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DONK but 'good' footpaths tend to be narrower, technical with more elevation drops than plain old bridleways hence 'beware'
Technical footpaths encourage lower speeds than sanitised bridleways.
Obviously your lack of control is another matter. :o)
dunno hora I manage to run into (not quite literally) plenty of 60yo walkers on BWs
You've obviously not ridden some of the cheeky 'in the Peaks somewhere' then Dave.
It almost gave me a heart attack on Sunday! slowrider will hang me if I revealed where it is...
The access situation in Ireland in general seems to heavily favour landowners. Why?
They "own" it 😆
But seriously there needs to a lot more cooperation from all parties involved. The more people that can use a trail/path the more funds will be available.
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Yeah sure..
Ride based on suitability not legality. Be nice to other people, and party on, dudes
No I don't. Never have.
Some of the trail I was led down last Thursday, well lets just say calling them "trails" was cheeky.
If it ain't got this painted on it then I'm not meant to be riding on it.. so I don't.. and nor should you..
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My approach is that I can ride where I like, when I like, with whom I like, but I am always courteous to everyone I meet along the way.
I don't see any reason beyond practicality to avoid any path at any time. If it's full of walkers or full of mud, then chances are that I'd probably be riding a different footpath somewhere else purely based on that criterion alone.
I see this as "working on their expectations" and IMHO we're thereby getting steadily nearer to the point where it never crosses anyone's mind to question our presence on the footpaths.
<Edit> The fanatic red-sock faction will have all died-off within a generation anyway, can't do much with them except smile sweetly and carry on regardless </Edit>
I did get to use the smiling "yes, silly isn't it" response for the first time a couple of weeks ago though..... it did feel rather satisfying. 😆 No further debate was forthcoming.
Ironically, the most vocal opposition I've met have been
1. on the BRIDLEWAY along Ullswater and
2. on a totally off-piste track where the walker was as guilty as me with neither of us having any legitimate right to be there.
😀
i was once told off for riding my bike on the Whitby swingbridge, on the road section. Apparently it's for pedestrians only. I think she missed the road markings, footpaths, cars behind her, traffic lights and so on.
Otherwise, i've only been told off by park rangers in the Peaks. Even so, the amount of (bike unfriendly) gates and poor signing on bridleways makes it pretty easy to verge onto a footpath unintentionally
There's a good article in the newest edition of 'Privateer' magazine, written by the chaps 'in the know' and what their take is on the legalities of riding 'off piste'.
I wondered what had happened with that
To slightly smugly paraphrase a quote from the little known, yet still classic, 80's teen movie "The Sure Thing" starring a young John Cusack
This is Scotland,... We can go anywhere!"
As rights of way officer on my parish council I am disgusted by the selfish attitudes and disregard for local bureaucracy and political discourse shown in this thread.
You will give MTB a bad name.
Winterfold has a point. I do it but I do it quietly 95% on my own in the early morning. Any objecting ramblers have a right to complain at me without any retort back. The sad matter is the majority of normal trails just aren't as challenging or interesting as the footpaths.
yes.
anyways, who Owns this here earth and who did they buy it from in the First place? .. we are all only visiting this place for a short time sooooooo (ride where ya want) and tell Um i said it was Ok 😉
I wondered what had happened with that
It was commissioned for Issue 2 of "shift" from Bikemagic, but it never came out so it sat on the shelf for a couple of years. Good read, actually.
[i]As rights of way officer on my parish council I am disgusted by the selfish attitudes and disregard for local bureaucracy and political discourse shown in this thread.[/i]
So let's hear your thoughts on access then...
[i]You will give MTB a bad name.[/i]
Look what trespass did for the Ramblers. Oh....
everything has a "bad name" to someone somewhere
any rider caught on footpaths I administer will get a stern talking to...
...in the course of which I will make sure they are well aware of the best cheeky features and drops on our local trails and singletrack, er, footpaths.
