[Closed] Do you ride on footpaths?

We can only ride on bridleways because of people who 'trespassed', so fine by me just make sure you observe the 'code'.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinder_trespass

But come to Scotland, we have none of the nonsense here. 🙂

I'll ride wherever I fancy. Though I'm not a flat out everywhere kinda guy so im not going to wipe out a whole family.

Ride on pavements lots too, and all the time when I have daughters in tow.

Yes.

Yes, it's that or play with traffic on the commute. Farmers don't seem to mind on the basis i pass them pretty regularly and they say hello rather than "GEERRRROOOOFFFFFFF MIIIIIII LARRRRRNNNNNDDDDDDDDDDDD"

what makes a footpath a footpath?

then you'll begin to understand.

I am not saying in all cases but there were agreements made in the 60's that kept the unwashed off some peoples land, there were agreements that gave only footpath rights rather than the true rights. One track near me is a footpath, but if you read the history it is the old turnpike, so would have been built for horse drawn carriages!

Use common sense and most people don't care.

No.

If I never rode on footpaths there'd be no point in me having a mountain bike.

Aside from the distinct lack of legal networks though, I see it very much as an extension of my body and treat most of my rides in the same way I would my walks. There is little between them. One's a bit quicker, is all.

MX bike is completely different.

Yes, and I make an effort to say hellp to every walker/rider (bikes/horses) who I pass along the way.

Always have, never had any problems. Of course i keep quiet about it 😉

I try not to but yes

I live in Scotland where we have shared access paths which means if we are all sensible we can all use all the paths

I ride a lot of footpaths. Our access laws are stupid and outdated, so I ignore them and use common sense instead.

I ride, run and walk on all manner of trails.

Some of them are on the ground but not on the map, some are on the map as footpaths and some are BWs but it's what's on the ground that's important to me, not what's on the map.

Yes. They're the best bits.

The thing is it puts me off going for a ride with my mates sometimes as I know they don't have the same view-point.

Really? I've fallen out with someone for having racist views but I reckon I could join a mate on a ride down a footpath, in fact I do regularly.

depends - I ride responsibly which means i have Bridleways i can rid but wont - boggy moorland paths. I know of footpaths that are double track cart routes and cobbled that i will happily ignore

The thing is to be responsible the laws and rules that made a footpath or a bridleway are full of discrepancies that make little sense

In general i dont think a bike does any more dames on hardpack though it might on boggy wet stuff

I ride where ever I want, pretty much, but not when ever I want. I'll swerve the footpaths if I know they're going to be busy with walkers or if they're in bad condition with the weather.

I'm not massively arsed about projecting a responsible mountain bike image, neither am I motivated to express my rugged individuality by riding over the Kinder plateau on a bank holiday afternoon.

So prob like the majority on here just try to be sensible about it whilst maximising the available ride quality. Just back from some footpath riding in the Goyt valley, as it goes - great ride for a dry, weekday evening. Prob wouldn't choose to do it on a wet Saturday.

Why don't you want to come across mtbers? What will 'they' do to you?

I've never had any grief riding footpaths (and they're the good bits round here, bridleways mostly fireroads or wide paths chewed up by hoofs) just recognise that I don't have right of way so will move aside to let walkers past, or sit and wait for walkers to clear a section before I ride it. And give cheery hellos.

The 'damage' done by a mountain bike on a footpath is comparable to a walker, so the motorcross bike comparison is completely spurious.

[url= http://imba.org.uk/research-reports/natural-resource-impacts-of-mountain-biking/ ]Completely unbiased article[/url] 🙂

I have had a problem on a bridleway, when 4 girls walking their handbag dogs wouldn't move out of 4 abreast formation to let me past.

I don't, because I live in civilisation. But if I lived in England, I would- there's only 2 ways to deal with ridiculous rules like your land access laws, one is to overthrow them and the other is to ignore them. Nobody's getting anywhere overthrowing them, so.

Yes as in a lot of less trodden parts it actually helps keep them passable!

Nope.

