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This really annoyed me on sunday. went out for an early morning blast on the local trails, conditions weren't great after all the rain it was really boggy. As I'm coming down one trail through the woods I'm confronted with about 6 MX bikes trying to ride up, absolutely tearing up all the trails and Turning them in into complete mud bogs, one of them even caning his 2stroke on the limiter and not even moving just digging a big hole in the mud. I had to bail of into the fearns at one point as one of these idiots came blazing up the trail straight towards me as I was coming down, and didn't want to stop because he knew he wouldn't get it moving again in the mud, clipped my back wheel as I tried to get out of the way. These weren't your usual scrotes on unregistered bikes either, none had local accents and they were all riding brand new road reg ktms. I have seen the locals about on MX bikes before but they have always stuck to the coal tips and never seen them on the actual mtb trails. These are the type of idiots that give MX riders a bad name. Non locals so no respect for where they should or shouldn't be.
Bloody e-bikers.
Bloody e-bikers
KTMdma?
brand new road reg ktms
Police round our way impound bikes being used like this - next time collect reg no's and report them?
tbh, even photographing reg's might give them pause for thought, if you felt safe doing so?
It's quite shit round our way too. MXers have been in the local woods for years. They annoy me when I meet them but whatever. But what's not forgivable is the way they ride trails until they are totally demolished then move on to the next one and trash that, until the whole place is ****ed. They aren't all kids either, sometimes it's middle aged men thinking they are 'green laning' when they are just ruining stuff for everyone else. Sorry guys, this is not a suitable venue for your sport.
@molgrips that's exactly it, these were all middle aged guys on brand new bikes thinking they were greenlaning but actually riding through a country park site, absolutely destroying the trails. Non locals though and I imagine non mtbrs due to the lack of thought fo what might be coming down the trail towards them. Bikes don't usually bother me because anyone local to the area will know where to go, there's plenty of coal tips and mountains you can ride on with no hassle and without tearing up the local country parks and bike trails.
@wwaswas I did try getting reg numbers but they were caked in mud and small plates so I couldn't get a good look, also tried recording them but most had gone past by the time I got my phone out, managed to catch one going right past me just before the other ran me off the trail. I will report it to 101 next time. Should have really gone to the cafe or bike shop and reported it to them in hindsight
In all seriousness though, it is a real issue. In my local (which I have been avoiding for a while to be fair) it was getting ridiculous. The trouble was, it was mostly scrotes on them, and they were usually stolen. To be fair I am making some massive assumptions, but then I guess your average MX rider isn't 'kitting up' in a tracksuit & Nike Air Max's & ragging the sh*t out of a bike without a helmet on.
They made the woodland a total no go area, as they would literally be racing up and down the fire roads, flat out. This is a woodland on the city limits, with a lot of stable yards round the edge of it & a couple of big housing estates. People out riding horses, families in the woods, dog walkers etc. Reports of muggings, people being held a knifepoint for bikes etc. In Hampshire! I got chased a couple of times by kids on MX bikes with baseball bats, which is not what you expect on a Saturday afternoon. There were instances of close calls with horses, hitting other users being totally out of control on bikes. It came to head not that long ago when one of the morons killed himself riding into a tree. Thankfully it seems to be a lesser occurrence now, but i'm always on full alert when riding there, and even more so when I hear a bike in the distance.
In all fairness 99% of people who ride MX bikes around by me are really good. All trailer or vans to take the bikes to a quiet mountain or local track, slow down or stop if they see walkers/horses/mtbs. You can tell the scrotes because they don't have the proper gear and usually crappy bikes. You don't expect to see middle aged men who should know better tearing up the local beauty spots on their 8 grand ktms.
They should learn the proper green lane routes or take it to a track. There's plenty of groups that go out greenlaning legally. But again they were non locals so probably don't really care for the state of the woods after they leave as they don't have to live here
Ones round here on the actual greenlanes that I have met have all been fine. Ride sensibly round everyone else eg whilst its muddy and puddly stopping near anything big when others are passing. Far better than the 4x4 lot although that might just be down to the fact while they both go round in groups the bikes get in the way a lot less.
There are a few kids who sometimes ride around the local bit of rough ground but despite being a tad annoying noise wise in terms of riding near others never seen any problems.
Welch Valleys by any chance!!!!
It's areal issue in downtown Lancashire , ripping up the moors and ruining trails.They even ride in Cragg and Lee quarrys and are a real risk- I once had one coming up a berm I was descending , that was a loosener .Worst thing is a lot of walkers thing the damage is from mountain bikes .
