[Closed] Bogtrotters ride the Ben on a bank holiday!

I'm half scottish does that count? i don't see why being english has anything to do with it.

in reality scottish people go on about how they have open access but the fact is you seem more shackled than people who ride in england and wales. at least we have laws saying you can't ride that and if you do you can be prosecuted. plain, simple and easy. In scotland you can ride anywhere but if we don't like the cut of your gib then you lose the right and will be prosecuted.

[url= http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/dodgy-classifieds ]Its still going on n on n on……… [/url]

might as well ask what tyres for a busy descent of Ben Nevis?

looks pretty selfish and an awesome blow to the image of MTBing

cheers lads

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no this is a blow to mountain biking

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Funny,my first thought was Jet Ski. You know the type,busy harbour or beach,with the odd chance of some Dolphin bothering.Look at me,look at me,look at me on my fast jet ski. Please look at me. Never too far from shore,never giving toss about anyone or anything else.Well done bogmincers

You do have to wonder if part of the point is precisely because there are so many people around so maximum attention/willy-waving potential.

having watched the video, it doesn't look much fun, but then I wouldn't have wanted to do it in the first place, for a start there were no female riders and you know I'm suspicious of single sex groups...

philfive - Member

is you seem more shackled than people who ride in england and wales. at least we have laws saying you can't ride that and if you do you can be prosecuted. plain, simple and easy. In scotland you can ride anywhere but if we don't like the cut of your gib then you lose the right and will be prosecuted.

Not at all - its a duty to be reasonable - something that is tricky for many of us 🙂 In exchange for being reasonable you get the right t ride anywhere

grum - Member

You do have to wonder if part of the point is precisely because there are so many people around so maximum attention/willy-waving potential.

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Not at all - its a duty to be reasonable

if, as has been claimed, they didn't have a right of way due to their behaviour, what are the consequences ? Would I be right in concluding none whatsoever beyond an outraged tonguelashing on various forums ?

To them as individuals - effectively no sanction however that is not the point. Why do you need threat of punishment to behave in a reasonable and responsible manner? Most of us don't find it hard to behave like this.

Its a part of the ethos here and a happy exchange for the widespread access we have.

[i]we have laws saying you can't ride that and if you do you can be prosecuted[/i]

Not in general we don't, even in England 🙂

Why do you need threat of punishment to behave in a reasonable and responsible manner?

I suspect they thought they [b]were [/b]acting in such a manner, they're all incredibly nice (if a bit dim)

So the 'code' referred to is more of an aspirational document ?

we have laws saying you can't ride that and if you do you can be prosecuted

[b]can[/b] be prosecuted in some areas where a byelaw applies, though interestingly, in Lancashire the full penalty is to be excluded from the area in question for a period of 3 days - which always happens anyway. But in practice no prosecutions ever take place because only a tiny minority care and most of the violations go undetected.

double post deleted

NO - try reading it or posts from folk who have.

druidh - Member

That's from the Scottish Outdoor Access Code, a document which was drawn at the request of the Scottish Government up to outline what was and wasn't considered to be responsible access as defined by the Land Reform(Scotland) Act - i.e. it carries significant legal weight.

Nothing aspirational about it. Its how you are required to behave in order to enjoy your access rights

Its how you are required to behave in order to enjoy your access rights

but if you don't nothing will change ? Or do you mean if you don't comply you won't enjoy it ?

just watched it and what a set of ****s.
I wonder how they would react if a bunch of lads on motocross bikes roosted them and forced them off a trail at speed.

I wonder how they would react if a bunch of lads on motocross bikes roosted them and forced them off a trail at speed.

that *would* be illegal! I get rocks thrown at me by passing motocrossers' tyres about once every 3 years and I kinda tut and forget about it.

I get rocks thrown at me by passing motocrossers' tyres about once every 3 years and I kinda tut and forget about it.

a percentage of the constipated walkers in the video will be slagging off MTBers for years to come as a result of that stunt..