Pretty much what Lifer + Junkyard said. Use a bit of common sense, respect + ride sustainably. Scotland shows that it can work fine.

yes

I ride on a lot of paths and tracks which are not public footpaths but neither are they bridleways or boats. I'm luck enough to ride in Surrey Hills where there are plenty of places to ride other than public footpaths. All that being said from time to time I'll ride or indeed walk/push bike along a footpath. Its all about being considerate and sensible.

used to till I left the UK. But only when dark/quiet/taking care to understand the potential issues of riding there.

Use based on case would be better, not everything is suitable for bikes (or people, or dogs) complete open access put the reliance on common sense and personal responsibility, something society seems to be lacking these days.

Yes, of course I do. You English really need to sort yer laws out, and attitudes, the countryside is for everyone not just certain bits for certain people.

A hotly debated topic on here. I ride trails. Some are currently classified as PFs, BWs, BOATS etc according to historical vagaries and nothing to do with reasonable use. Tell you a secret: many are not classified at all. Few trails actually follow the line of the ROW on the definitive map. The landowners don't care about your "rights" either but will tolerate you if you are respectful. And you can't assert a right to ride a trail by avoiding it. Reclassification requires evidence of use going back years. ROWs only really exist because people trespassed. Oh, and a bicycle is not a horse or a motorcycle. A bicycle has far lower environmental impact than a dog. And AFAIK, there isn't a track record of walkers or farm animals injured or killed by cyclists. The only people doing any trail maintenance around here is us cyclists. The visiting dog walkers mainly contribute dog eggs and the occasional arsey remark.

I'm not giving you permission to make a nuisance of yourself. Just don't beat yourself up about taking a few liberties.

"A bicycle has far lower environmental impact than a dog."

Please explain.

I keep it to a minimum, to avoid annoying others.

To be fair I've only had grief about it a few times, far less than when riding on bridleways actually.

Never give it a second thought. Never had any problems either. But I am at pains to respect other users - horses, dog walkers, hikers. As butcher said above, if I didn't ride footpaths I'd have to drive to ride off road, which is plain stupid.

Ambrose - Member
"A bicycle has far lower environmental impact than a dog."

Please explain.

cyclists on leads don't run off into the bushes and disturb birds?

Ambrose - Member
"A bicycle has far lower environmental impact than a dog."
Please explain.

"A bicycle has far lower environmental impact than a dog."

Please explain.

It's fairly widely accepted that dog/walker/dog walker has the greater impact on flora and fauna. Bikers are transient, won't stop, in and out in a flash, will stick within the trail. A dog will invariably extend 5-10m or more either side of the trail, foraging, chasing anything that moves, criss crossing, dumping and laying their scent.

I have also seen bikers extending either side of the trail (way more than 10m depending on how vague the route is, chasing other bikers and disturbing wildlife, criss crossing, not seen anyone taking a dump yet but it does happen and on a longish ride there is plenty of bushes and walls marked by the riders 😉

I applaud the scottish methods but also look at them with caution, some paths are not suitable for walkers or riders and should either be closed or repaired.

Again the differentiation between a dog under control and not, dogs on leads don't tend to be able to chase anything that moves.

The behaviour you describe of dogs is fairly similar to Foxes, Badgers, Rabbits, Sheep, Cows and Essex Mountain Lions.

[bennyhill]chasing other bikers[/bennyhill] 😀

I used to stick to bridleways, but not now as the bridleway network is pretty poor round here and some of bridleways get pretty mashed up by the horses to the point of unridability and having to be be maintained.

And the final straw was when some local bridleways starting getting marked as 'Horses only - no cycles' a few years ago.

All the bridleways round here have been churned up by horses.
You're better off riding on footpaths.

I would die of boredom if I didn't ride footpaths. As has already been said, if its busy or boggy avoid, if not its fair game if you are respectful to other users.

And I never see walkers cutting back foliage to stop trail creep or sorting drainage.

Yes I ride footpaths and so does everyone else I know that MTBs. You need to be sensible though some paths are just not suitable due to condition, build or traffic.
Right, I'm off to work via some footpaths...

[i]bridleways get pretty mashed up by the horses to the point of unridability[/i]

[i]All the bridleways round here have been churned up by horses.[/i]

Bridleways are 'as seen' for us, just because your recreational vehicle of choice can't cope with the prevailing conditions is not horse-riders fault.

