I've just heard read somethng about a MTBer being taken off his bike by a line deliberately strung at neck height on a popular trail at Hamerstely's Descent Pike Park. Apparently, this happened over the weekend. Does anyone have more info?
I've just pulled this off my fb
ATTENTION ALL USERS OF DESCEND BIKE PARK!!!!!!!!!! DUE TO AN INCIDENT ON SUNDAY 05/02/2012 AT 1200 HRS A LOCAL RIDER WAS DELIBERATLEY (CLOSED LINED FROM HIS BIKE) BY ROPE (BLUE CORDED) STRETCHED ACROSS THE TRACK BETWEEN TWO TREE'S ON THE BOTTOM OF THE MAIN LINE OUT OF THE STEEP DROPS AND PRIOR TO THE LAST TABLE TOP. BY RIGHTS THIS RIDER SHOULD OF RECEIVED SERIOUS INJURIES POSSIBLY FATAL, WE STRESS... THAT THIS IS A PURE ATTEMPT TO SERIOUSLY INJURE USERS OF THE FACILITY. DUE TO THIS INCIDENT WE MUST ADVISE THAT ALL RIDERS CHECK THE TRACKS BEFORE USE (EVEN THO MANAGMENT CHECK THE TRAILS DAILY) WE CZNNOT RISK ANOTHER INCIDENT OFF THIS NATURE AS NEXT TIME IT COULD BE A WHOLE LOT WORSE. THE POLICE ARE NOW INVOLVED AND ARE INVESTIGATING THIS MATTER DUE TO IT SERIOUSNESS. WE NOW WANT ANYONE WITH ANY INFO AT ALL TO COME FORWARD OR CONTACT CRAIG AT DESCEND ON THE NORMAL NUMBER. THIS TRAP WAS LAID BETWEEN THE HOURS OF 1500 HRS AND 1700 HRS ON SAT 04/03/2012 OR BETWEEN 0700 HRS AND 1000 HRS ON SUNDAY 05/02/2012. PLEASE COULD ANYONE WHO HAD A CONFLICT WITH ANY MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC THAT WAS ON THE TRACK ON EITHER THE SATURDAY OR THE SUNDAY MORNING PLEASE COME FORWARD AS THIS COULD BE VERY IMPORTANT TO THE INVESTIGATION A SUBSTANTIAL REEWARD IS BEEN OFFERED BY DESCEND TO ANYONE WHO HAS ANY INFO WHICH LEADS TO AN ARREST. PLEASE HELP BUY COPYING THIS POST TO YOUR OWN FACEBOOK
Idiots!
Argh! The spelling in that post is melting my mind!
Youth of today, the grammar and syntax is utterly dire in that.
Sounds bad though.
Jesus. Why the **** would anyone want to do something like that? Madness.
Heading to Hammers tomorrow night. I'll keep an eye out for any 'new features'.
Shocking behaviour.
Mike - I was about to email you this link!
That bloke was silent. I'd have been swearing like a trooper!
Scary. Lucky he was going slowly because of the ice; if it was dry that could have been right bad.
That boils my ****.
Similar things have happened at Cannock with nails being put on the trails. Things like this will always happen with it being open land usable by anyone. Sad and pathetic really but its either kids or walkers.
To answer the question, "Why would anyone want to do that?" Well in the case of it being kids they do it "for a laugh" and with walkers its because they hate bikers and think wooded or natural areas shouldn't be used by cyclists. The same thing happens in my local woods quite often, people put logs and broken branches in the way. I've nearly been caught out a couple of times.
I've ridden at / taken down branches jammed into trees at neck height over Cannock Chase.
I wonder if it's Mushroom Man?
PLEASE HELP BUY COPYING THIS POST TO YOUR OWN FACEBOOK
And translating it into English. And lower case. 😆
Sadly, not an isolated incidence http://road.cc/content/news/49079-cyclist-left-unconscious-bike-stolen-after-clothes-line-strung-across-bath this time motivated by theft.
surely this is at least ABH/ GBH.
a serious crime.
And translating it into English. And lower case.
Attention all users of Descend Bike Park
In an incident on Sunday 05/02/2012 at 1200hrs, a local rider was deliberately clothes lined from his bike by blue corded rope stretched across the track between two trees on the bottom of the main line (out of the steep drops and prior to the last table top). By rights, this rider should have received serious injuries, possibly fatal.
We stress, this is a pure attempt to seriously injure users of the facility.
Due to this incident we must advise that all riders check the tracks before use (even though management check the trails daily). We cannot risk another incident of this nature as next time it could be a whole lot worse.
The police are now involved and are investigating this matter, due to it seriousness.
We now want anyone with any info at all to come forward or contact Craig at Descend on the normal number. This trap was laid between the hours of 1500hrs and 1700hrs on Sat 04/03/2012 or between 0700hrs and 1000hrs on Sunday 05/02/2012.