Well I for one am outraged 😐

Nice to see TJ being so obedient to codes 😆
what next, stopping at red lights and repenting his wanton disregrad for national speed limits ? No thought not.

At least Simon et al have the commitment to ride where they like when they like, have a bit of fun and semingly cause little problem with fellow countryside users.

It's just a pile of skanky rocks, ride it and be beggard if that's what you feel like doing - worst that can happen is to incur the faux moral outrage of some bitter old keyboard libertarians whose moral/social values bend to support their own viewpoint.

Irresponsible...hmmm?
Inconsiderate is probably more suited.

would anyone try it after seeing the video? I would think not...maybe they were trying to deter fellow mtb'ers all along?:lol:

I've ridden with these chaps and they are good guys.

great post BTW (very entertaining) 🙂

Or do you mean if you don't comply you won't enjoy it ?

Proper lol.

a percentage of the constipated walkers in the video will be slagging off MTBers for years to come as a result of that stunt..

That is pure speculation, you could easily say that a few will also say good things about them too, for having a go, for doing something a little crazy.

There were a couple of point when I though they should have stopped and let the walkers past, but in the main everyone seemed friendly and happy to share the trail.

On a related note, what tyres for the north side of Oxford Street on Christmas Eve?

I'd have liked to have seen more of the push up in the video. Probably more flow at that point.

To force walkers off the path is not acceptable. You have to give way to them.

I didn't realise that in England and Wales we are allowed to mow down walkers as we please...

To force walkers off the path is not acceptable. You have to give way to them.

I didn't realise that in England and Wales we are allowed to mow down walkers as we please...

only if you shout elite strava rider coming through !

Did I watch the wrong video? I'm struggling to see why knickers are getting in a bit of a twist here. The riders come across as polite and in control. The mountains are there for all to enjoy and not just walkers so why the keyboard agonising? No one was hurt, the riders weren't going fast and appeared to slow down for everyone they passed. To be honest, they looked to be going a fair bit slower than most fell runners I know! 😀 Perhaps we should get the pitchforks sharpened for them instead? Ha! Ha!

While some people may not like our presence in the hills, it's the same in all walks of life. You can't please everyone all the time and some folk won't like you simply for being in their presence. 😕

As for the route, boy does it look bumpy! It's still one on my list of rides to do though. Looks like they got one of the few good weather days for it. As for being responsible, I've always considered picking a good day part of being responsible. When the weather is nice, if things go wrong there is arguably more margin for error. If it's pissing wet and windy, hurting yourself can become more of a serious issue more quickly. Of course, on nice days, more folk are inclined to go up into the mountains to enjoy the weather. Does this mean that mountain bikers should only go out on wet days?

If the argument is that we shouldn't be there at all in case the frankly unlikely threat of a ban comes into play then by not going into the mountains, we have created a self fulfilling prophecy. Not being there to avoid being told not to be there has the same result. Sorry but I'm just not buying that logic.

See you in the mountains (or not as the case may be!)

Sanny

worst that can happen is to incur the faux moral outrage of some bitter old keyboard libertarians whose moral/social values bend to support their own viewpoint.

No, the worst that can happen is that bikers lose access. There have already been tests of the LRA, which in a couple of cases have revoked access under certain conditions. We do not want to go the same way as England and Wales, because a naive/stupid group of bikers has so publicly breached the Code. Unlikely, granted, but everything like this builds a swell of anti-biker sentiment. We're proud up here that everyone gets along on shared trails - no wonder folk are so up in arms about the audacity of those guys!

We're proud up here that everyone gets along on shared trails

Which is pretty much what I saw, people getting along on shared trails 😀

If the argument is that we shouldn't be there at all in case the frankly unlikely threat of a ban comes into play then by not going into the mountains, we have created a self fulfilling prophecy.

I don't think that's the argument, or at least not one that anyone in this thread has made 🙂 AFAICT the "anti" view is that if you're going to ride Ben Nevis it's best to do it when there are relatively few people about in the interests of (a) more fun and (b) better PR. Seems fairly uncontroversial to me, TBH.

