I'd say ride the footpaths whenever you like, just be nice and considerate to everyone you meet along the way and don't assume that you'll be chasing KoMs on a sunny bank holiday.
Sensible and considerate, yes, but if it's considered OK to be walking, then it's probably OK to be riding there too.
This and more. If we skulk around acting as if we have no rights to be there, walkers and others will never accept mountain bikers' presence on the trail as normal and reasonable. The law is out of step with common sense and the reality is that most people, faced with courteous riders, don't give a stuff.
I guess whether you feel guilt is down to your general take on authority and 'rules', but without any serious legal sanction or sensible logic to say that it's a bad thing, I really don't care. In fact I feel I'm doing a righteous thing by being there 🙂
i have an old packhorse road that i fancy riding, off limits in the day as the local farmers get really upset, but i have a new helmet and its been a year since i last got a b0II0ck1ng, so i may test my resolve this evening.
issues by name issues by nature
ps. as others have said you should always give horses priority.
Anyway, one legally proven way of establishing higher rights is to ride a path, openly, without permission or objection from the landowner, for 20 years. This is called presumed dedication of a right of way. If that isn't legal sanction for riding footpaths, I don't know what is.
does that meant hat is 20 years anything recorded on strava will be open to all?
I couldn't give a damn about it. In the black mountains a lot of tracks aren't even footpaths. I am considerate and polite though. Except to the pr@×k who was walking up a descent with 5 dogs at Hopton, then proceeded to shout that I could have hurt his dogs, he was fully aware of the fact it was a mtb trail.
does that meant hat is 20 years anything recorded on strava will be open to all?
No, needs to have horse traffic and ideally no locked gates or stiles
I feel there's acceptance from the walkers on all the cheek I frequent that it is used by MTBs. Only a tiny percentage of encounters are ill-mannered. The vast majority are very well natured, and typically you hear "rather you than me / how did you get up here on that / you're all mad / have fun!" being the order of the day.
probably worth looking at your local council website and look at options of upgrading footpaths to bridleways,
2 of my favourite cheekies are on the list to upgrade around west yorkshire
Deer Hill (meltham/marsden, W.Yorks) has been on the list to upgrade to a bridleway since 18/04/97, in my eyes that means its been ridden on for 20 years and so higher rights established :0)
he was fully aware of the fact it was a mtb trail.
ironic huh.
Been riding Deer Hill to Wessenden since 1990. Busted by Finnis the evil NT Ranger once but that's all. No one at the shooting club g-a-f.
@robinL......that Brighouse guy was kicking off when i used to ride there 20 years ago.....!
In fairness it is a right shitbath of a towpath section that bike tyres don't help...although it almost feels it has been kept that way deliberately.
Often on a cheeky trail if I've come across someone they've smiled, said hello or even stepped aside apologising for being in the way! I'll stop and let them past with a smile. They don't seem to know or be bothered about the status.
Very occasional moan from a dedicated rambler, though most are either friendly or just give you the dirty look.
Most conflicts I get are on tow paths, and the ones I ride are shared access. The worst are the deliberately deaf groups out for a stroll, who even glance behind and see me, then continue to stroll along blocking the path. I'm always polite, maybe too much, and will wait. Eventually they reluctantly let me pass. Then there's the sarcastic "at least you have a bell" (yes I have a bell, for tow paths as it's fun to see them jump out of their skin when you ring a bell 😀 ).
whatyadoinsucka - Member
probably worth looking at your local council website and look at options of upgrading footpaths to bridleways,
Problem with that is horses get access and rip the crap out of them. I find footpaths generally more rideable than a bridleway. #mybikeisnotahorse
Though of course bridleways in the Lakes etc are another matter and can be awesome fun 😀
No, needs to have horse traffic and ideally no locked gates or stiles
That's old hat - cyclists can claim too, since 2000.
@scuttler I've heard of this warden my mate got busted on the top footpath from snailsden (back of wood above hadeedge) to the Holme moss carpark
@deadkenny yeah true I ride a lot of woods that see horses on and they aren't very smooth after a heavy rain and onc the hoofprints have dried out.
Got stopped on my ride last night by a hunt with a pack of dogs and 40 riders, on a damn footpath as well, which I pointed out smiling
Most conflicts I get are on tow paths, and the ones I ride are shared access. The worst are the deliberately deaf groups out for a stroll, who even glance behind and see me, then continue to stroll along blocking the path. I'm always polite, maybe too much, and will wait. Eventually they reluctantly let me pass. Then there's the sarcastic "at least you have a bell" (yes I have a bell, for tow paths as it's fun to see them jump out of their skin when you ring a bell ).
Genuinely really useful bit of kit, especially if you are on shared use paths a lot.
"@scuttler I've heard of this warden my mate got busted on the top footpath from snailsden (back of wood above hadeedge) to the Holme moss carpark"
Never been busted on there but have been recently on Issues Road out of Holme village. I suspect it's the same landowner. The gamekeeper started ranting on about it being an SSSI - it is, most of the High Peak is, but of course SSSI status becomes less of an issue when you're driving shooting parties around and chasing and blowing the crap out of the wildlife. I loathe these people and I guess in the run up to and through 'the Inglorious Twelfth' they'll be out in abundance.
