[Closed] Whitby_Scarborough Cinder Track video

Looks to me like a bit of remedial work on some parts would be all that's needed. I'm assuming they have considered that a lovely smooth wide path will increase bike speeds?. I ride the trans pennine trail and parts of that are the best roads in the area and so the speeds attainable are high.

That would be a shame, I rode up to Whitby at the beginning of August on my CX bike and it was fine, a couple of bits were a bit sloppy and rattled me around on the roots but that's it. The cinder parts were absolutely fine. As mentioned a little bit of work on drainage on the more covered bits is all that's needed. Ripping out trees and the lovely gorse would be a crime.

The worst part was the tarmac section up to Scalby from town and the descent into Whitby where the sun doesn't reach through the trees/valley.

teamslug is right, turning it into a hard packed surface will mean that you'll have oblivious riders flying up and down, which won't go down well with the walkers and families trying to have a nice ride out with the kids and will cause more than a few problems. The more natural sections are good to slow people down. They'll complete the work and have to spend more to go up and mark out proper cycle lanes 🙁

Rode it with my kids in both directions over a weekend when they were 5 and 8 and it was a great route - just rough enough to be interesting but smooth enough to be perfectly rideable for kids, even young ones.

It certainly doesn't need to be a hard surface - just fill a few of the big puddles in here and there would be enough. Prrrwft.

I heard about this on facebook. I think it's a poorly thought out solution to a problem that doesn't really exist.

Granted on some of the narrower sections it can be a bit difficult navigating if it's a busy day and it can get a bit soggy but I don't think that warrants a complete redo of the whole route. I rode it last year on the Moors & Shores thing which was the first time I'd been on it in years and there was no problem at all between what was a lot of cyclists and the other users.

But yeah the bit between Scalby and town is 'orrible.

It'll be like the Guided Busway cycle track near Cambridge if it's 3m wide and nice and smooth.

Cyclists *do* go very fast on that. It's not entirely safe. The council have put up some "show respect" signs to try to combat the problem.

If lots of people use this path for walking, then it's a stupid idea.

As others have said, it's a ludicrous and totally unnecessary plan and I'm utterly baffled as to why anyone thinks it's a good idea (genuinely: anyone who knows why this is being proposed, do post it even if you disagree!).

I signed the petition that was floating about online a month or two back.

I've ridden it with little kids (youngest was probably 6-7ish the first time, didn't do the whole length but a fair bit including the roughest bits). I've also ridden it with a two seat kid's trailer - the only difficulty was at the end where there's the usual barriers to prevent bigger vehicles getting on, irritating but I get why they're needed and we coped.

There's a bit right at the Whitby end that doesn't drain well that might benefit from some work, and the Scarborough end's not the most fun, the main issue there is that the signage could be better tbh.

Rode the section from Whitby to Robin hoods bay last year, agree that there are some sections that needed a bit of work but on the whole it is perfectly fine.

Hmm, interesting that the man who invented the Crud Guard should be advocating leaving a route that has wet and muddy sections in its current state.
Improving it to the quality of the section of the PBW which runs across to York and has the scale model of the Solar System would seem sensible and would encourage more casual riders to use it without getting mucky.

Rode it a fortnight ago with kids, it's an amazing route, it would be such a shame if it's turned into a road.
There was a thread linking to the petition.

[url= http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/robin-hoods-bay-cinder-track ]Here[/url]
Edit: doh, from the same MrCrud

Looks like a perfectly nice track to me, it's what a cinder track should be, which is quiet, discreet and naturally blends in to the countryside. Surely that money would be better spent putting in a new cycle lane/cinder track somewhere else, as in creating another safe route for cyclists to use.

Save you all a click. Petition is here:
https://www.change.org/p/scarborough-borough-council-save-our-cinder-track

oo, I didn't realise it was MrCrud of "catcher" fame..

His products are probably of more value here than on the Selby-York solar system one to be fair.

BUT

the character's also rather different - that one goes across the flatlands of the vale of York and requires minimal effort so is fundamentally very, very accessible.

The cinder track has a couple of bigish longish climbs (by the standards of sustrans railway conversions, I'm not suggesting it's like a big day out in the Lakes!) and even if it was motorway standard tarmac would still need a bit of effort. And the character of the track, from light (the open bits, especially with the views between Hawsker and Ravenscar, including around Robin Hoods Bay) and shade (lots of bits under the trees...) make it a charming path to use in its own right.

Not wanting to sound too dismissive, but they needed to do something like the solar system on the York one because it would be a pretty dull flat run through a whole load of nothing otherwise, the cinder track has no need since the scenery and history that's already there is pretty compelling. A lot of the "feel" of that charm would, imho be lost if a load of the trees were cleared and the path widened / surfaced.

And also, with those biggish climbs (long rather than steep) I'm convinced there would be conflict - you can get a fair bit of speed up coming down them now (with due care and attention, travelling outside popular family strolling times etc.) - widened and resurfaced the potential for nasty incidents would massively increase.

Does anyone know who's instigated this? Locals? Tourists? Local politicians? Tourist Board? Sustrans Head Office?

Tin-foil hat time: Sustrans seem to want to promote their national cycle route stuff as easy, smooth commutable runs to justify the whole project. The current state of this route doesn't fit with that image. That's the reason, and local factors (and lets not forget that some of it round Ravenscar in particular passes through sensitive, protected historical stuff) haven't really factored in the consideration?

EDIT: Quick apology for those who read or contributed to the previous thread - having just gone back there I realise that I've largely repeated most of what I said there, here.

I signed the petition a while back, after the original thread I think. It would be shocking if they carried out the plan they have in mind. It would ruin what is a great track.

That was the first "trail" I rode after my shoulder op. It was nice, I liked it.