All

a public consulation is being held at the FC depot, Blairadam this sunday 22Nov 1-4pm. Its a bit short notice but the email from FC only arrived this afternoon.

Please try to drop in and make your opinions known if you ride in the forest – the more bikers that speak up, the more chance we have of getting something to happen.

Clicky to the Blairadam website

Thanks

Mike

Just out of interest, you don't know who organised the race there last year do you? We're looking at trying to get something sorted for the scottish uni series.

I do….

drop me a PM on the blairadam boardx and i'll forward your details to the appropriate person.

morning bermp

up for info

more chance we have of getting something to happen

good luck with that, but dont hold your breath in my opinion.

How did this go?

I wasn't able to make it because of other committments and the lack of notice from the FC meant I couldn't rearrange them.

I was just about to post up and ask the same…last minute announcement from FC is standard form (makes sure very few people can attend in my opinion)…hopefully there was a good turn out, it all got discussed and all taken on-board.

Any news of the outcome and how things will develop?

I forgot to ask – did the FC say anything about what people who couldn't make it could do?

(Blairadam site is down, by the way)

The site is up but the forum appears to be FUBAR'd

Okay, the forum. 🙂

Is there any news regarding this?

(The Blairadam forum is still down and there's no update on the site front page)

Things seem to have went a bit quiet on the Blairadam front….

I’m a bit worried that they’ve packed it in. No frontpage updates since June, forum broken for a month and seemingly some personnel changes too last year (mentioned in an update post in their forum when it was working).

There’s not been any building or organised rides for a while too.

Does anyone know what's going on?

Forum etc still down.

As far as I can tell everything is on hold. The ongoing clearfell work, and that planned for this year covers most of the forest, and as such much of the trails are likely to be destroyed or at least covered in brash.

I'm moved some brash around to make some bits rideable, but I'm honestly surprised that no-one had got organised before now to do this.

I'm in regular contact with an ex-member of the Blairadam team, and from the gist of it, it all went a bit sour between the FC and thus the members after the race was held there last year. I can't help feeling it's Carron Valley all over again as intimated by DB and DR above.

I'd like to know what's going on, the lack of communication from anyone is slightly annoying.

>I'd like to know what's going on<

So would many others but the public will never get to grips with the FC modus operandi under the current regime. The FC guys on the ground can be great but regrettably it suits their senior managers to a T to constantly move the goalposts…

>I can't help feeling it's Carron Valley all over again as intimated by DB and DR above.<

Given that both groups had to play poker with the same management team and given that neither location found itself favoured by the heid bummer in Inverness, the outcome was sadly always going to be much the same;-(

CVDG and BB tactics were very different: the former tried very hard to confront the issues at the highest level possible and ultimately came unstuck for haveing the temerity to challenge authority. The latter opted for a low key softly softly approach which probably didnt upset anyone senior but similarly had nowhere to take the project at the end of the day. People get tired being done over by a system that's designed to frustrate…

The third group who were active within Scottish Lowlands Forest District were the Lennox Forest guys – IIRC they did not play it by the book and came severely unstuck by building scary elevated timber stuff all over the shop. FC then felt compelled to chainsaw this down in the interests of H&S.

Best of luck to them but it is rather sad and ironic that (a more niche members only orientated) project is now the only one of the three with any chance of going somewhere now.

The latter opted for a low key softly softly approach which probably didnt upset anyone senior but similarly had nowhere to take the project at the end of the day.

I had a chat with one of the Blairadam guys a while ago and he indicated that, at one point, they did go the other route with the full support of the District level people, but the higher ups not only nixxed it, they also got the whole project >< this close to being completely shut down. It only continued because they took the very low key approach and have a good relationship with the guys on the ground.

I think a number of thing might have chipped away at their resolve in the last year too. The push they were planning after the race must have been undermined by the shedload of felling, right where they were looking at building, a local apparently kicked up a fuss about someone having a race in the forest and someone has left the group.

Maybe the 'consultation' has been the final straw? I'm pretty sure it was supposed to be in spring 2010 (based on something on their site forum) but based on the OP, must have been brought forward a fair bit and minimal warning given. That must have put some noses out of joint, not just in the MTB group but the local walker group and the pretty big local equestrian community (there's as many horseboxes in the carpark as bike rack-bearing cars on a weekend).

I still think someone from the group needs to speak up though.