Could be interesting when its run again in June.

… and October

CG, I’m always up for a forest ride! 3 times a week is my norm!

Pick a date 🙂

I only saw a few groups (nothing more than maybe 10 or so riders) pass through the village

That might have been the Tri ride. I dropped off from it just before Linwood as I was getting a little nervous (understatement).

We need some sweary Northerners! There’s a few of us sweary Southerners but reinforcements are definitely required.

Can we have some yapping dogs too and make sure they sh!t everywhere. How about some muzak? They’ll love that especially rap.

Oh and squealy brakes are a must. 😀

Love the NF official website:

Green Tourism in the New Forest

People who live here will tell you that The New Forest is a unique working landscape, with many secrets to discover. The best way to reveal The New Forest’s hidden gems and to truly appreciate the sights, sounds and smells of the forest is to get out there and explore! The New Forest is easily reached by train, being only 90 minutes from London Waterloo! So try leaving your car at home and head out on foot, bicycle or on horseback to get a more intimate feel of the forest, its coastlines and villages. A number of Green Leaf accommodation providers even offer discounts or incentives for car-free guest so be sure to ask before you book! The New Forest is also blessed with local produce so be sure to try New Forest Marque food and the New Forest Breakfast.

NF DC website:

Tourism creates over 7980 jobs in the forest and generates nearly £400 million in tourism expenditure.

So, what about some concerted voting with feet (wheels), boycott local businesses for a month, don’t spend anything within the NF and point the finger of blame at that very nice lady from Vizzit. Even the threat may see some surprising media coverage and change of attitude from some of the NIMBYS.

anita gresham-hale on Twitter @Forestfilly

[smokescreen]”the NF is a great place for a bike ride over 100 miles of cycle track”[/smokescreen]

I only saw a few groups (nothing more than maybe 10 or so riders) pass through the village

That might have been the Tri ride. I dropped off from it just before Linwood as I was getting a little nervous (understatement).

Sorry what i meant was, despite the “thousands” of cyclists who were participating, they seemed very well spread out across the forest with only a few in groups. And causing a lot less disruption than the horses, cows, donkeys and pigs that regularly block the roads. Not to mention the tourists who stop in the most stupid places to take their photograph.

Be interesting too see just how many cyclists we could get together for a mass protest ride.

And of course we would need to make as much noise as possible so as to not sneak up silently from behind on the new forest ponies!

FieldMarshall – Member
We seemed to have escaped all the anti-cycling activists at our end of the forest.
Sounds like its the “southern forest dwellers” that are most anti this event. Never realised there was a north/south divide in the new forest

On the other thread, crazylegs quoted an email

1. there are roads works with traffic lights on Lyndhurst Road Landford any cyclist going through a red light will be film and reported.
2. Lyndhurst Road Landford is a 30 and 40 mph limited area. Any cyclist caught above the speed limit on our speed camera will also be photograph and reported.

Fairly notherly (and near me). Mind, they didn’t seem to turn up as far as I could see
Whereabouts are you FM ?

I’m up for a ‘responsible’ protest ride, fed up with the sneery get off our forest nimbys. Friends who are Less enthusiastic cyclists born and bred in the forest often chat to me about their latest interaction with the twunts.

SC, i’m in the Redlynch/Woodfalls area. We had a steady stream of riders on Sat and even some on Sun, despite the cancellation.

And no protesters/activists as far as I saw.

All signs were still in place until lunchtime Sun.

I’d be up for a group ride too.

In Bartley here, the event came past my place last year as do several other sportives and loads of regular chain-gangs, commuters and mtbers on their way out and back. Never had or seen any bother at all there’re always horses up and down the road too.

Had sunday lunch at the oak at bank with a few friends who rode saturday and saw a few riders coming though on this years route, saw a few signs which looked the be pointing in the right direction.

I was going to post on Facebook and twitter for Anita whatever her name is and vizzitnewforest.com but it’s all 4 years out of date, shame

even some on Sun, despite the cancellation

Yeah, I was out at teatime and there were quite a few even then. Pretty sure one was Jens Voigt checking the route for his ride – can’t imagine who else could have passed me 🙂

I would be up for a ride too, I’ve only been road riding for a year in the forest but never had any issues so all this anti-cycling is news to me. Most of the time I only see a handful of riders out and about, see plenty more horses and cows.

I wonder what the big road clubs in the area think?

+1 for a protest ride.

Just me that’s wary of a protest ride ?

Has the potential to come across just as whingey as what they’re doing IMO. How about inviting a local journalist to come along on a ride instead and show them something constructive. If we’re really lucky they might get sideswiped by a car and realise what we’re up against 😉

I’m on the verge of booking another weeks holiday in the Forest, but this is certainly putting me off.
Been a few times before, with and without bikes, and love the country side, but have always got the impression that riding or walking is not really welcomed.
Go to the tea shops and tourist spots, spend your money, that is OK, but keep out of the forest.
Last summer I got out for an hour or two for a ride, while the rest of the family played in the sun, I’ve never seen so many signs warning tresspassers, private road, no addmittence, no cycling, or we have firece dogs, or CCTV, it actually made me quite angry. I’m sure some of the signs were on the foresty published routes as well.

I’ve never seen so many signs warning tresspassers, private road, no addmittence, no cycling, or we have firece dogs, or CCTV, it actually made me quite angry. I’m sure some of the signs were on the foresty published routes as well.

I’ve been living and riding in the NF for the last 10 years and never noticed anything like that.

Then again I’m not very observant when I ride. Often get to the end of a section and someone says, “did you see this or that” and I’ve normally totally missed it.