I was just going to chip in with that Mr Potatoehead. They've absolutely wrecked a lot of decent trails up on Scout Moor. What was once singletrack is now an array of unrideable, foot-deep trenches where they've been ragging their crossers through it. Depressingly they've now started it over this side of the valley too. Looks like they've been ragging them up Robin Hoods Well then up onto Bull Hill.
Me and a mate took our kids to ride Lee Quarry last summer and ended up going straight home as it just didn't feel safe for them because of the crossers tearing around the place
Another side effect of this is that landowners who weren't fussed about mountain bikers riding over their land have now fenced it off because of the damage they're doing, so we're all having our access reduced as a result of these twunts!
This recent story on Pinkbike is absolutely shocking - the guy that it happened to has commented on the article. Grim.
Used to come across them quite a bit in the woods just off the Ridgeway (which is restricted, no motorised vehicles). Not even officially footpaths in there, but landowner tolerated walkers and cycling.
Challenged a bunch when they ripped through one sunny Sunday with lots of kids and dogs around - didn't even ease up. I was stood at the exit. Gave me lots of mouth, got MOTs so all legal etc. Landowner banned all access soon after, so spoilt it for everyone.
On what planet would you not report being hit by a motor vehicle being used illegally to the police...
@dobiejessmo spot on, it was Barry sidings Country Park just past ponty. first time I have ever had problems with MX bikes on the actual trails, there are coal tips in the same park that are perfect for motorbikes, with hill climbs and jumps etc, anyone local seems to stick to those and be a bit more considerate.
@sr0093193 I did try to catch them on video but couldn't get any no. plates, it was a group of guys clearly not local going by the accents so probably have vans parked somewhere while they ride around tearing up local beauty spots before they go home. The police wouldn't have been able to do much without any plate details and they would have been long gone by the time any police even thought about looking into it.
This recent story on Pinkbike is absolutely shocking – the guy that it happened to has commented on the article. Grim.
It’s nothing new. A friend of mine was hit by a scrambler about twenty-odd years ago and ended up in Intensive Care with a serious head injury.
Welsh Valleys. We have loads of them on the hills around here. The dads trailer them and let them rip the woods and hills to pieces. I’ve had a few arguments..
I so wish the idiots that ride MX bikes without helmets and tear around like nob ends would have a massive stack. It's like the morons in London on sh*t scooters that rip around like they are on a racing track - please, please fall off while while being a dick or a cop appear around the corner and nab them. Sounds mean but they need to learn a lesson and nothing else seems to work!
You don’t expect to see middle aged men who should know better tearing up the local beauty spots on their 8 grand ktms
Sadly, encountered them in Surrey/West Sussex, I was out trail running on a bridleway and encountered about 20 middle-aged blokes kitted-up like they were riding the Dakar rally with their power-ranger suits on KTMs and Beemers - some then decided to do a bit more "off road" tearing through the undergrowth. National Trust area, designated SSSI
Never had any problems with the MXer's around Macc but did once get knocked off my one as he stalled and fell over on the Long Causeway off Stanage ( when they were allowed)
MXers do my head in, but playing Devils advocate, do mountain bikes have legal access on the OPs trails?
Not quite the same but saw a YouTube vid of a lad riding a 15000w ebike around the local woods and telling anyone who watched to do the same, as it's a designated e-bike area. Must've been doing 40mph up a fire road climb with no pedalling involved in a wood thats used by dog walkers, kids, horses as well as mtbers. Dual crown fork, full face lid and body armour but couldn't catch his mate on a mtb (the type of thing sports direct sell for £150) when they went down a tame red mtb trail. Unfortunately I can see it happening more and more in future and it won't end well for mtb access when people start getting hurt
As mentioned above Lee/Cragg Quarry have been ragged to bits by them, the police used to have DR350 trail bikes and made an effort to chase them also the countryside ranger used to do the rounds in a 4x4 which kept them away. Austerity has halted all that so the MXers ride unhindered.
Green Laning/adventure bikes are the new Fireblade/R1/sports bike activity of choice as average speed cameras etc have killed off fast road riding nowadays.
It’s an increasing problem in the FoD too - there’s pretty much no cops around as police budgets have been decimated and these guys know they can get away with it. The local kids tend to be more considerate, it’s men who’ve travelled in who rip the place up and are aggressive riders.
The problem isn't helped by social media giving people more ideas of locations they can travel to and trash, then you get the idiots that think they aren't doing any damage, and then you get the people claiming they need somewhere to go completely ignoring the facility down the road
Keep reporting, action Does happen still happen, sadly not using local intelligence on where they park the vans.
