Brought to our attention by several people over the past few days, Conservative MP Ian Liddell-Grainger has been taking a dig at mountain bikers in the Quantocks, particularly Great Wood. The Western Morning News quote him as claiming groups of up to thirty or forty riders have been terrorising walkers and horse riders; damaging trails, digging new ones with jumps, and generally ruining everything for everyone.
He previously defended Great Wood from the coalitions attempt at selling off publicly owned UK woodlands, naming it as one of his favourite places. It’s dispiriting to see how easily user groups can sometimes turn on each other, as well as how quickly these stories can become “Mountain bikers are a problem!” – especially when an MP chooses to pen a demonising press release.
There are counter-claims in the comments on that piece that the built trails in that area fall within a Forestry Commission tree farm, and with their permission, rather than the ancient deciduous woodland Ian implies. He seems to have a history of creating conflict and not checking facts, too, winning a vote of no confidence from people in his own party.
Given his divisive antics, we’d suggest he stay away from the local access forum, but for any local mountain bikers interested in dialogue, you can find more details here.
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Quanticks?