Having said that, I ride where I want. I'm not massively concerned about the 'image' of cyclists, I'm respectful and considerate. I'll not ride popular fp during a sunny Sunday, but TBH even if I did, I rarely meet folk, who either a. complain, or b. know whether i've a legal right to be there, or c. care particularly much.

Having been riding for a while, I remember the foot and mouth outbreak, it was an eye opener when we could get back on the trails, all the fp that I thought were sneaky were covered in hoofprints...I've felt considerably less guilty about using them ever since.

Being old enough to remember a lot of changes in legislation, its funny to think that cycling on Bridleways was only added as an after thought, also that riding on footpaths was dismissed more on the basis of "Nah no one would want to" ass there wasnt such a thing as MTB's' Cyclist use to ride BOATS and RURPS as they were in good condition as 4x4ing as a "Sport" didnt exist.
So I ride anything I fancy as long as my impact is low also funnily enough its not against the law to ride the footpaths on my local moors 🙂

Mrmo & others.
Recording as a footpath doesn't mean higher rights don't exist . The old turnpike is a good case in point. We have a lot packhorse routes around here, some have been changed to BWs.
I've also asked the local Council for certain footpaths to be reassessed; it takes time but have had some success. (Re OP: yes there are some FPs I ride but at off-peak times; sensibly).
I'm a member of the Local Access Forum (Bradford) but anyone can ask for a new PRoW or a change to an existing one.
In the long term, the law needs changing but we all need to be making the case.

I ride 'cheeky' stuff all the time - some of it's footpaths, some just tracks through the woods.

I avoid busy paths at peak times and would probably avoid taking large groups down some stuff during the day to avoid any issues but it it's a rideable route then I'll take my bike down there.

yes.

i can appreciate the need for 'no bikes at the weekend please*' paths, but the current segration isn't based on reason.

(*some paths do get very busy, some paths are very steep)

don't ride like a dick, say hello, stop and get out of the way if it helps, find quieter trails - there are LOADS of peachy footpaths, with no-one using them.

As with many laws, they are made for people who lack common sense, or just don't care about anyone else on the planet.
For the rest of us, footpaths are great! 😀

where are the bog trotters when you need them?

60+ mtbers on a footpath led by sfb in his short shorts.

As a rights of way officer for too many years I have come to the conclusion that either (1) we stick with the current legislation and put the staff in place to implement it; or (2) the law is changed in many areas of access so that the low levels of staff have a chance of implementing it. Neither is going to happen, ever. So I ride on footpaths, respectfully and carefully

yes

agree with polite/cheeky approach - also agree with the 'people can ramble etc etc etc etc because of civil diobedience' attitudes, and hope that when challenged people remain calm and argue their case politely and constructively.

"Bridleways are 'as seen' for us, just because your recreational vehicle of choice can't cope with the prevailing conditions is not horse-riders fault." Well when it was vehicles on RUPP/BOAT - ie totally legal they would get TROd(banned) for damaging the route (fair enough IMO if damage prevented other users - but I think with vehicles there was a lot of politics as well), I think that it's ignorance and wrong (of any type of user - including cyclists) to damage the surface beyond the use of other users and for me there is a problem with horses (and rather too many horse riders attitudes) on this one. Horse riders seem to expect consideration from others - maybe consideration needs to work both ways ?

In England and Wales
Walking - 100% plus (*all 'tracks' plus r2r and some open access)
Horse/cycling 21% of 'tracks'
vehicles 3%ish of 'tracks' (down from 5%)

where are the bog trotters when you need them?

60+ mtbers on a footpath led by sfb in his short shorts.

As long as it's 'public' then i'll ride it... footpaths don't even come into the equation.

That said, i'm very lucky where i live in the fact that a very small percentage of riding will be on footpaths.

where are the bog trotters when you need them?

:waves:

Horse riders generally have even fewer options than us when it comes to ROW access - they often can't just nip along a busy road to join a couple of BW sections, or link up using a short section of footpath if there are stiles, steep sections or locked gates.

While it's a nuisance when ROWs are chewed up, we should be thinking more in terms of how we could help horse riders as well as ourselves by developing and extending the BW network. If anything, despite the relatively small numbers of horse riders, they are better served in terms of organised lobbying power, and a potentially useful ally.

And yes, I ride various footpaths when it's necessary. Normally to avoid very boggy bridleways in winter or to link up sections of BW that would otherwise be out and back routes.