Can anyone who had a conflict with any members of the public on the track on either the Saturday or the Sunday morning please come forward as this could be very important to the investigation. A substantial reward is being offered by Descend to anyone who has any info which leads to an arrest. Please help by copying this post to your own Facebook.
miketually - many thanks. Your typing is obviously much quicker than mine.
could daft kids be responsible..?
we used to do stuff like that when we were about eight or nine.. (only to my little brother and his mates though)
SAS fantasies..
I'd imagine that as the most plausible cause.. rather than the sinister alternatives
Could it be the return of the Mushroom Man?
By rights, this rider should have received serious injuries, possibly fatal.
Unfortunate wording.
Looks like it was at chest/stomach height and not neck fortunately. Still nasty and uncalled for though.
[url= http://digitaljournal.com/article/163901 ]It could have been worse.[/url] - Recent Italian case involving piano wire
Has anyone confirmed this with the managers at Hammsterley? Might want to get it confirmed, post up an email from them rather than blindly forward this on - no-one has actually confirmed this has happened.
story over on Dirt with video
http://dirt.mpora.com/news/hamsterley-dh-course-booby-traps.html
Craig who posted the original to FB is responsible for Descend bike park, pretty close to management I`d say.
nick3216 - Member
It could have been worse. - Recent Italian case involving piano wire
Bastards! - just f*cking unbelievable.
Bump - for the night shift.
nick3216 - Member
It could have been worse. - Recent Italian case involving piano wire
A few (actually, probably 15 or so) years ago, my aunt was out horse riding and hit some barbed wire that had been stretched across the bridleway. Hit the horse right on the chest and sent her flying - fractured skull, broken nose, etc.
That'd be about neck height for a cyclist...
in all seriousness, if someone was going to do it wouldnt you do it on the uphill stretches? That way if someone does hit it (unlikely) it will be slow and presumbly less likely to cause death. I've run into a wire strung out like that and it really hurt...given the speeds you can go on a bike you could be killed quite easily.
Hamsterley is close by me and at between those hours there really can't have been many people about other than dog walkers and people out with kids in the snow.
Doesn't look to me like it was designed to hit above wheel/bars height but still extremely dangerous and whoever is responsible should be hurt severely (legally of course) 👿
The location of this trap means that cyclists have been specifically targeted. That section is over a bridge which was built specifically as an exit from the downhill track and there's nothing there that any forest users other than downhillers would have any interest in.
I'd be extra cautious on Hamsterley's XC trails too, they're more prominent and there's more sections where conflict's may have occurred. They don't benefit from the same kind of stewardship as the Descend tracks either.
Utter fools. I've been had off big time by some well placed logs in the trail and have nearly been taken out by barbed wire stretched across the trail (at chest/neck height) more than once.
Fortunately my local DH trails are quite short so I always walk them first.
I hope they find who did it.
I wonder if it's Mushroom Man?
Mike, we discussed this possibility at HTB meeting on Monday night and urged Neil at FC to look up the files on that incident. Mushrooom Man would certainly be getting a visit if I was the investigating officer.
We've also been told about a sustained campaign of sabotage at Chopwell Woods - including trees being cut almost through so as to fall on passing riders.
Please, everyone be vigilant and take care.
FFS!
I take it the police are involved in the investigation?
Surely setting potentially fatal mantraps is a pretty serious crime? Or do they have to wait till someone is actually killed before they'll get the resources to investigate it.
I'm sure this man had absolutely nothing at all, whatsoever to do with it. And that he'd never ever encourage people to do stuff like this.
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Spoon who is that then?
Good lord, horrendous. Hope the lad is OK and it doesn't affect confidence in the future.
One wonders if it is deliberate by "rambler" style access nazis (like that chap from california), or just stupid twonks.
Whatever, utter and total arse-biscuits all round.
Kev
Thanks Spoon. I remember the article about piano wire.
What about Mushroom Man, what's that all about?
Mushroom Man - when we were first building trails at Hamsterley, and were finishing work on the Grove Link, somebody kept sabotaging the trails, using a crowbar to destroy stone features and so on. Eventually some of the Trailblazers organised a stake-out and caught the guy red-handed. When the police questioned him he said the trails were damaging his mushroom picking areas. (This wasn't true). Anyway, this was a few years ahgo. Maybe he's come back. 🙁
I agree comments by the likes of Matthew Parris and J. Clarkson are not helpful. Of course they're being tongue in cheek and post-modern and aren't they outrageous ha ha ha. Unfortunately there are people who are not bright enough to understand and they take them at face value. Then you get this kind of stuff happening.
Surely setting potentially fatal mantraps is a pretty serious crime?
You would think attempted murder would be treated quite seriously.
No different to when kids lob concrete blocks off motorway bridges, so I would hope it's being treated with the same urgency.
It would also help for the police to make a big fuss about it being attempted murder to make whoever was responsible aware of the possible consequences of their actions.