I'm struggling to see why knickers are getting in a bit of a twist here

because this is STW 😆

3rd of June wasn't it?

[url] http://www.grough.co.uk/discussion/index.php?topic=690.0 [/url]

😀 😀

No, the worst that can happen is that bikers lose access.

I am at a loss to understand how this might be achieved. It would certainly be very expensive to implement. I suspect you are invoking the bogey man!

might it not be the case that most of those people weren't Scottish anyway and so have no say in any codes, understandings or laws there ?

AFAICT the "anti" view is that if you're going to ride Ben Nevis it's best to do it when there are relatively few people about in the interests of (a) more fun and (b) better PR. Seems fairly uncontroversial to me, TBH.

Exactly.

"might it not be the case that most of those people weren't Scottish anyway and so have no say in any codes, understandings or laws there ? "

ah the old ignorance defence.

That is pure speculation

[url= http://www.grough.co.uk/discussion/index.php?topic=690.0 ]http://www.grough.co.uk/discussion/index.php?topic=690.0[/url]

admittedly we can't possibly be certain about whether the guy was constipated on the day..

ah the old ignorance defence.

defence? This was about the demographic.

I haven't watched much of it but did see a couple of snippets.

At 15:50-16:10 people are jumping out of the way with inches to spare as they're buzzed at maybe 20mph or so. No allowance apparently made for the blind, deaf, people with dogs or small kids that might run out.

And then shortly afterwards at around 16:40 I notice the riders carry on down a narrow bit of trail when two walkers have moved to the downslope side of the trail above a steep and long slope. It doesn't take much of an error to then accidentally knock them. I know the trail's not terribly technical at that point but it happens - a slip of the front wheel on a rock or a pedal caught on something and you can end up off-line. Surely it doesn't take much common sense to realise that in that situation if you bump into the walker they don't stand a chance.

Is this not basic stuff: Don't expect people to be able to jump out of the way, and don't pass people when they're exposed on the downslope side?

Going out on one of the busiest days in the year to one of the busiest walking trails is daft, but riding like that is just behaving like selfish f***ing morons.

You give us all a bad name because you're dicks. A thousand puctures in turd-infested fields upon you.

I haven't watched much of it but did see a couple of snippets.

At 15:50-16:10 people are jumping out of the way with inches to spare as they're buzzed at maybe 20mph or so. No allowance apparently made for the blind, deaf, people with dogs or small kids that might run out.

And then shortly afterwards at around 16:40 I notice the riders carry on down a narrow bit of trail when two walkers have moved to the downslope side of the trail above a steep and long slope. It doesn't take much of an error to then accidentally knock them. I know the trail's not terribly technical at that point but it happens - a slip of the front wheel on a rock or a pedal caught on something and you can end up off-line. Surely it doesn't take much common sense to realise that in that situation if you bump into the walker they don't stand a chance.

Is this not basic stuff: Don't expect people to be able to jump out of the way, and don't pass people when they're exposed on the downslope side?

Going out on one of the busiest days in the year to one of the busiest walking trails is daft, but riding like that is just behaving like selfish f***ing morons.

You give us all a bad name because you're dicks. A thousand puctures in turd-infested fields upon you.

plus 1.

also, forget laws and codes and what not, but on all the mtns. i've ever gone up, it's common [i]courtesy[/i] to give priority to the uphill folk.

dunno if that's been mentioned yet...

Sanny - no one is saying don't go on the Ben - people are saying don't do it when its busy.

Agreed it was a stupid time to do it but reading this thread it definitely is the new golf isn't it.

WONT SOMEONE THINK OF THE IMAGE!!!!

I got 3 'thankyou very muchs' from 3 horsey women who were frankly being dangerous stumbling down a trail I was going up yesterday so you nezzers can consider this as a 'wee' offset to your harmed image.