t one of those trails, though, then you need to rethink your approach. Anxiety over where you’re riding just on general principles, which are bogus anyway, isn’t right.

    mindmap3
    Free Member

    No guilt here.

    As others have said, often the best stuff is cheeky. I had a bollocking for riding stuff because of protected species etc, however the clown shouting at me saw nothing wrong with his dogs being off the lead, charging about etc.

    fooman
    Full Member

    Slow down, be polite, smile. Most people are not especially aware what trails are / are not legit anyway so as long as they’ve nothing to complain about, there’s usually no issues. Still I avoid routes with lots of other users, including legit ones, during peak times, to reduce chance of conflict.

    Btw I’ve never found engaging with a grumbler productive, so I just politely go on my way to try and keep the high ground.

    jb72
    Free Member

    Slow down, be polite, smile.

    This. No problems so far!

    Junkyard
    Free Member

    Locally i know hard packed paths and roads i cannot ride and open boggy moorland I can ride legally
    I tend to judge my decision on impact rather than whether its FP or a BW

    big_n_daft
    Free Member

    You can (legitimately) say that the higher rights of the path you are on are disputed and until settled at a public inquiry you assert that they exist and you have legitimate access

    If they point out that the path in question has had the access rights determined at an inquiry then you try the “reasonable accompaniment” argument that lets people walk their dogs

    Or course “don’t be a dick” applies all the time, on road, trail centre, boat, restricted byway, bridleway and other trails. Be nice and share the outdoors

    esselgruntfuttock
    Free Member

    Slow down, be polite, smile.

    This. & at 60 yrs old, my **** field is barren of ****, so I really couldn’t give any. 😀

    cloudnine
    Free Member

    It’s riding a bike on some path.. It’s not like you are out running over baby robins.

    Tell me you aren’t running over baby robins?

    slowoldman
    Full Member

    I know what you mean. I go out of my way to avoid confrontation.

    Stevet1
    Free Member

    Was out on a ride with a friend at the weekend who refused to ride a FP section I had suggested, so I honoured his request and we took the road up to the top of Winter Hill instead. Coming back down was another matter however, let’s just say we departed company for a little while then met up again…
    As long as your courteous, and the path is suitable then I don’t have an issue.

    PimpmasterJazz
    Free Member

    Sensible times and speed appropriate are my rules.

    + another. That and avoid areas you could cause significant damage.

    My feeling is that I’m an ambassador for the sport when I’m riding. This adds an element of perspective which, essentially, boils down to ‘don’t be a dick’.

    chakaping
    Free Member

    I felt a bit guilty when we accidentally rode down Tarn Hows on a Saturday morning.

    Other than that, I’m fine with it.

    Btw I’ve never found engaging with a grumbler productive, so I just politely go on my way to try and keep the high ground.

    I tend to agree these days, though I did recently have to lay some smack down on a woman moaning at us for riding (on the trails) in an area with ground nesting birds – when she had her dogs running free (and that’s not a euphemism BTW).

    PimpmasterJazz
    Free Member

    I tend to agree these days, though I did recently have to lay some smack down on a woman moaning at us for riding (on the trails) in an area with ground nesting birds – when she had her dogs running free (and that’s not a euphemism BTW).

    Effing brilliant.

    😆

    *facepalm*

    TheBrick
    Free Member

    I find expectations of conflict can spoil any ride. I have been accosted just as much on bike paths tbh. I hate it when someone has a go and it will spoil the rest of my ride and the one after, but where it happens is not defined by row!

    Too many arseholes, and when attacked I go back at them twice as hard unfortunately if they are speaking rubish.

    hooli
    Full Member

    For me it depends on the footpath, there are a few well walked paths right on the edge of the village that I’ll avoid. Some others are in the middle of nowhere and are actually access roads to farms or a farm house and I have no issue riding these.

    I cant see a walker getting shirty if you keep the speed sensible, keep your eyes open and give way of you do come across anybody.

    bigwill
    Free Member

    Depends on where the trail is and how it affects those that live around it. A footpath over the fells or through a wood where it doesn’t affect anyone i can’t see what the issue is but a path that goes near to someone’s house or through someone’s farm, or affects someone’s livelihood like grouse moors on lambing fields I wouldn’t ride. Take a pragmatic view of the laws of trespass and you can’t really go wrong.

