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Out last night (getting very cold and wet) and was peeved off to find that the classic descent down past Marple golf coarse has been filled with stone, widened out and is now as smooth as a road (In the same way all the other recent santizations have been carried out)
Something is going on here, if I phone the powers that be what's the betting they say they've responded to a complaint ? It seems that someone or some group is systematicly going round and picking out the best used BW's to complain about. As the new surface was covered in horse crap, I'm guessing its a group of horse riders but it could be an anti MTB group somewhere.
Needless to say no ****ler is going to force me off the hills into a bloody trail centre !
Is this the Strawberry Farm DH on strava segment? or the rockgarden descent which comes out at brookbottom near the fox?
It's a shame but there is an awful lot of horsey activity all round Marple.
I would like to think that, if the horse-riding community are systematically getting the trails changed, they're doing it to make it better for horse-riding themselves rather than targeting MTBing.
Wind your neck in and step away from the conspiracy theories. It's most likely a council being rubbish, possibly at the request the horse riders. As higgo says it's not likely to be targeted to get you off the trails.
We're (PMBA) trying to work with the equestrians to get sections of boggy bridleway surfaced so we can all use them, joint voice, more likely to get funding. In the meantime we've already managed to get some badly repaired sections sorted and other bits that were unrideable fixed. Ringing up and complaining proably won't get you anywhere, maybe joining an access forum or organised group might (no promises though).
If the horsey lot are behind it, fair play to them for get organised and getting stuff done. If a few more mountain bikers organised we'd have more clout as well.
I blame the global industrial gravel complex.
Needless to say no ****ler is going to force me off the hills into a bloody trail centre !
Yeah that's exactly what "they" are trying to do.
Whilst i agree, it is annoying when a previously fun to ride trail gets 'sanitised' luckily, i don't think there is much to worry about in the long term. The councils budgets aren't going to allow them to compete with the power of nature of long!
Couple of wet winters (or wet summers) and you'll be back to bunny hopping the rocky chunder no worries.... 😉
I think that's the descent we call "swoopy". We noticed it got sanitised when we were out that way a week or 2 ago. It's total rubbish as a descent for MTB now, so we are going to reverse what we usually do and use it as a climb and ride down Linnet Clough. Though I suppose Linnet Clough will be next for sanitising....
From what I see from my regular mtb and road rides, is that most horse riders seem to prefer plodding along on Tarmac roads or the Middlewood way rather than using bridleways.
Mellor Golf Course!!
Wondered what trail I was missing out at Marple!
So this is the swoops after dissecting the golf course?
+1 wind your neck in! The trail now is perfect for putting in a few berms if you can be bothered.
From what I've heard is the mx crowd, the ruts made it un-ridable for them. One them even works in a lbs...
Still be nice to know exactly where we are talking about though.
Once again I can't think of a bigger waste of money.
Ask someone on the hospital waiting list how they think the money should be spent.
Can someone from the magazine stop doing articles about clothes and investigate the biggest threat to our sport.
Thank you.
Yes, for clarity it's the Mellor golf coarse descent, the one that finishes at Windybottom farm next to the railway.
Glad to see this forum is living up to its long standing reputation. You log on to a MTB forum that runs along side a MTB magazine to highlight that yet another favourite route amongst MTB'kers has been sanitised and there appears to be a growing trend of serial complaints against the best MTB routes and the first replies are from horse lovers telling you to wind you're neck in !
The mx crowd shouldn't be on it anyway, it's a bridleway. I hope the horse crowd actually use it since it's unusable to us now 🙁
Can someone from the magazine stop doing articles about clothes and investigate the biggest threat to our sport.
Really?
It's not a sport for me, for a start. I do it for fun/enjoyment/challenge (and a beer at the end).
But do you [i]really[/i] think it's under threat? And if it is, do you think that preparing multi-use trails so that different communities can use them is the [u]biggest[/u] threat?
The MX crew get stone put down for them (3 Shires in Macc), the horse crew get loose gravel put down for them (Marple) and the 4x4's get runways put down (Walna Scar Road in the Lakes). The only ones getting short changed here is the MTB'kers.
I'm going to invest in a mattok and folding spade! Now It's fast and smooth, its ripe for some berms and jumps!!
Mr Pea
Would that be the golf course at Mellor??? Coarse is something rough and scratchy, Think you mean the uphill btw
Don't tayke v puss owt ov mi dizleksia. Eyem in the DNA (nasnal assoseasun of dizleksics) and I'm doin va best I kan.
calm down and don't be so excitable.
calm down and don't be so excitable. Still think you mean the uphill.
Black Lane, past the old quarry, straight across to The Banks, down the lane turn right, across the wooden step gate and then the really fast chanelthrough Mellor golf course to Windybottom farm. WAS a great descent. No uphill involved.
The MX crew get stone put down for them (3 Shires in Macc), the horse crew get loose gravel put down for them (Marple) and the 4x4's get runways put down (Walna Scar Road in the Lakes). The only ones getting short changed here is the MTB'kers.
What do you want them to put down for MTBs?
Nowt. Just leave the trails alone.
Everyone knows bridleways are only for Mountain Bikers.
How dare they.
Cruzcampo.... Yep that's it.
Still think you mean the uphill.
It is.
Until 'they' install a gondola and chairlift system in Mellor/Marple, we'll have to ride some of them to ride down others.
This one, for me, is [i]mostly[/i] an up. I enjoy a bit of technical climbing from time to time but if 'they' are going to smooth something I'd rather it was a climb than a descent.
I last rode that 1st/2nd September and it was pretty smooth, lots of places to carve with a trenching spade I thought. What did it used to be like?
ps. also most BW around stockport are getting restoned i've noticed the last few months, probably just a wider council maintenance scheme as opposed to anyone complaining.