A mate of mine bought some other guys along on one of our rides, which I knew about before the event, that was fine. However, part of the route was a little “cheeky”. Before that section, I explained it was cheeky and said it was best not to publicise it or try it on a sunny, busy weekend.

Anyway, find out afterwards that 3 of them have published it on strava and my mate has posted a video of the cheeky bit on YouTube. Clearly my mistake was doing a cheeky bit with people I didn’t know first hand. However, I think the guests or the ride or being a bit ungreatful and I’m annoyed at my mate for basically ignoring what I’d said about the cheeky bit. His defence was that the section already existed on strava. To my mind, that’s not the point. These guys didn’t know it existed before and have now increased its exposure.

I’ll clearly be more careful with who I take where in future.

First thing I look at when exploring a new area is Strava segments so if it was already there then they’ve not exactly made things any worse. This is like telling someone a “secret” that was passed on to you with a request that it should go no further. Once you tell someone, you’ve already done the damage.

Some people do their research, but these strava bandits didn’t know it was there. Now they know and so do their strava mates. I thought it was a simple request I’d made. Seems rude and ungrateful, whether the trail has been over publicised or not.

Seems a weird attitude to me. I build lots of trails, and lots of people ride them, and enjoy them, and I like seeing those folks posting photos of them enjoying the trails.

I’d be annoyed too. Strava is for the self obsessed imo.

George, cheeky as in, we shouldn’t have been there.

you’re over reacting, especially as the segment was already on strava (even if it wasnt you’d still be over-reacting)

Strava global heat map + OS map plugin = no secrets left anywhere.

[Really it’s no secrets left for those motivated to find them, which is a minority of folk. So posting something on youtube is a bit dick-ish.]

Wouldn’t say it was an over-reaction – just human nature to react badly to an uneven trade. You’ve (presumably) put time into accumulating this trail knowledge and using it in a respectful manner, and a few whoppers are capitalising on it without putting the hours in.
You’re not right to be annoyed, either. Just like anyone can now drive a taxi – ‘the knowledge’ is now next to worthless.

Really it’s no secrets left for those motivated to find them, which is a minority of folk. So posting something on youtube is a bit dick-ish

I agree with this. Something existing on Strava and someone setting out to find it because it’s on Strava are two different things. YouTube is a little more ‘public’ in that respect!

The annoyance is not so much about strava but the unwillingness to comply with a simple request after guiding them around all day.

I’m not sure I get it. Do you expect people NOT to upload their ride to Strava because you say so?

If you were to tell me not to publicise it, fair enough – I’d take that as not verbally telling all and sundry about it. But I upload every ride to Strava…if someone is committed to spending hours trawling through those rides online, fair play to them, they’ve probably earned it! And just because it’s on Strava doesn’t mean it’s any good. If you blindly followed some of my routes, you’d have a nightmare – many of them are experimental to say the least.

YouTube is a little more ‘public’ in that respect!

But how much real information can you get from a you tube video? unless the poster specified the lat and long of the start point in the description, it could be any trail anywhere.

I don’t think it’s made any difference. The phrase ‘published it on Strava’ is a bit disingenuous really. Despite the shrill hysteria on here most people just use Strava to track their weekly and monthly mileage so it’s natural that they will upload every ride.

If the segment is already there than it will automatically appear when they upload their ride- they haven’t made a decision or undertook an action to make that happen.

If the segment’s already there than anybody who is keen to explore cheeky trails in the local area will already have looked and seen. A few more uploads won’t make any difference.

Presumably they will heed your warnings about not riding there on a hot sunny bank holiday or whatever and haven’t been putting up billboards round town. I don’t think they’ve really done anything wrong.

You’re right to be annoyed, but the way things seem to be going it doesn’t make a lot of difference.

In twenty years time there won’t be anywhere worth riding any more. Existing trails will have met one of three fates.

1) Being sold off for property developer spivs to make a packet out of.

2) Sanitised so thirty stone imbeciles can roll up them on mobility scooters.

3) Be owned by narrow minded rich folk (including some of the aforementioned spivs) who will erect a razor wire topped wall around ‘their’ land to keep the proles off.

So in the grand scheme of things I doubt it will make any difference.

I’d be pissed off too, to be honest. Get Strava to remove the segment.

it’s not difficult to tick ‘private’ 🙄

Post up the link to YouTube so we can all opine about this amazing piece of singletrack you’ve got your knickers in a twist over.
Oh yeah and we’ll need map coordinates so we can try it for ourselves, strava at the ready boys 😉

TTIUWV!!!!

I’d be upset that my request has been ignored thus disrespecting me.

dont think anyone cares TBH round my way we just ride

Solution : never ride with anyone who stravas 🙂

Works for me

Forgive them, for they know not what they do.

Just don’t take muppets on cheeky routes.

You requested them to do something which they then ignored…so you’re bound to be pee’d off and don’t blame you. You were kind enough to show them around…the least they could have done was respect your wishes.

Murder them! Hang their bodies at the trail entrance as a warning to others! 👿

Despite the shrill hysteria on here most people just use Strava to track their weekly and monthly mileage

**** OFF !!

are you saying that nobody even sees my KoMs* ??

(KoM – of about 50 riders 😥 )

I don’t strava. We ride mainly cheeky stuff, this won’t survive with vast traffic. Keep secret, secret.

OP I would be totally narked too!

I don’t really get it. You didn’t want other people to find out about your secret* trail? But you took some people you don’t know on it? And now you’re upset?

I don’t strava. We ride mainly cheeky stuff, this won’t survive with vast traffic. Keep secret, secret.

I bet it’s on Strava. The trail you think is secret. As above, there are very few people motivated to find cheeky, most people will never bother to ride difficult / remote / ‘illegal’ stuff. I’m sure your trails will survive.

* “Secret” although it turns out it’s already on Strava and not secret at all?

The irony of someone riding so-called “cheeky” trails and then complaining about someone not following his rules has not escaped me.

Strava. Say no more. Just ride and stop being so result focused.

For the record I **** hate strava and it’s ilk.

if you posted the youtube link we could have a look and see if a lot of fuss about nothing 😆

And now everyone will search Youtube and Strava…

Not very sound of that mate of yours. Low act on his part.

50% of what we ride is ‘cheeky’ – we welcome new riders and don’t give it a second though.

I didn’t discover the trails, I didn’t build the trails, I don’t own the trails – if I ride them, then they should be for everyone else’s enjoyment too, not my own personal pre-selected clique.

Well said astr.

Mountain out of a mole hill springs to mind

Were they faster than you? 🙂

NEWSFLASH Strava route data released this morning!!!!!! 😯

The run is said to contain some cheeky “singletrack” and/or “footpath” through a local Morrisons carpark..

http://app.strava.com/segments/morrisons-pizza-run-4459740?utm_campaign=segment_share&utm_content=4459740&utm_medium=widget&utm_source=www.google.co.uk

So, OP wants to show off by leading these blokes down a ‘super secret awsum track’ that only he knows about.

knows full well the likelihood of those blokes then either telling their mates or stravering it on yootoob.

throws toys out of pram when obvious happens.

Only self to blame.