I feel the same but just ride them at sensible times. Early morning or night rides.
Some I would ride at any time. Others, which are busier, I would avoid during peak times. Then again I apply the same rule for bridlepaths and restricted roads.
Never had any issues on the footpaths so long as I ride sensibly and give way as required. Main area for hassle is the sustrans former railway tracks which have no end of muppets on them who dont quite grasp the concept of a shared path.
I'm confused. Where is the smug Scottish input to this thread?
@deadkenny "The worst are the deliberately deaf groups out for a stroll"
I did come across an actual group of profoundly deaf people out for a walk recently. They were quite strung out along a bit of shared access path. It took quite some time to get past them all because, even as the back-markers spotted I was there, I had to wit for everyone else to do the same.
I'm not complaining, it made me smile at the time, and there was much grinning and thumbs up to show that all was OK. It goes to show that you never know why people are ignoring you.
On a related note, I have not yet found a way to announce my presence without scaring the crap out of people lost in their own world. Any suggestions?
Rob
On a related note, I have not yet found a way to announce my presence without scaring the crap out of people lost in their own world. Any suggestions?
STRAAAAAAAAVA!!!!!!
@jam bo
i ride where i like, i like where i ride.
[when visiting my scottish cousins]
Had to stop give way to a horse the other week while riding Cheeky.
jam bo - Member
I'm confused. Where is the smug Scottish input to this thread?
You've missed it. page 1. I didn't mention that I stay in Scotland, but I do ride in England a reasonable amount too as I have family there.
The most memorable I had was on the Clyde (inaccurately titled) walkway, when some Redsocks up from England had a go at me and Sanny.
But yeah, towpaths are pretty bad - it's always the middle aged men with dogs under no control that seem to think it's eveyone else's responsibility to keep them (and any passing children/sheep/other dogs) safe.
I rode where I wanted when I was a kid, and still do now unless it looks really busy.
I don't think segregating path users was ever the correct solution (bloody stuck up ramblers wanting the countryside for themselves!), so I use them all and just be nice to everyone I meet. 😀
To the OP. You're suffering caged rat syndrome.
Do you remember voting to restrict access? Do you remember your parents talking about voting to restrict access? Or their parents, ad infinitum...
It's a hangover from when the land was stolen. Best thing you can do is use the trails you want.
Follow a similar procedure as used in Scotland, ie don't be a dick, and exercise good manners to those you pass, and don't damage crops or scare animals.
After all, if or when this country is invaded, those same landowners will expect you to join up and die for "freedom and honour", so you may as well enjoy the freedom now.
Alternatively, move to Scotland. 🙂
It's a hangover from when the land was stolen.
That x lots
It's a hangover from when the land was stolen.That x lots
& more lots
I get a slight pang of worry when I lift my bike over a stile that has a little circle nailed to it, with the image of a bike in the middle framed by a red circle with a line through the middle. So no I don't worry and I do it all the time. This land belongs to all it's inhabitants. You'll notice the bike in the circle doesn't have drop handlebars!
I like the sound of this 'higher rights' stuff.
Can anyone tell me what the situation is with an area of land that has bridleways through it (at least on an OS map), but has a specific no cycling byelaw?
My standard response (I'm not upbraided very often - only had to use it twice) is: "are you the landowner or his or her appointed agent?"
This has flummoxed the fun police both times I have trotted it out.
However, does a byelaw trump all this stuff?
If so, can it be challenged?
I'm just curious - all this won't make a rat's arse of difference to where I ride, but I'd like to be able to smart-mouth people with precision if necessary(!)
English law trumps any bylaw. Only the council definitive map is the true record of ROWs. The OS map can sometimes be wrong.
Are there bridleway signs about?
I don't feel guilty but I do dread conflict so generally control my speed, say a cheery hello, apologise profusely and am nice about the dog.
MOD land I ride on, the bylaws there trump the ROW on the land, but then the ROW come under Open Access Land under CROW. There are few footpaths and bridleways crossing the lands, just general open access and they have a right to kick you off as they see fit (and an additional rule says bikes only on hardened paths/roads).
Then there are places like the Hurtwood in Surrey Hills. Has footpaths and bridleways crossing through it, but the Hurtwood also has a open access policy which grants all users including bikes access everywhere, including on footpaths, unless otherwise signposted.
On the other hand there's "Jim's" land next door in Winterfold and he's actively kicking people off his land. Has bridleways and footpaths through it and you can use those, but you can't stray off them. If you come across someone saying you can't ride here and you ask if he's the land owner, it's probably him. Or one of his minions.
There's some cheeky stuff round us that I'll ride, other stuff I won't. One footpath's got a more bike resistant surface than a nearby bridleway that's basically a marsh. I don't ride it at the weekends and it's only irregular use - I think I've met one runner whilst on the cheeky stuff.
As said above - don't be a dick and if you are pleasant to those you meet it's unlikely to be a problem.
