Viewing 6 posts - 41 through 46 (of 46 total)
  • Countryfile illegally mountain biking in New Forest
  • campfreddie
    Free Member

    Whilst I agree that MTBers should be more considerate to the area they are riding in, as stated in an earliet post, i see much more damage being done by logging vehicles /animals and disturbance to wildlife due to dogs, than MTBers.

    the logging vehicles (and indeed any other vehicle on the forest) are controlled by the authorities who are given the duty of looking after the forest (ie. they don’t go blundering through delicate areas). the animals (ie. horses, cattle etc) are seen as the main purpose of the forest (it isn’t a natural forest after all), so we are just left with mountain bikers who have a habit of going where they please, or dog walkers… i’ll give you one guess who is the easiest and most controllable target…

    please do bear in mind that i am an avid mountain biker and get massively frustrated by the restrictions in place within the new forest, but i am just trying to play devil’s advocate to some of the thoughts amongst the cycling masses.

    scaredypants
    Full Member

    the animals (ie. horses, cattle etc) are seen as the main purpose of the forest (it isn’t a natural forest after all)

    see, that’s the bit I struggle with – that’s what those with a vested interest (commoners, verderers) see as the main purpose of the forest.

    in 1874 (or whatever) I’m sure they were correct in that assertion; in 2012 they need to think again.

    thomthumb
    Free Member

    annoyingly, the existing cycle trails in the forest provide absolutely zero technical entertainment (might as well ride up and down the road). this does encourage riders to go ‘off piste’ which is all well and good when they are following logging routes or pony tracks, but without knowing it, they could easily cross a piece of land that looks nothing special, but is actually a nesting site or another site of delicate environmental balance.

    i think the biggest issue is the lack of ‘joined up-ness’ of the cycle routes; as a local(ish) i fairly regularly do a lop of the forest entirely on the permitted paths/ roads. but there really isn’t a lot of cohesion of routes you often are travelling several miles up a road to get to a cycle track because 250m of gravel track (same as the cycle track surface) isn’t a ‘designated route’

    richrider
    Free Member

    I cycle on the forest and very often at night. I don’t cycle where horse riders don’t ride. Sorry, but riding on official cycle tracks is simply for families… no skill involved. I want to keep fit and I want to have fun doing so. I never cycle where birds nest or where I may damage the forest. As for bicycles causing damage, this is simply a rubbish argument when compared to horse hoofs! The forest is a great place, I have enjoyed living in the forest all my life, but it is here for us ALL to enjoy. They organise ‘Point to Point horse races cross country… they are great fun… but more damaging than bikes. It would be impossible to police keeping MTB’s off the forest… unless the police get skilled motor bike riders, (causing more damage), they simply can’t catch us!!! So I will continue to ride where I like in the forest until I am too old to get away! And to those who shout obscenities at me… I will continue to smile… 🙂

    FieldMarshall
    Full Member

    I agree that mtbs should be allowed the same rights of access as horse riders, but how can you be sure that you are not disturbing nesting birds if you ride where horses ride?

    scaredypants
    Full Member

    I agree that mtbs should be allowed the same rights of access as horse riders, but how can you be sure that you are not disturbing nesting birds if you ride where horses ride?

    I guess you can’t

    However:

    Do we know that nesting birds are significantly disturbed by a bike passing (very briefly) nearby ? (sure I read somewhere – via here I bet – that their “airtime” is dependent on how long a disturber’s nearby, so the faster you pass, the less the disturbance)

    The MTBers that I’m aware of are using existing tracks rather than breaking new ground, so something is already using them fairly frequently anyway. Also, birds won’t be nesting directly on the paths so no crushed nests etc

    I don’t think anyone’s pretending that the NF is going to replace Whistler in terms of popularity. Nobody’s ever going to want to travel here just to ride 🙁 , so I doubt that numbers will increase much more in the near future

Viewing 6 posts - 41 through 46 (of 46 total)

The topic ‘Countryfile illegally mountain biking in New Forest’ is closed to new replies.