Presumably this race was run under a standard, formal permission from FC? That permission would tell you whether there was any requirement in there to carry out work to repair trails to conditions prior to the event.

FC should be able to supply that permission on request.

TandemJeremy – Member

I think the people whose work was trashed have been fairly relaxed

Agreed. Two of the people behind Bike: Blairadam have appeared on the thread but mainly to answer questions about the group, not get involved with the debate..

In fact, contrary to what was stated on here, the five core people are still working together…. I ride with some of them.

mcmoonter – Member
I got the impression the organisation behind BikeBlairadam imploded at a critical point after the Blast when the clear felling took place.

Imploded? I’d love to know who gave you that impression, what with it being completely untrue.

Imploded? I’d love to know who gave you that impression, what with it being completely untrue.

Tiberius, the implosion was just an observation from a distance. I doubt the departure of one committee member before the Blast would have had much of a detrimental impact.

My point was that the dissolution was at a critical point when there was some momentum behind the trail building day enthusiasm and that there was cash (generated from the Blast) in the bank to build some more. The clear felling could have been seen as a positive opportunity to reopen or reroute some trails and construct more.

Can’t believe this is still running. IMO it’s not really about the ‘damaged’ trails anymore is it** it’s more about a ‘not on my patch’ point of view taken up by the regular Blairadam users. A bit peeved that some outsiders have come and made use of their patch of public land (irony?). How dare they…

Sorry, but there just seem to be some mega contradictions in this. I’m hearing talk of damage to fragile trail structures on one hand but on another hand talking about laying down tonnes of type 1 hardcore !!!??

And the question has been raised but not answered as far as I can see -how do you return a natural forest to ‘how you left it’ after you’ve ridden there? While Im sure we all try to minimise our interference with the natural surroundings there is not one of us can be so sanctimonuous as to say we return it to how it was. Because to do that ‘literally’ would mean going back over all your tyre tracks and smoothing them in. WTF? Or alternatively only riding when bone dry. Which would preculde riding Blairadam for 95% of the year in my experience.

** The damage wasn’t so bad was it? I made a comment on the first page of this thread suggesting the reaction was a bit over-egged. I saw nothing in the trail damage when riding the forest thereafter to make me change that point of view. It just looked heavily used, commensurate with the weather conditions at the time. Nothing that wouldn’t simply dry out.

You could rename this thread ‘the regular riders of blairadam wouldn’t like other people and outsiders coming using the trails when it’s wet, thankyou’…and that would be closer to home. And maybe there’s nothing wrong with that but at least it’s closer to the mark?

mcmoonter – Member

the implosion was just an observation from a distance. I doubt the departure of one committee member before the Blast would have had much of a detrimental impact

A very incorrect observation for one. Also, none of the committee left before the blast.

I do wonder where you’re getting all this incorrect info from.

Nearllyman – the race organisers admit to the trail damage and promised to repair it. They have not done so.

Tandem Jeremy (I’ll resist the temptation not to modify your username as you did mine lol) – the question remains repair it how? Hardcore? How about a 1:4 sand cement mix trowelled over or even better just tarmac over the tyre ruts.

As I said. This isn’t about the damage. It’s about people feeling their back yard has been shown a lack of respect and it would be better if they just cut to the chase rather than making it into something it isn’t.

And the damage probably can’t be repaired without causing more consequent damage because it’s a SOAKING WET FOREST at the best of times. And it’s also now months old and been over-ridden a 100 times since.

Anyway I suspect you don’t ride Blairadam much and haven’t seen what’s being discussed. Why you choose to get involved is beyond me. Any crusade eh!? 🙂

Neallyman – you’ve missed the point of this whole tread.

I for one welcome, and have guided new riders around the trails at Blairadam. There is a difference between going out for a ride with your mates and organising a mass prticipation event. The responsibilities are completely different.

The issue is about responsibility and accountability.

Blairadam is not in one of the leafier quarters of the Kingdom. Its one of the few places local riders can get out and ride from nearby Kelty etc. What type of example does it set when students from an affluent University town come, trash their trails and bugger off?

Blairadam is not in one of the leafier quarters of the Kingdom. Its one of the few places local riders can get out and ride from nearby Kelty etc. What type of example does it set when students from an affluent University town come, trash their trails and bugger off?

Broad generalisation and stereotype re St Andrews isn’t it? Where does affluence come into the context of damaged trails…
Again I think we’re getting closer to the heart of the real issue here. In saying what you are saying re affluence etc you’re just backing up the message I’m trying to get across. The actual trail damage isn’t what this is about. It’s about the local riders feeling like they’ve been shown a lack of respect by ‘student toffs’ and so it’s rubbing them up the wrong way.

For what it’s worth if I saw Blairadam as my patch I’d probably feel the same way!

And I have no allegance to the students in anyway, I just don’t like that the real ‘beef’ here (a perceived lack of respect)is being wrapped up in a thinly veiled complaint about ground being damaged.

