The overwhelming two complaints I've heard are high speed riding too near to people on foot and their dogs. Big muddy patches caused by bikers not going through the mud but going round.
Perfectly reasonable complaints and related to about 5% of the users over there.
It's the stormtroopers I tells ya...
I've just checked with Jeff a middle aged bloke in my office who lives near pitch and that's his beef anyway.
I can assure you that their concerns are heartfelt and in a lot of cases quite valid.
People feel that bikers are intimidatingly fast - bikers need to slow down completely, as in right down to walking pace plus walking pace, when they get anywhere near walkers. Or just stop. Your perception of speed on a bike is totally different to a family strolling with kids and dog.
People also feel that bikers are arrogant and are not sharing their experience of the countryside - they think we are on an adrenaline ride and not tuned into the outdoors in a wider sense.
Also there are conservation issues beyond just simple erosion. Ground nesting birds and lizards for example. A lot of creatures need an extended patch to feel comfortable and thrive, not just ever decreasing isolated patches hedged by a maze of mtb tracks.
Plus there are genuine health and safety issues. Liability is a worry for land owners, but also a general concern that most people don't want serious injuries happening regardless of blame or litigation. The poor guy that broke his neck for example - that situation is not suddenly ok just because no law suit was pursued - he still broke his neck.
The Ranger will leave "legacy" trails - but you might have a different list in mind to him!
More visitors is generally a good thing. It helps the local economy (we aren't a theme park here - it is a real place with people earning a living and bringing up families etc) and that is one reason that bodies such as Surrey Hills AONB are behind cycling. But there has to be some harmony and tuning-in.
Spot on I think. The "damage the bikes do" is the main complaint I get. Generally every large group will have a variety of attitudes and that includes the walkers/horse riders as a small minority go out of their way to be impolite and obstructive. But then if I am out walking there with the GLW and the stormtroopers come charging past on a footpath I do get a bit "anti" myself (for about half a second anyway).
The few times I've walked around there, my only issue has been the dicks riding too close/fast either barely in control or in one spectacular case totally out of control (he visited the scenery shortly after almost running my other half down).
The vast majority of riders though were perfectly courteous and well behaved.
Surely the more trails the rangers block, the more bikes and walkers will be forced to come into contact with each other.
mikey - yep. And the bikers will have to slow down and give priority to walkers and horses.
So surely it is in the ranger's, and the areas, interest to promote the building and maintenence of a series of bike specific trails, rather than going around closing them down. Let's face it: Mountain biking is progressing as a sport and our trail networks just can not keep up.
That is precisely what the BKB and Parklife/Yogurt Pots work has been about. But the logic does not extend automatically all over the hills. Similar work is hoped for on Leith, but there are land-owner issues there.
Even when there are dedicated mtb trails walkers have priority.
The Hurtwood, or anywhere else for that matter, don't support mountain biking as a sport - they support enjoyment of the countryside by bike.
Check out the post today about friends wanted to ride with. One chap noted his club recently had a ride which 43 riders were on, in the North Downs. OK - they may not have been on Pitch / Holmbury / Leith, but large groups are not helping either with the erosion issue or the perceived dangers to walkers etc.
As long as they were on the North Downs I don't mind! Mind you, they probably were on Surrey Hills and just didn't know what its called.
The Hurtwood, or anywhere else for that matter, don't support mountain biking as a sport - they support enjoyment of the countryside by bike.
... and there lies the crux of the matter: Whether they like it or not, mountain biking is a growing SPORT and is constantly evolving/progressing and people need to stop burying their heads in the sand and actually address the issues.
I would guess, although I may be wrong, that the main problems surrounding the walker/biker interface occur on the main bridleways around the hills. Surely it then makes sense to encourage bikers not to use these and support the building, in an approved location and to an approved standard, mountain bike specific trails that are clearly marked as such and also clearly stating that any irresponsible behaviour by bikers on the main bridleways will not be tolerated and may result in the destruction of said bike specific trails, and maybe, ultimately, the banning of all bikes from the hills.
They seem to have done it with Summer Lightning and Parklife so why not roll it out to other areas of the three hills.
This is just random thinking I am doing here while at work so may not be workable with the current land-management systems.
You can't just demand the facilities to do whatever sport you like wherever you want. Why would mountain biking be any different?
Why would mountain biking be any different?
Because it is an ever-growing sport that heavily utilises this area. Just read this and all the other recent threads. There is something that needs to be done about the current situation.