What part of the NF were you in?

There is a CCTV sign in the enclosure opposite the Ashurst campsite, as well as various other do not trespass and private signs.

I’ve been photographed and video’d riding in / around the Ashurst Campsite, and stopped by the NF Agister up at Deerleap.

I’m still riding, what in realty is going to happen? As FM stated above, I’m oblivious to most hings and just ride on through……….

I get the impression that there is less tolerance in the southern end of the NF (i.e south of the A31), where the majority of the big campsites are and where most tourists go.

Had the odd run-in with a few horse riders over the years, but in the main most walkers/dog-walkers are friendly as you like, as long as you slow down and are courteous.

Biggest issue we get is with idiots driving out to the forest, parking up, getting drunk and leaving broken bottles, rubbish, cans everywhere. But that seemed to stop when my sister, who was visiting, called the police out one day. 🙂

And don’t forget about the nimbys driving their 4×4’s over a rather wet forest to ‘see their animals’ destroying decent paths… Matley passage is one such example!

And Hampton ridge seems a favoured route for at least one driver who seems to think driving to and from the pub at fritham is best done off road 😈

I tend to just do what I please, not had many comments when off road, far more on the odd occasion I venture onto some tarmac!

This organisation had a meeting during the event, near to where the tacks were found.

http://www.nfcda.co.uk

“N E W F O R E S T C Y C L E E V E N T
A number of local people who are greatly concerned about the increase in the above type of event have decided to hold a public meeting to discuss and view the upheaval caused during this ride involving thousands of cyclists using narrow forest roads.

The meeting place is Blackwater Car Park on the Rhinefield Ornamental Drive at 1000 am on 13 April 2013.

Anyone who shares the concern is welcome to attend.”

Vandalism, theft, sabotage and injury. It will be interesting to see how the police deal with this.

And to anyone considering the NF as a holiday destination… Drive on by, try the isle of purbeck just beyond Poole harbour. Much better riding and loads of family holiday stuff to do.

My folks’ house came with both grazing and firewood ‘commoners’ rights. They are very pro-cycling (the older they have become, the more they use pedal power!)

…. Might ask them to join the NFCDA 🙂

Nfcda. They blocked the route, until moved on by the police.

So they complain about road access during the event, and then illegally block the road.
Cyclists upset animals…. And then tacks are thrown around the forest

” Mrs Sibley added: “These huge events are putting local residents’ lives in danger. “How, for example, would an ambulance or fire engine reach a New Forest village in time if there were 4,000 cyclists blocking our roads?

What if you lot block a road and waste police time. Can’t you lot see the hypocrasy of what you have done… ******* ******

COLOSSAL PR OWN GOAL for Anita, her vizzit NF website, and the NFCDA who are acting like a terrorist group.

Basque separatists, che Guevara, IRA, tupac (not the rapper) all had what they thought was a good reason to do what they did… “I don’t like cyclist” is so damned weak. the predictions or carnage, roads blocked etc have come true, because the idiots in the woods did it themselves.

Odd that there’s nothing relating to the number of animals killed by traffic on the site, only a note confirming that they’re not liable in case of insurance claims.

Strange to prioritise cycling events as a cause of upheaval or needing ‘defence’ from.

How, for example, would an ambulance or fire engine reach a New Forest village in time if there were 4,000 cyclists blocking our roads?

Err.. the emergency services would get through easily because it’s far easier to move a load of bikes off the road than a load of cars, even if there were more than a few dozen in any one bunch. What a dumbass question )

How, for example, would an ambulance or fire engine reach a New Forest village in time if there were 4,000 cyclists blocking our roads?

Gotta love the random, hypothetical doomsday scenario used to try and justify banning these events 😆 Do you think they’ve also considered how their animals roaming wild in the area/on the unfenced roads might also affect the emergency services ?

Do they think that 4000 cyclists are all going to start at the same time and rock round the forest in some monster peleton, crushing everything in their wake…. 8)

The CDA – now there’s a surprise.

Their only interest is in preserving the forest as a huge, free (in fact subsidised) farm for them to let their livestock roam in. They actively promote closing the forest campsites, closing car parks, even closing some roads to restrict access.

Unfortunately, the CDA is populated by the same people who are also the Verderers, the New Forest Association and even the National Park Authority. They have the ear of local landowners and MP’s as has been demonstrated by Julian Lewis bleating to parliament.

There is no substantiation for their actions. It is discrimination against people who dress differently to them and enjoy different interests. Its hate crime.

Trade the word ‘cyclist’ with ‘gay’ or ‘black’, and see what response their actions would invoke from the authorities then.

Party on people )

I live in the New Forest and ride there at least 2/3 times a week – and all this has really annoyed me. The amount of business that cyclists bring to the Forest must be immense with B&B’s, people eating out, bike shops etc, and I just don’t get the hatred against it. Where I live is ALWAYS full of people o bikes all year.

As for the cyclists spooking / hurting horses debate that’s a kind of non-point as well – the horses tend to (largely) stay off the roads and if they are around, you just flipping avoid them! In a cyclist vs horse incident I know who’s going to come of worse – and it’s not the horse – so everyone is careful anyway.

It’s just a few ignorant locals making us all look like loons 🙁

As for the cyclists spooking / hurting horses debate that’s a kind of non-point as well – the horses tend to (largely) stay off the roads and if they are around

That’s where I tend to ride, and horses tend to just run off. Unless it’s night time and you have lights, you stop for a mechanical, look down for 5 min, look up and there’s a whole herd around you – freaked me right out!