Im a 31year old son a miner of a miner of a miner from Oakley by the way. So if I ride the trails at Blairadam are the tyre tracks I leave behind more worthy? 😉

I find it interesting that this thread re-started following rain in Fife. A little searching and you will find that almost every review of Blairadam will say its muddy regardless of when (time of year or date) the review was written.

And when did mud hurt a mountain biker anyway?

Im a 31year old son a miner of a miner of a miner from Oakley by the way. So if I ride the trails at Blairadam are the tyre tracks I leave behind more worthy?

neallyman earlier 😉

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xe1a1wHxTyo[/video]

Nice one. 😀
I’m heading up just now for a ride there. All this talk has got me thinking I’ll take a trip round the forest. I’ll be on a black specialized btw. Will not be wearing my white dinner suit tho!

I really Wished i could put faces to the people commenting on this thread. McM, i saw you twice in the two years that i spent building/repairing trails. As i already stated, your help on the two building days we had was appreciated, as we would have struggled to move the materials without your vehicle/trailer.
If the amount of people commenting on here actually had got off their arses and contributed to some trail building then the momentum might have kept going.
Myself and the other guys involved at the time turned up for every build/repair session, some of which involved people taking time off work. This was just for the building/maintanence of the trails, there was also several regular group meetings attended, both as Bike BA and also with the FC and local groups. There was more involved than just turning up to the building sessions.

I personally have ridden the trails at least half a dozen times since this event, and yes, there is a few bits that have been damaged, but overall the trails are as good to ride as they always have been.

BA is a fantastic place to ride whatever the conditions and will continue to be as far as i’m concerned.

Well said Jim.
The longer this thread goes the more I’m beginning to wonder if part of the issue is the fact that there is no one there maintaing the trails anymore. Have people suddenly realised that repairs and maintenance don’t happen by themselves?
I still get a feeling of satisfaction when riding trails I helped to build…what do other people feel when they ride them?
Perhaps a greater involvement from the masses during the golden age of Bike:Blairadam could have avoided this witch hunt!
And as a few folk have already said, yes the trail is cut up, maybe the students should have done something, but it IS ridable….. And if I can ride it so can you 🙂

Good morning singletrackworld…
My name’s Huw, I’m the new secretary of the university cycling club now that Luke has fled to Chile to escape trial. I’m one of those awful people that mostly just uses STW as a place to sell stuff without having to pay fleabay, so apologies if I don’t get into the swing of it properly and accuse anyone of Nazism, or think of the children at any point.

I’ve spoken to Luke re: FC requirements to get an idea of what agreement was in place before the race, as Luke put in all of the organisation work himself. There were no specific criteria to meet concerning trail repairs after the event, and apart from a few small points to do with portaloos the feedback from the FC was positive. So there’s your background. Having inherited Luke’s position, I’d like to do what I can to sort this out before we all bugger off to the Med on our respective yachts.

First thing’s first: It’s true, we are lazy and useless, apart from in April and May, so thanks to those who mentioned exams and dissertations. Not that it’s an excuse as such, but for those of us who weren’t directly involved in the organisation of the race, we have had bigger things on our plates recently.

Secondly, while it’s great to reserve a corner of the internet to argue about this, as far as I know, no-one has contacted the club directly to explain the problem and suggest further action. It’s a bit late, but if you want to then go nuts, the address is in my profile under ‘about me’. Generalising, and talking about this in terms of ‘the students’, isn’t a helpful way to make a point, and implicates a whole group of people who bear no responsibility for trail repairs.

Anyway, whether or not it was expected of him by the FC, Luke has previously said on here that repairs would be done, so to honour that commitment I will be at Blairadam on Thursday, whether I’m on my own or I drag others along with me. It’s rained a lot over the last couple of weeks, and plenty of users will have ridden the race course since the event, so trying to decide if any damage is due to the race itself seems a bit irrelevant. If I see mudfests I’ll do my best to drain them or make an alternative route around them. If anyone has suggestions for other trail repairs then e-mail me, please don’t put them up here to be picked apart and start endless other arguments.

So there you go. On Thursday I’m going to repair what I feel can be repaired on the course used for the race, within limits. Don’t expect sick booters or rad road gaps, but the complaints have been the amount of surface water on chopped up trails, so better drainage will be put in and excessive mud cleared off the tops.

Thanks, Huw.

I mentioned all this to the SUS in light of their forth coming meeting via Twitter here is the conversation.

#SUSPowWow will they be sorting out what they are going to do about repairing the damage done in Blairadam forest during their #MTB race?

ScotUniSport
can u give some more information as we weren’t aware there was damage to the #MTB trail other than general wearandtear from a wet day
31 May at 15:20

antmayer
See this thread on STW Forum http://bit.ly/kpBsJp

ScotUniSport
this is 1st time we have heard about this. No1 else has fed back 2 us. All i can say is we’ll do our best 2 plan better in future!

antmayer
There was a plan before, it just wasn’t executed.

ScotUniSport
understand ur comments but as munrobiker commented event organisers took local advice & no1 cud predict the bad weather when planning

ScotUniSport
On a positive note – organisers say it wont be winter event again. Damage was unintentional – we want people to enjoy the trails too!

looks to me like the SUS have washed their hands of the business.