[Closed] Annoying things at my local trail centre

A decent 8yr old would be fine round it I reckon.

Aye my nephew does a really good job around most of the red "downhill" trails
He's more competent than a lot of the adult weekend warriors as well who seem to spend most of their time looking at their front wheel and not the the trail in front of them

And these trails are listed as RED
or for experienced riders
if they want to take the kids riding stay on the kids trails

The family trails are typically flat, open, wheelchair friendly sort of things and not at all what we want to ride. That said, they tend to be quite open and wide. Perhaps you'd have a better riding experience here, where people won't block "your" trails and hold up your vitally important speed session.

Sorry mate, but you're coming across as a bit of a cock here and you might want to reflect on this.

Worst. Chat up line. Ever.

Bit harsh. All it needs is a question mark.

When it said "trail centre", I thought it meant trail centre!

I asked a bloke for directions last time I was there.. now this is the confusing bit - I was (no, am) English and (was) wearing mountain bicycle clothing.. HE was French and wearing a "sports top". Who shouldn't have been there? He didn't even know the way for crying out loud. Maybe he got the "don't tell people who ask for directions" memo.
Going there tomorrow and I'm going to be prepared to be annoyed.

In a parallel dimension...

Incident 1 - "Woah guys, that might not be the best place to stop, just so you know the etiquette is to stop off of the trail - safer for everyone that way."

Incident 2 - "Of course I can help, you need to head that way then turn that way, then you'll see the car park. Have you had a good ride, what do you think of Swinley? How does it compare to the trails back home?"

@daern
fair enough but they were camped in the middle of a trail where most people would be doing at least 12-15 mph
it wouldn't of been an issue if they were riding and not standing

are most of you that post on here actualy cyclist/mountain bikers or do you come to sit and enjoy the fun
just an idea??

secondly the dads with the daughter were at the bottom of a trail that most riders would be doing around 15--18 mph

where most people would be doing at least 12-15 mph

At least most people have slowed down in case there's anyone on the trails.

OP, stop digging.

are most of you that post on here actualy cyclist/mountain bikers or do you come to sit and enjoy the fun
just an idea??

Seriously though, you've raised an interesting point about shared trails, especially those in busy locations that get huge numbers of people, not all of which (in complete fairness) should be riding them. I think that chakaping's response from a couple of posts back reflects my attitude to this and I will rarely deviate from this behaviour.

are most of you that post on here actualy cyclist/mountain bikers or do you come to sit and enjoy the fun
just an idea??

Nah I'm just a keyboard warrior, never touched a bike in my life, never been to swinley and don't have a chuffing clue about how to recognise when i've been a douche

Is this you OP 😆

who needs a comedy show when you can read this thread 🙂

it wouldn't of been an issue if they were riding and not standing

Wouldn't [u]have[/u] - because all this thread needs is some grammatical pedantry to make it perfect.

OP, stop digging.

No, don't. I'm still interested in why lost Eastern Europeans are a problem and why you GAF about what they wear.

I think that chakaping's response from a couple of posts back reflects my attitude to this and I will rarely deviate from this behaviour.

And perfectly illustrates the simple rule...... don't be a dick 🙂

OP, stop digging.

No, don't. I'm still interested in why lost Eastern Europeans are a problem and why you GAF about what they wear.

Metathread time! 🙂

The new surface at Swinley is too Estonia for me.

I'm just a bloke with a bike.
secondly [b]the dads with the daughter were at the bottom of a trail that most riders would be doing around 15--18 mph[/b]
if id hit the daughter at that speed who knows what would happen. I literally had to yank my bars to miss them!!

[b]And these trails are listed as RED
or for experienced riders
if they want to take the kids riding stay on the kids trails[/b]

I think that confirms that they were lost and needed directions, possible even European..

OP. Any chance you can enlighten us on why you feel the ethnicity of the hoodies is relevant?

With small children and foreigners being the subject of your wrath you sound like a fantastic guest for a dinner party i'm having. Wanna come?

I think everyone at BOB club would be glad if you'd remove their name from your original post....

At the end of the day you're riding a hugely busy trail centre, you have to expect there to be people of different standards there, there is a reason that most BOB rides only touch on the trial centre itself when busy, there is miles and miles of trails in that area where you won't meet another rider let alone people to take their kids.

Swinley red is one of the tamest red trails in the country, and one of the busiest.
You've got to expect some inexperienced people and be aware they might be blocking a trail.

Come to Thetford......

Incident 2 - "Of course I can help, you need to head that way then turn that way, then you'll see the car park. Have you had a good ride, what do you think of Swinley? How does it compare to the trails back home?"