Seriously we have a speeding problem in our village, and even the most stuff and bureacratic members of the PC are all for encouraging permissive use of footpaths by bikes as noone wants a dead kid or dad splattered on a village road.
When it's put in those terms people tend to see the problem in a different way, and it becomes much less of a problem - given expectations of a minimum level of courtesy to walkers, horses etc
here's the PC filing cabinet for complaints about riding on paths
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(obvious troll must try harder)
winterfold, think your first post was too subtle 😉
Scotland, so, not really much that could be called a cheeky trail. I do use one at Innerleithen which is an ex-trail and officially closed/converted to be a pushup path, that's probably a bit cheeky.
nbt+1
Apply common sense when, what and how to ride - most FPs in Somerset are barely used. What a waste!
You will occasionally meet a Footpath Nazi, but don't let them spoil your day. I practice polite militancy. If they get arsey, I point to the CtBM sticker on my bike that reads: "This machine kills fascists".
"there's a steep as anthing hill down that way, have a blast!"
I think I know where you mean (nr Cheddar Gorge). It's good early/late once grockles have gone home for tea 😀
Yes I do. Like most people though, I avoid areas if I know they'll be busy / too muddy, and if I do meet anyone I'm always polite and ride responsibly.
I've not used the 'I'm from the footpaths department and am checking the paths' line yet though 😛
i am often riding where i shouldnt be
that might be where you have no right to be, which isn't quite the same.
I've always enjoyed the local golf course for a cheeky blast... them sandy jumps are lush!
No one else seems to appreciate me joining in though, I've had people who would be considered well-to-do blast golf balls at me!!
People eh? 😉
Northwind it would be so nice if we could get sensible about this like you lot or our Scandy cousins but in the meantime... I will try harder next time 🙂
yep
cheeky trails in rossendale are underused by johnny walker , so no big issue in my manor
I reckon that barring the odd trail centre outing every ride I've ever done has involved riding something that I don't have the right to ride enshrined in law, 99% at least.
I don't understand why people in England are still saddled with this crap set of land access laws, surely a decently organised pressure group could point to the different rules in Scotland and press through changes in the law? It worked for the Ramblers as someone said above.
Northwind, I know the trail you mean at Innerleithen, I ride it on occasion, I've never seen anyone using it as a push up, the other push up route along the hill is so much easier, so just go for it! They'd hear you coming anyway.
I doubt I would admit it on an open public forum like this even if I did.....
I don't understand why people in England [and Wales] are still saddled with this crap
The different user groups (horse, cycle, trail bikes, 4x4, ramblers) are fragmented and at odds with each other. MTB has no single lobby group advocating a change to the law. The powerful ramblers lobbyist in particular, don't support other types of users on routes where they currently have sole rights.
Also, Scotland had successful defacto open access for decades before becoming law. It also had no legacy of RoW categories - byway, bridleway, footpath. These categories are very divisive.
Interesting reply buzz, I can see when you put it like that it's going to be difficult for any change to happen, shame. I love the fact I can basically ride where I want up here (always responsibly of course!) it's a pity it's not a universal thing across the whole island.
I don't understand why people in England are still saddled with this crap set of land access laws
What most on here don't realise is that mountain bikers are actually relatively well off in England and Wales compared to canoeists. There has been a lot of heavy campaigning for Scottish access laws for the rest of the UK from the canoeing world - far more than from cycling - I even put up a petition myself regarding this. Given the same old lies* which get trotted out in reply by the politicians (of all colours) and civil servants every time, I'd suggest the chance of any change in the law is miniscule, as there appears to be absolutely zero political will to change from the status quo.
* I chose my word carefully - usual line is that "the way forward is access agreements because they've been proved to work", when the government's own study proved quite decisively that access agreements don't work at all.
Back to the OP, I don't ride cheeky trails, I ride trails.
yep...most of my routes have a few cheeky bits in them..
yes, although not regularly, and only early doors when it's not busy - todays ride consisted of plenty of footpaths, they are however well surfaced and are unlikely to fall apart at the mere sight of a wheel.