Yes thanks, and I've not had any problem what so ever. Even the farmer I stopped on the edge of Cheddar Gorge who, when I stopped for directions, said I shouldn't really be walking there, was fine when I said, "I know, it's a bit cheeky but I walked through where your cattle was so as not to spook them", and wished me a good ride.
Actually, the only bit of grief I've had was off a late teens horse rider who decided that I shouldn't be on a footpath (that was covered in hoof prints). I did stop and debate that for a while, but mainly due to the tight top and jodhpurs she was wearing as opposed to a sense of right and wrong!

My commute takes me on a footpath every day, I think I have only seen one person in the last eight years using that footpath and he was cutting the grass 😉

yes, but mainly because Sheffield CC / Derbyshire CC insist on sanitising the bridleways round these parts!

Ride politely and on your own / in very small groups and live and let live in my opinion!

No because the footpaths here are just as dull as the bridleways, again I'd rather stick to the roads where I can at least get a decent speed and workout 🙂

Yup I do.

Of Course...and whats more Iv never hit anyone either
I only adhere to rules that make sense

I have and I do from time to time. Its very hard to avoid it. I've had very few altercations with walkers because I try to be considerate and polite. However, there have been occasions when I've been confronted with comments like. "This is a footpath". I tend to reply by either saying. "Oh, thanks for letting me know'. Or. "Thats OK, I'm travelling in meters".

I ride wherever I like but try to be sensitive to other users and ground conditions. Won't ride busy footpaths on a sunny weekend in the middle of the day for instance.

i do and mainly because the FP's by us are better than the BW's simple as that, i dont feel im doing anything wrong, its just the countryside at the end of the day (fair enough if your riding on someones private land on a FP as a right of way) but natural peak/lake stuff with FP's i cant physically/mentally see how im doing anything wrong, its just countryside FFS no one owns it, its just there

thats my phylosophy anyways, granted its pretty selfish, but most of the time i dont get any grief at all, most if not 95% of people i see are friendly as hell, probably more so than fellow mtb'ers, then you get the grumpy odd rambler and the odd red coat ranger that likes to tell you how you are committing the worst attrocity in the world!

all in all im happy riding them and happy to get a telling off for the pleasure if need be

what does annoy me more than anything is when i see dogs off the leads on FP's, letting them run wild shitting everywhere and not bothering to clean it up, then have the arrogance to tell you your not supposed to be on here, but then they have a dog roaming around shitting everywhere thats not suppose to be off the lead!!!! ive used that argument lots of times

and also a ****ING DOG has more rights to be on there than a human being on a bike?!?!? seriously whats that all about? 🙁

that said i do try to be careful when i ride the extreme cheeky stuff, ie i dont do it on a sunday day time nor a saturday afternoon....but as its been so nice lately i got up early AM sat and did all the cheeky stuff by 11 am, saw a few people and most were friendly, generally weekends ill stick to 'allowed' stuff but this weekend just gone i couldnt resist, it was to nice and running to well to not do it...mostly the mega cheeky stuff we do at night so it avoids the masses (ie we dont see a soul!)

Of course I do, again ride with a bit of common sense and avoid certain busy paths or ones that can be damaged depending on the conditions, why not? Its a path, its not my fault the definition of what I can ride on was defined by some bod in an office 50 years ago.
Rarely get any aggro. Did get my path blocked a month ago by an indignant old buzzard who asked me if i knew it was a footpath, yes I do thanks. Then preceded to have a debate which ended with me being wished a broken neck and me wishing him a pleasant walk (which apparently I'd ruined anyway). 🙄

Footpaths, bridleways, woodland trails - if you can ride a bike on them I will. Like many have said previous if you employ a bit of common sense and courtesy I really don't see a problem. I've had a couple of run ins with walkers on FP's but nothing that has ever made me think twice about using them
hahaha @ gears "traveling in meters" I'm having that one ;D

I keep it to a minimum, to avoid annoying others.

yup, certain ones at certain times of day, typically evening, always considerate.

Yes I ride footpaths.

