This seems like an opportunity to campaign for a change in the archaic access laws.
Hows about a concerted campaign of bombarding the website with request to make access equitable across the UK and make responsible riding on footpaths legal under the civil liberties and repealing un-necesary laws section?
Crowd appeasing exercise

Cheeky trails ARE legal in the sense that its not illegal. Unless there is a bylaw covering the particular FP you're riding.

I see your point though…..

Not a problem for the Jocks is it?

Just act as if it had already happened like me 🙂

Its worth a try, equal status for bikes on bridleways and on footpaths. Bridleways because that has to be a human rights thing and footpath just sell it on the easy way to create miles and miles of safe / traffic free cycle routes. Since the nations broke and countryside is an easy cut its not going to happen, upside is less money to spend on sanitising.

They're not 'cheeky'.
They're trails.

Agreed. but it seems like an opportunity to push for change. Theres allot of us + they are looking for low cost ways of keeping us happy.
The point is Simon that there are increasing numbers of us and trail use conflict in certain areas is increasing, so if we can push to have a right to be there it puts us on an equal footing to argue for sustainable usage.

Aye, not an issue here…

but I was just thinking the same ref: Cleggs exercise to repeal unnecessary laws and his comment that 'we don't want to make law abiding citizens into criminals'

and with respect to my local area, the Pirbright military lands which DO have byelaws prohibiting bike riding except on tracks designed for vehicular access, technically I am creating a criminal act while out keeping fit.

Anyhow, I'm going to write to my MP asking her to mention this to Nick and Liam and see what response I get. Actually my MP is one of the good ones and has helped out before on other matters so maybe it might have some purpose.

Perhaps it's cynical of me to think the site (when it's working) is just an opportunity for people to sound off fruitlessly while the Tories rape the welfare state ?

Aren't they encouraging the long term unemployed and permanently pregnant to get back to work?

Perhaps it's cynical of me to think the site (when it's working) is just an opportunity for people to sound off fruitlessly while the Tories rape the welfare state ?

Seems pretty likely to me too. 🙁

Aren't they encouraging the long term unemployed and permanently pregnant to get back to work?

except how well are they going to take to work ? Would you want something a reluctant worker had made ?

This is an interesting topic, and one well addressed by DaveA in last month's magazine. However, before we all build the barricades and burn The Man, it's worth looking at how the similar River Access campaign in Wales is running.

http://www.ukriversguidebook.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=64947

In a word, badly. This attempt at opening up access for all has resulted in the recommendation of costly kayak licenses, but no promise of extra waterways to use them on.

Image that applied to cycles? By going above the radar we'd be playing straight into the hands of the Daily Mail / Jemery Vine "Tax and plate all bikes" posse.

Perhaps a larger scale Kinder Scout movement would gain attention…

As I understand it, the situation on the waterways is much worse than for bikes, with shotgun toting crazies aplenty 🙁 And I don't know what the ancient rights may be for watercourses.

Agreed its one of those becareful what you wish for situations. Equal access rights of public footpaths would distort through the eye of the mail to lycra louts want to invade our pavements.

Perhaps it's cynical of me to think the site (when it's working) is just an opportunity for people to sound off fruitlessly while the Tories rape the welfare state ?
Of course, but if that can be exploited to achieve something useful or even to push them in that direction, then something more positive may come out of it. No reason why it can't be combined with a Kinder Scout style shindig as well 😀

The Welsh Assembly government don't have a great track record on always making the best decisions, which is why UK wide legislation might offer us a better way forward. Plus I think its now widely accepted that MTBing is good for local economies and the WAG is probably aware of how important MTBing is in Wales.