Posted on the Outlaw Riders FB page too.. that’s another 150 members 🙂

Just posted the Wednesday ride on xcracer too. (many localz there).

The Evening Herald website comments page, (albeit totsally irrelevant to the council’s decision on planning) is getting quite funny. Some prankster keeps upsetting the local objectors with the calm application of local knowledge and actual facts, rather than poo-slinging and catastrophising about the woods becoming an MX wasteland.

IMHO a positive press article and as many emails as possible to the council is the real way forward though.

dcl, you have mail btw.

Posted a supportive email, even though I’ve never been to Plymouth (although a good trail centre would give us reason to! :P)

Cannock Chase faces a lot of similar ‘problems’ – lots of different users, relatively small area, trail running close to residents, environmentally sensitive areas, and it all seems to work out relatively fine. You’ll always get nobbers in any group, whether it’s walkers or riders, but generally everyone gets along.

Just reading through some of the complaints, some of them are quite comical!

Helen Ambrose claims that you can see wild planets in the area 😆

Arthur Ainslie seems to be under the impression that bluebells should be a protected species 😀

Cheers, Rich

Just reading through some of the complaints, some of them are quite comical!

Ooh, ooh, I liked this one:

The part ofthe route near my back garden is designated as an advanced route so will without doubt generate considerable shouting and screaming, day and night

I like the idea that bikers going around a red route do so constantly screaming. Maybe it’s because we’re trying to go supersonic, like Banshee out of the X-Men? Or maybe it’s how we communicate, like Donald Sutherland at the end of Invasion of the Body Snatchers?

Ive just walked what I could with the dog, not another walker, dog or cyclist in sight, with exception of the car park where the Hub will be built.
I parked up by Wood Park and bumped into a local resident on the way back. Its the second time Ive seen her spreading the good news to other walkers this week. Her main concerns were the cyclist clashing with the walkers and she basically wanted us all to piss off over to Cann Woods and leave the main trail site to the walkers. Her other issue was the entrance to the Wood Park estate where the trail has to cross road access to where she lives (about half a dozen houses).
I think these fools just dont want to share what they are already walking on, it has nothing to do with the enviromental impact because they seem quite happy for the hub and car park to be built. The fact that this lady and all her neighbours only got notice 21 days ago off the council also seems to have raised the boiling temperature haha.
I wont be there on Wednesday, but have shared the group on Face Ache as this will be great to have on the door step. Good luck guys

Email from dcl earlier today, the ride is definitely ON, 18.30 weds at Plym Bridge car park, press and various local teams in attendance.
I will be bringing kitted up kids for the ‘its not just for rad thirtysomethings, its a faaaaaaamily thing’ angle, as is dcl.

as I’ve mentioned.. the chances of me using the facility regularly are slim.. but I’m fairly local and want to show support for this good cause.. as such I will be trying to attend the ride on wednesday..

What are the trails like for a robust 2 year old in a rear mounted baby seat..? He likes it at Haldon..

Any good..?

The riding on Weds is an old well covered railway track.
The new ones will be similar levels to halden so a good addition.
The beauty of the Plym Valley is that it can be used so easily to access Dartmoor.
Great that you could make it.

What are the trails like for a robust 2 year old in a rear mounted baby seat..? He likes it at Haldon..

Long reclaimed railway path, or quite a lot of fire/forest road in Cann Wood on opposite side of the valley. Everything else in Cann would be a bit too rooty or steep for baby seat skillz IMO. But if/when the NT blue trail here is finished i am sure it would be just perfect! 😀

I’ll be there with a mate from work & I’ve put the word out to friends etc on fb so hopefully more will come along too.

It goes without saying but I’ll mention it anyway.

Anyone who is going along really should NOT park in the Estover side streets especially those residents streets who are complaining against the development. We don’t want to give them any ammunition to use against us

Steve ‘Shred’ Toze has just supplied xcracer.com with this rather helpful article:
http://www.xcracer.com/Battle-for-the-Woods-Plymbridge-Woods-Trails.html

Indeed, and as Toze’s articles suggests we do, for minimum local-worrying it would be best to meet at 1800 in b&q marsh mills and then ride the five minutes up the railway path to the proper ‘publicity’ meeting at Plym Bridge itself.

Guys/Gals

I would suggest NOT parking in B&Q carpark without asking permission first as it is not a public car park. You could get clamped. All you need is one of the NIMBY’s working there and getting “many many fine men” clamped.

D

Excellent idea dabalie.
Also have a read of the Steve Toze article.
Brilliantly written.
Will put it on Facebook

It is usually possible to park on the road outside B and Q.

Good point dabaldie. Not sure how risky it really is usually (yogis all seem to park there when they meet up without incident) but I suppose now the ride is in the public domain, any level of skulduggery is possible!

That was my point exactly. I have parked there many a time (once I asked and a store member looked dumbfounded and said I was the first person to have ever ask!!), but you just don’t know this time. Skullduggery is such a cool word! Hopefully the manager is a cyclist on our side!

I’m afraid I shan’t be able to make it on Wednesday after all. Sounds like it should be well represented though.

Bon chance, mes ami.

I’m there whatever.. I will try to bring the kids too, dependent on weather!

oh and please people keep your “noisy whooping” that we all do to a minimum 😉

If i don’t whoop, am I still allowed to hi-five you after I’ve ‘cleaned’ the gravel zigzag down from the end of the railway tracks?

Steve Toze’s article has now appeared on the front page of STW too. 😀
I remebered I had a login on SDH and posted up about tomorrow’s meet’n’ride there too. So if anyone turns up on a 224 with a neckbrace on that will be my fault.

Well done to the organisers for meetings/flyers/etc.

No 224’s or moto helmets in attendance, but from the group photo taken from the railway bridge, i gave up counting heads at about 250 😯 . Lots of children and women too, which I guess also further backs up the ‘family’ appeal of the developments. (props to the lass on the folding bike!) I certainly expect my kids to be good enough to have a good go at the blue trail by the time its finished… Nice atmosphere and small write-up on Evening Herald website this morning.

There is also another article in support of it featuring a local consultant heptologist talking about it from a public health angle, and another residents meeting on monday night.

NT are setting up shop in the car park on sunday afternoon and monday morning to publicise/answer ranty questions about it as well.

But for all this, what also counts is positive letters/emails/electronic comments forms of support to the planning applications office (links earlier in the thread), so please if you haven’t done so yet, get a wriggle on; the deadline for public support/objections is the 13th.

yes what a good turnout considering the small amount iof time given to organise!!
also nice to meet a few stwers I’d never met in person before.

where is the residents meeting?
It may be constructive to get an eloquent speaker there to explain that its not extreme etc etc
good on the NT for the car park stand…they are in for some flack!!

Article is here

Another one in support here

Out of interest, where are the other 5 places of investment for cycling mentioned? SW1 website is not the clearest.

and a nimby with a great answer already on the 2nd linked article 🙄

Sorry guys just having my 5 mins of fame 🙂

My picture is now on the BBC website articule about the cyclist turning up @ Plymbridge last night.

Crispy Bacon’s pic

sorry I couldn’t be there.. sounds like you had plenty of folk turn out anyway.. 🙂

best of luck

an eloquent speaker

Did somebody call?