It's not a case of "demanding the facilities" it's to do with dealing with an existing and ever-growing problem. At the moment, the only logical outcome I can see is for the landowners to eventually turn around and say no more mountain bikes and it will become like the Ashdown Forest here near East Grinstead.
I've done 3 dig days now. 2x Redlands and 1x Hurtwood. Each time, no more than 10 volunteers. Where the hell are we?
A lot of people do want the separate corridors for mtb thing to be expanded. Including me. I have put in a hell of a lot of hours actually doing it, as have lots of other volunteers. It makes sense. But it isn't our right.
The whole situation will not be remedied without much better consideration of other people, whether we have our own trails or not.
If you're nearby Mikey do get involved with the volunteers, if you don't already.
I ride there most weeks and have a nice easy plan to follow that results in nae bother.
I ride up the bridalways and fire roads.
I ride down the singletracks and keep to the right path not cut corners because it's easier. it amazes me than on BYB people cut the corners, my 9 year old can ride that trail without doing that.
I always stop for walkers, horses and dogs if I meet them on the flat.
I say hello to people.
I ride through the mud not round it.
I take the dog she makes friends easier than me.
PPS
I'm on the builders mailing list but have heard about no digs. Since the one where it pissed down all day who do i talk to about that.
I live about 35 miles away and would be happy to chip in. Where do I find out when the dig days are?
The whole situation will not be remedied without much better consideration of other people, whether we have our own trails or not.
I totally agree and I think the best for all concerned is more mountain bike only trails. I do wonder if it is the only way mountain biking will survive on the Surrey Hills.
Send an eail to Hurtwood Control. Won't be anything for quite a while - roll on spring time.
Cheers Glen will do.
Get this.
I've just been talking to our man here who lives in Albury.
He outlined three issues.
Too much speed especially around his dogs.
People who cycle on the footpaths whch are marked as footpath only he says there is one in the valley above his house that is a pure footpath has markers and barriers and yet still gets ridden. ( I belive this as I've seen people do this myself on the footpath only bit at the top of Holmbury.
However this disturbed me.
Our man was walking Holmbury from the top car park by the false pond up to the monument at the top. If anyone has ridden this it's clearly a bridal way and is very heavily used by walkers as it leads directly from he car park to the summit. He tells me there was a chap teaching some novices to do jumps and drop offs in the gully there, jumping onto and across the bridal way, worst place imaginable IMHO. He asked the guy if that was the best place for teaching who told him to F off. He is a really nice reasonable guy not some ultra pissed off nutter and this is how some of us treat locals is it?
WTF??
Wow. I can assure you that wasn't one of us! We have for the most part stopped riding down that bit entirely, purely because it so fast and so close to the car park.
We do sometimes do sessions such as rolling down a steep slope in places that you might see us, but we always stop completely if someone comes through and we most certainly don't use language like that!
That is shocking. I'm assuming it wasn't one of the the 'official' looking classes I see being taught in that area on Sundays..
The other bit that can really cause a rumpus now I come to think of it is the lane leading down into Peaslake past the church. So it's a perfect place to slow right down and throw some 'good mornings' around as the churchgoers sometimes look in fear for their lives when they first catch a bike out of the corner of their eye. Its amazing how quickly you'll get a smile straight back once they realise you are not an evil biker intent on their premature demise...
According to him it was. He described the group as a teacher and students. He said there are three routes and two involve jumps ( I know exactly where he means) and that these people were being instructed. He spoke to what he described as the teacher and was told and I quote "F off we can do what we want on a bridleway".
I'd love to know who the hell that was. Not only behaving like dicks but leaving the suspicion that it was AllBikedUp.
He and I get on well and he has no reason to embellish his story.
Also he is an older chap not all that well versed in the ways of MTB so his description does seem to indicate it was ne of the skills schools and not just a group of bikers.
Not doubting you matey. It just wasn't us! Usually if there is a skills group about it will be us. We do jumps sometimes on the banks down by the cricket pitch, we roll down the slope to the end of Doc, we used to roll down the bank right at the top adjacent to the bridleway cut (but that has been stopped for a while)... I actually can't quite visualise where you mean this was.
I do know with complete confidence that myself or Richard or any of our other qualified instructors would most certainly not tell someone to F off, even if we thought they were wrong.
It's a very delcicate situation, the more 'official' publicised trails that are put in, for the best of intentions - to reduce erosion, the more people will travel there, and the more folk like me, will try and find new natural stuff away from the area. It is a difficult one, I don't pretend to have the answer.
BTW - that was a a bit of a sweeping statement by me earlier regarding 'trail centre bikes' - apologies. 
This topic has been closed to new replies.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
