Afan trails under threat..

Tree disease..

Dont know if this is common knowledge or not but I thought I would flag it up just in case..

Is this the updoc ?

would they mind making the bike wash free?

Thats a good point buzz but I doubt it..

I didn't know this, I'm no expert but surely passing the infection to other forest areas via my mountain bike tyres is pretty slim (maybe I should start buying lottery tickets…)

And yes if they are really concerned about it they should make the bike washes free. I never use it as I don't want to leave my bike unattended whilst I queue up to get a token in the shop

Remember Foot & Mouth how that was supposed to be passed around?

allthepies – Member
Is this the updoc ?

But allthepies, I've never heard of that – what's updoc?

😉

Wash your bikes kids! Not sure I agree they should make it free. You're riding on their trails? If you can't afford £2 for a bike wash, how can you afford to pay (BP or some other oil multi-national) for the petrol to get there!

You had to walk through some sort of disinfectant trough for foot and mouth, wouldn't be too hard to make something for bikes to ride through.

do the deer/foxes other wildlife have to wash themselves before walking around too?

Ahhhh thats why but on the other side of the road
on the hill side they had feld half the hill side.

But there are no Oak trees in the Afan trail park
just ever green type!!!!

Just have to supply a tyre cleaning area to clean
tyres and shoes then all should be ok.

I spoke to the cycling ranger for the S Wales ward this week.
The disease is airborne and has migrated from Exmoor where it's been affecting mainly Japanese Larch for about 2 years. That's only a third of the Larch population of the forest at worst.
There's a felling program going on at Penhydd, and any affected trees in other parts of the forest will be removed to manage the spread to other areas.
There will be disinfectant baths put in place shortly at the other trails, and washing bikes after each visit will be strongly advised if not mandatory.
The bike wash and carpark charges are the only source of revenue for the centres, and these pretty much cover the costs of the running the facilities along with rent from the cafes and shops(the water bill for the Glyncorrwg centre has been as high as £13000 in the past, I've seen the records)so I can't see them being able to offer free facilities.

So it'll be business as usual as long as visitors follow some simple rules.
Hope that clears things up for now, I'll post with news if anything changes.

Dont think the Deer and Fox population get around quite as much as a trail centre rider. By the looks of it its been in the forest for the a while so I would have thought if it was going to spread it would have done so – as with foot and mouth by the time you've found it its too late.

If the disease is airborne what's the point of a wheel wash?

Off there next weekend I'll take a brush and bucket.

Transmission
P. ramorum produces both resting spores (chlamydospores) and zoospores, which have flagella enabling swimming. P. ramorum is spread by air;[4] one of the major mechanisms of dispersal is rainwater splashing spores onto other susceptible plants, and into watercourses to be carried for greater distances.[4]

So why exactly is anyone suggesting washing of bikes?

So why exactly is anyone suggesting washing of bikes?

To wash the spores off ……. oh!

……and into the waterways, so they can spread further.

Mind you, this disease kills rhododendron, so there is a silver lining.

Don't exactly want to help it spread any quicker.
The pathogen has proved itself capable capable of mutating and larch is one of the main commercially grown timbers, there is a very steep learning curve here.
Most trail centres are amongst commercial crops and most natural rides will take you past oaks. The forestry industry considers this a big threat, the trees won't sit it out like recession.

Thanks for the info GTR – its good to have a bit more background on the situation!

Ok, how about raising the parking charge to cover free washing facilities?

(my main issue is queuing to get a token & leaving the bike alone outside not the £2….)

I'll put it to the manager of the centre for you DT78 it sounds like a good idea to me, but other users might not see the value in raised carparking fees if the don't use the other facilities. (you don't get tokens from the bike shop, they are only available from the foyer and you can wheel your bike in there if you want to.) 😉

There's an idea being thrown about ATM that a £5 charge will give you parking, bike wash and showers on the same day.
I think that's fair and quite good value considering a round of golf costs me £10 at least, every tme I play, and my golf clubs cost me about £3K.
If you agree, I'll start another thread to guage support and put it to the Ponds Commitee for approval.
Thanks for your replies, it'll make it easier for us to let the non biking management of the centre realise they need to act on this matter quickly.
Regards, Kev.

So why exactly is anyone suggesting washing of bikes?

Because otherwise you drive home and take it with you back to wherever you live and/or pass through on the way.

Skyline-GTR

My issue would be leaving my bike unattended while getting a token. If you can really guarantee that I can wheel it to where I get the token from, then fine. Otherwise I won't be washing my bike – sorry, it cost a lot of money and I am not about to leave it around. I ride alone so don't have anyone to look after it while I am elsewhere. Can't put it in the car temporarily as the spores will be in the car then and make washing a waste of time.

Can you flag the security aspect with the management team please?

I don't agree with tagging the cost on to the car parking ticket.

Once this is over I will return to washing my bike for free back at whichever campsite I am staying on. I am not particularly keen on having a soaking wet bike in the back of my car unnecessarily.

Skyline, I would be more than happy to pay £5 for parking, wash and shower I think that sounds fair, even if some chose not to use all of those facilities.

(I would be unlikely to use the shower as like karinofnine majority of time I ride trail centres alone)

Security is also a worry for me too, I've seen a number of threads now about people having bikes lifted from the campsite there, I'm always paranoid when I sit in the cafe, have to have the bike in eyesight.

*and I always thought you had to buy the tokens in the shop, which always has a pretty big queue when I look! Doh.

Anyone heard of a lock?

what tyres for disinfectant bath…

Has anyone seen me coat.

Isnt this also present in Brocton Coppice in the north of Cannock chase ? clicky

Sounds like its spreading so maybe its too late to stop the spread now ?

Also the the title is slightly misleading
'Afan trails under threat'

The trails arent under threat the trees are ! At worst the trails might be closed for sometime but they'd still be there when it reopened.

And if it went national they could nt close every forest. It would mean alot of dead trees presumably though.