    Local common is a SSSI with one bridleway and plenty of other vehicle width tracks. It’s tinder dry and prone to fires, so the do gooders are out on patrol. Got told off the other night for the crime of cycling, so I told them if its OK for dog turds, it’s good for bikes. Otherwise fence the whole area off.

    scuttler
    Full Member

    … ah yeah, grouse moors… Tricky one that given that a lot of the Northern Peak and South Pennines is turned over to this ecologically disruptive (ref ‘management’ of competing species, draining of moors and the effect downstream), elitist and morally questionable pastime.

    So count me in for moorland footpaths when it’s evident there’s not an actual shoot on – only risk is the grumpy-chops who challenge you can be ‘difficult’ and are invariably agents of the land owner with the extra authority that bestows.

    Ecky-Thump
    Free Member

    I don’t subscribe to the whole furtive, almost apologetic “cheeky trails” after dark and only in small numbers thing.
    I’d say ride the footpaths whenever you like, just be nice and considerate to everyone you meet along the way and don’t assume that you’ll be chasing KoMs on a sunny bank holiday.
    Sensible and considerate, yes, but if it’s considered OK to be walking, then it’s probably OK to be riding there too.

    To be honest, I’ve experienced more verbal from walkers on low-level bridleways than I’ve ever had on the footpaths in the mountains.
    It’s always the old ones too and the Kinder Trespass significance is invariably lost on them. Just carry on anyway. They’ll be dead soon enough and subsequent generations will be accustomed to seeing MTBs riding anywhere where they walk and probably never see fit to even question it.

    jambalaya
    Free Member

    Nope. As above ridden sensibly and with respect for other legitimate users I see no issue. I wouldn’t ride a busy footpath but most I include in loops are deserted when i ride them

    Yak
    Full Member

    I just ride them anyway and whenever, but as above be polite and don’t expect KOM speed at a busy time. The only bother I’ve had is when I’ve already been bitten by, or knocked off my bike by a dog, and then the owners get all defensive and use the footpath location as part of their argument. As in “if you weren’t riding on a footpath, you wouldn’t have been knocked over by my dog” . Twunts.

    bigwill
    Free Member

    Scuttler I know where your coming from with grouse Moors. My avoidance of cheeky trails on grouse moors is more to do with avoidance of conflict with grumpy gamekeepers that tend to have a habit of popping up in the middle of nowhere despite not seeing a sole for several miles. I think mountain biking on grouse moors does far less damage to the environment than the gamekeepers do to local birds of prey populations.

    andybrad
    Full Member

    There is such a vast array of trails here i don’t differentiate. Its all open imo but if somone is unhappy i exercise care and caution. If there has been an issue then post it on calderdaletrails facebook page and let others know.

    Everyone is happy then. Or so it seems.

    RobinL
    Full Member

    I used to ride just bridleways several years ago but then started riding footpaths as well and don’t feel guilty at all. I will avoid certain ones on sunny weekends due to numbers of walkers.
    However I slow down for walkers, horses, dogs on both bridleways and footpaths, say hello and only very rarely have any conflict or comments.
    The most conflict I have is with a grumpy g*t who lives in a lock keepers cottage on the canal at Brighouse – always complains when he sees me ( or probably any cyclist ) !

    Murray
    Full Member

    I regularly ride a section of footpath through the woods to avoid a mile of dead straight unclassified road. I don’t feel guilty about that and walkers have always said hello to me when I’ve met them.

    I’d be wary of riding a fast downhill sections that’s a footpath.

    I’m more than happy to ride the section of the Pilgrim’s Way that the landowner managed to get designated as a footpath despite more than a thousand years of use by vehicles.

    elliott-20
    Free Member

    Once got stuck behind a group of red socks on a ‘cheeky trail’ in Woburn. The three of us waited patiently until a convenient time to pass, of which all but one were courteous. This particular grumps made his point clear – “shouldn’t be riding here, no bell, I wont move for you” etc etc.

    But we just smiled as we went passed and politely thanked everyone else. Because, you see, this ‘cheeky trail’ was actually a trail I’d part cut myself years before and nowhere near a footpath. It still makes me smile. 🙄 😆

Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 77 total)

The topic ‘Anyone else not enjoy 'cheeky trails'?’ is closed to new replies.