I think he was in to much of a hurry to give them directions back to Dover.. 😀

Dover's that way

[img] ?w=1200[/img]

Personally I wouldn't call you a dick. I would say perhaps you might consider that you may have reacted in the wrong way.
It is best to ride thinking the trails are for everyone and it is safer to be able to stop if there is an obstacle or an injured rider on the course.
I often stop and show my kids a good line choice, we always watch out for riders and stop adjacent tot he trail, but sometimes people shout at us. The kids thank them for their advice and they normally move on.
Peace out.

are most of you that post on here actualy cyclist/mountain bikers or do you come to sit and enjoy the fun
just an idea??

Yep, I ride quite a lot. I used to ride Swinley often when I stayed in Berkshire 10 years ago, so I can kind of sympathise with you in that the trails can get really busy and it can get frustrating. I guess it's only got busier as the trails are more restricted now.

Think of the positive though, my current trails up north are so quiet that if you had a bad crash you'd be eaten by badgers before anyone found you. At Swinley you'd be found and airlifted away in 10 minutes.

Everyone's focusing on you being a dick to children and foreigners, but I need to ask - what's wrong with wearing jeans and hoodies?

OP, are you talking about Red 15? The only cross over I can think of is at the bottom when it flattens out - the trail pixies recently put two berms there, I presume to slow people down.

what's wrong with wearing jeans and hoodies?

Only noobs and chavs ride in jeans and hoodies*

(* not illustrated)

[img] [/img]

scud - Member
I think everyone at BOB club

Ah I'd assumed Bob was some Neolithic trail builder.

I’ll tell you what is annoying about Swinley. Litter, un-controlled dogs and dog shit.

[i]the trail pixies recently put two berms there, I presume to slow people down.[/i]

Berms to slow people down... interesting.

[i]I’ll tell you what is annoying about Swinley[/i]

The prices in the cafe 😉

Reading the thread title "Annoying things at [b]my[/b] local trail centre"

Maybe the OP is the the owner?

eastern Europeans dressed in jeans and hoodies wanted directions back to the car park.

This makes me mad; coming over here and taking our directions! 😈

And buying our jeans and hoodies

Dez, before it was a slight downhill fast straight exit across a fire road which you could take off on. Now its two tight berms.

Think of the positive though, my current trails up north are so quiet that if you had a bad crash you'd be eaten by badgers before anyone found you.

from the description of Swinley I'd take my chances with the badgers every time.

Are they [url= https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_badger ]European badgers[/url]?

I've been asked for directions at Swinley by lost noobs who looked like they'd had to bail and got lost trying to find the car park. You know what I did? I gave them directions. Another time it was a lad of about 14, no lights and it was getting dark, he'd agreed to meet his parents at the car park at a certain time and was having a bit of a Blair Witch moment, clearly quite distressed. So I rode with him to the car park.

Didn't stop to check if he was Eastern European though, maybe I should have?

As for "missing by inches" being an exaggeration - I did actually crash into another rider once at Swinley, back when it was two way. Cut his finger too, felt really bad about it - and learned to cool it.

I was up at Mabie a few weeks ago, a bloody big Deer was just standing in the middle of the red trail (just after the picnic tables). Tried to have words but it just ran off.
Honestly they have no idea. 😉

secondly the dads with the daughter were at the bottom of a trail that most riders would be doing around 15--18 mph

where most people would be doing at least 12-15 mph

Cool. The way the average speed is declining, if they go back again this weekend, it will be safe enough to pitch a tent and have a barbecue in the middle of the trail.

Result.

Honestly they have no idea.

yes the blind ones are even more of a pest.

Are they European badgers?

Quite possibly. Might also have to contend with some more [url= http://www.lynxuk.org/ ]bloody immigrants[/url] soon. Coming over here, eating our deer and providing 24 hour protection against sweat and odour.

Deadkenny, is that you?

Berms to slow people down... interesting.

Yup, they're tighter than the posters in the "sweating like a ........" thread sailing to the banhammer, works though. Used to be flat out of the last bit across the fireroad and into the next section, now you hit it a little above a brisk jog.

Hairy muff 🙂

Can be seen here (should be frozen at 1:23), the two berms around the tree scrub off all your speed, and there's a lot of time to see the fire road crossing up ahead, and you'd have less speed by that point.

Unless you weren't looking where you were going and went left about 5m before the tree down the STRAVASSHOLE line straight onto the next section (and weren't looking where you were going).

Going by the Fred title it would appear that the trail centre is indeed his. It's no wonder that he's pissed that other people are riding there.

#Millennials
#self-entitled
#bigot
#brexit