I live in Essex, have a look at the link below, it shows rights of way. You'll see BWs are few and far between and hardly any of them join up. This is why I ride footpaths

http://www.essexhighways.org/Public-Rights-of-Way/Map-of-the-Public-Rights-of-Way.aspx

As an aside, there are a few canals around here where the towpaths are 'footpaths', which seems bonkers to me as they pretty much only existed for horses to pull barges originally!

what does annoy me more than anything is when i see dogs off the leads on FP's

what if I ride down a footpath with my dog off the lead? does that cancel out your anger or make it twice as bad?

All the bridleways round here have been churned up by horses.

Or covered in sand so that you'd be quicker walking.

employ a bit of common sense and courtesy

Exactly, just behave as if we already have the access law that we [i]should[/i] have - and it'll probably help us get it in the long run.

what if I ride down a footpath with my dog off the lead? does that cancel out your anger or make it twice as bad?

not at all but at least if they are going to have a go at me for doing something i shouldnt be doing, then they really need to practice what they preach right??? AND STICK TO THE RULES that so obviously annoy them

i dont mind dogs off the lead, it doesnt bother me as long as they are'nt biting childrens faces off, or shitting everywhere, i do mind when the arrogant owner has a pop at you, but clearly doesnt follow the rules themself!

in fact i just hate dog owners!

Recording as a footpath doesn't mean higher rights don't exist . The old turnpike is a good case in point.

This.

Plus, being recorded as a public footpath protects the rights of the public to use it on foot and that is all. It doesn't make it illegal to ride a bike there, but that right isn't protected and so the landowner or their agent can ask you to leave or can erect barriers/signs.

It's a civil matter, hactually. And there's never any excuse for Js P*t.

I tend to ride cheeky trails of dubious status, but mostly avoid them if they are actual footpaths or waymarked walking trails, especially if there are no-bike signs.
There are plenty of options available without upsetting other countryside users where I ride.

Mostly ride bridleways but do ride some footpaths plus a number of trails on 'open access' land which strictly are for walking but I've never had anyone question my riding on them and have seen lots of horses using them.

Most of the local footpaths are a drag as there are so many field boundaries with stiles or kissing gates.

On the topic of dogs - got covered in dog poop again at the weekend due to another lazy dog owner (and no it wasn't from a fox 🙄 ). Frankly sick of the number left on local cycle routes and bridleways. I'd make it an offence not to have a poop bag with you when walking the dog. Doesn't guarantee it will get used but might help.

1. Glib response to forumites:

where are the bog trotters when you need them?

2. Honest response:
I ride where I like but treat everyone that I meet along the way with courtesy and respect.

Incidentally, the most vocal red-socks I've encountered were on a bridleway.
A close second was the guy who was completely off-piste yet failed to see that he had no more right to be there on foot than we had on bikes.

i watched a person let his dog shit on a FP last saturday, he let it shit right in the middle of the narrowish path, not a problem for me to ride round, but i saw kids further up the path, walking with the parents towards it, and the kids were a bit in front so by all accounts probably would have stepped in it as they were chasing each other and generally being kids whilst the parents let them....

i then as i went past the guy told him, excuse me you've just let your dog shit right in the middle of the path, and his reply was 'well i havent got any bags to clean it up' - the ****ing prick, i then said you could have at least dragged the dog into the side to let it shit off the path, or kicked the shit out of the way, and his reply was, why dont you do it if your so concerned 😆

i called him a few choice words and he just walked off mumbling and the dog shit remained there, some lovely folk about, i let the family with kids know that there was a pile of poop up ahead

You should have picked it up in a big leaf, shouted 'Hey! You dropped something!' and chucked it at him 😈

I ride on footpaths if they're worth riding on (ie an enjoyable trail or link other sections together). But not all footpaths (and not all bridelways) are worth riding on.

I'll always give way to pedestrians, as I would on a bridleway.

If a path goes across properly private land, such as a garden, I'll perhaps walk across it, carrying the bike - no point upsetting the landowner too much. If there are big "no cycling" signs, I'll pre-walk the track on a seperate occasion if I don't know it to check for farms with big dogs and guns. And if it crosses something like a grouse moor, I'll certainly not ride it in shooting/nesting season; I'll happily ride bridleways across moors any time but I believe owners of grouse moors can properly screw you for "trespass" if you're not on a legal RoW.

On the whole though, I figure Northumberland is near enough to Scotland that we can borrow their access laws. 🙂