Got a problem with people leaving big sticks and logs on the paths and trails in my local woods. These are proper paths,not just bike trails. Has anyone used the police to deal with this problem and what kind of a response did you get? My plan is to photograph,date and note the position of each offending article and report each of them. Any other ideas? Id love to catch the filthy,vile culprits….

This up on corstorphine hill?

Report it to the rangers if it is.

Ooh, extra technical trail features for free!

Unfortunately locally we experienced this, sad ppl with sad lives IMO but simply we cleared them everytime they appeared. Cut up larger ones so they couldn’t be used again and made as sure as possible that bringing the same sticks back would be hard work. In all cases the “stickman” eventually gave up, annoying process but long term worth it.

Stikman never gives up, he just moves on and then comes back.

It is rumoured* that one of our local stickmen was actually one of the local volunteer rangers. He isn’t a volunteer ranger anymore though I still see him in the woods every so often and is nice as pie to passing cyclists.

*when I say “rumoured”, it was my wife he told, no actually pretty much shouted about it all at with his ranger hat on, not me. So she could be making it up 😉

Perhaps stick man should be introduced to club man ❓

Tj – yeah it is CH. Will email the ranger but they are pretty anti mtb so wont hold my breath.

ever thought about cause and effect here? Not that its ever right to do of course of course

the rangers are not anti MTB at all

BTW _ I may have spotted another place not far away that would be much better for yo to build technical lines I would have though- email me off forum

Here’s something similar – IIRC its public nuisance / wilful obstruction / negligence, even if you shouldn’t be there. Proving who did it though would obviously be difficult.

It would definitely be worth contacting the ranger with a complaint as if there is a public safety problem they then can’t ignore it.

Cue CSI invetigation with fingerprints taken from logs and checked against a stickman database to thumping techno….

My plan is to photograph,date and note the position of each offending article and report each of them.

Lifes too short and I hope the police have better things to do

Big thunder get yourself up to the other DH tracks on the East Lothian side of town where the trails get left alone. 😉

The ranger is definetly anti mtb. Just have a look through the old foch newsletters online and you will see his anti bike measures. Filling in trails,taking down shelters(whatever they are) and wrecking jumps. Tried emailing him but he doesnt reply. His attitude has changed though but thats just duie to the change in access laws and not him. Wrecking the irresponsible stuff(badger setts nearby,on walkers paths etc) is fair enough.

Ive seen dogs dragging huge logs and then when they get tired just leaving them on the trails.

Sadly its usually humans with a grudge who do it, take pictures, and keep records then, when and if somebody is hurt you have the proof ,and can then ask why the relevant authorities did something to stop this behaviour.

Police won’t be interested. (and edited to ask why anyone thinks any authority would be – it’s logs and sticks in the woods and mountain biking may involve a few accidents..)

My tactic – just remove them every time and ride the most-often obstructed trails the most. It becomes a battle of wills.

I caught a guy at it on my local trails on morning. I had a fair but firm word, he was very defensive and sweary but not aggro. I told him there was likely to be more of us removing the logs than there were of him placing them and we thought it was a fun game. The logging stopped : )

jameso – Member
Police won’t be interested.

They will be when somebody has been injured or killed, and they have quite a few log reports, and nothing had been done.

A crime is a crime.

Oh yes agree those logs and twigs in the trail could have someones eye out. I can see the headlines now ‘Log and twigs in woods – police search for serial chopper’

Maybe it’s just me but I find ‘stickman’ type stuff all part of the fun.

Where I ride ( Surrey Hills ) the various Rangers are pretty tolerant – but may not appear so to angry moaning red socks and similar. Their job is about compromise.

But once a dodgy trail can no longer be ignored they deal with it properly. At least they understand us well enough to know a pile of sticks or even a trunk does **** all and just becomes a feature.

Contact special branch.

Leave it out! Rangers can be **** but their bark is usually worse than their bite. See how I did that? Could have been leaf/leave and bark like tree bark. Clever eh!
Good grief.

Our police appeared interested but never really did anything. One well placed log nearly took a very good rider out permanently but they still never went up to investigate, just gave a sympathetic face whilst taking statements. The saboteur was caught in action by a rider one day and confronted. In the ensuing scuffle the rider broke his thumb on the bloke’s face somehow and nothing has happened since.

Just glad ya caught him. Shame the rider got hurt though.

The offender may stop if they twig you’re onto them

I have a large chunk of my leg missing due to impaling myself on a booby trap left by some clown.
I dream of the day when I catch someone setting mantraps.
Like the idea of a legal type letter tbh.

Remember to log all incidents. Stick a note in your diary. Root out the offender – they will twig you’re on to them, branch out somewhere new and maybe turn over a new leaf.