I had a RTC with one on a B road a few years ago when he clattered into my van. It was a nearly new Beta with a number plate but he was a tracky wearing scrote rang police who impounded the bike and did him for no licence or insurance.
He then claimed £25k for his injuries, my insurer tried tangling out of it with their tosser claims handler/loss adjuster. I presume he got paid out as they weren't going to fight it.
Seems to be quads round our way, doing donuts in the local forest. I've even run into a couple of quads heading the wrong way up the trail at Stainburn!
I got hit by a lad riding illegally on the (wrong side of the) road near Rivi, when I was out on my road bike last summer.
Got away with cuts and bad bruises but without my catlike reflexes it might have been really serious, because he clearly couldn't ride the thing properly.
Fortunately GMP had a clampdown that seems to have put a lid on the problem locally, for now.
do mountain bikes have legal access on the OPs trails?
Please explain in detail the relevance of your question.
MXers do my head in, but playing Devils advocate, do mountain bikes have legal access on the OPs trails?
In my case, they are bridleways.
@morecashthandash the place I'm talking about is more or less a mini bike park, pump track, bmx jump track bike repair shop etc. The trails in the woods are graded on trail forks. It's not somewhere you should be hammering a crosser through the woods. I've never seen local lads riding crossers on the mtb trails as they stick to the coal tips. It's the middle aged power rangers that have driven across with there brand new ktms and no experience of off road riding or where you're legally allowed to go, they think its a free for all.
A lot of these sportbikers that come to off-roading don't have a clue how to ride off-road all revving mud flying everywhere or they think its funny to dig holes in the Ground no hope I have been greenlining for years and it amazes me how some people just don't give a F--k same as some 4x4 divers will go of the hard track just to get stuck in mud crazy.
It’s an increasing problem in the FoD too – there’s pretty much no cops around as police budgets have been decimated and these guys know they can get away with it. The local kids tend to be more considerate, it’s men who’ve travelled in who rip the place up and are aggressive riders.
I've only been to FOD twice but the second visit left a bit of a bad taste in the mouth with two mx'ers riding the blue route in the opposite direction (and some yob mtbers shouting abuse at my two young kids riding the skills loop from their 'safe' vantage point)
I have been down the FOD for years only ever seen couple of MX bikes in there,you see the tracks there were some fresh ones near Nags head Sunday
What a sad thread. Encountered a group on W2, Afan once. More recently on a steep uphill bridleway section of SDW. God knows what a horse would do. Noisy selfish idiots.
@dobiejessmo yeh these guys seemed to fit into the catogory of not having a clue how to ride off road, I used to have MX bikes and road bikes up until a couple of years ago and can tell the guys with all the gear and no idea. A couple of the guys I seen on the weekend had their throttles pinned, spinning the back wheel whilst moving forward at about 1mph, bits of the trail being sprayed out behind in a big rooster tail. No throttle or bike control but they all think they are Graham jarvis 😂
I don’t know if this has been said before but if they were road registered then they’re not MX bikes.
This vid sums up the problems they can give. Even hit a cyclist at the very start....unbelievable. Sorry not sure how to embed YT vids.
They can be a nightmare in the Welsh Valleys, they even ride official MTB stuff (hence all the fences at trail centres such as Afan). There seems to be some of them who just don't care, no matter how much you explain to them. Take Barry Sidings, a lot of the MTB riders there also ride MX bikes and know what not to ride, but you still get MX boys ruining the trails. Complete pricks.
I don’t know if this has been said before but if they were road registered then they’re not MX bikes.
It’s a convenient word to describe off-road motorbikes, so that we all know what we’re talking about. Who really cares if they are motocross bikes or not?
Maybe people that race MX...
MX, Enduro, does it really matter? People on off road orientated motorbikes riding where they shouldn't. Doesn't really matter if they have number plates or not, although I think there has been a big rise recently in people buying Enduro bikes, without really knowing or caring where you are allowed to ride.
MXers do my head in, but playing Devils advocate, do mountain bikes have legal access on the OPs trails?
I've sometimes come across them on MoD land and there's a general rule to report them to the relevant warden, but I always feel that's a bit rich given I'm riding on trails with no legal access. It also might result in closure of trails for everyone.
It's not too big a problem round my way. Mainly just greenlaning, bombing up and down fireroads. Noticing an increase in videos though on Insta etc from MTBers doing MX on the side but not seen them on local trails so I assume they have dedicated spots for it.
Did meet one guy coming along the North Downs Way recently. Not going to argue that as despite bridleway mainly there are sections that are "no bikes!" but I'll ride through anyway. However, wondered where he was going to or coming from.