you’d have a nice conversation with chap that wished me dead, cos his mate had to move over to let me past.

Or the lovely bloke who saw me coming, moved over and then blew a mahoosive cloud of vape smoke directly in my path.
Mmmm, strawberry flavour.

Maybe now is the time to open up the footpaths for cyclists to ride them to make more space!

Didn’t see the car parks but Grizedale /Claife Heights was pretty quiet today. Went up Iron Keld last week though and that was busy. Luck of the draw I guess 🤷‍♂️

My local route is wet and muddy. This time of year I hardly see anyone.

Today in the rain there were loads of people out but they were all on ebikes, I only saw two other people on a bike without a motor and one was a road bike.

Some of them were outside their comfort zone and they were falling off their bikes going up the hill on a techy section. But they looked like they were enjoying themselves.

I think it’s great that more people are riding and getting out doors and keeping fit. I just hope they keep it up once the threat of covid has gone and the need to lose some weight and gain some fitness isn’t as impending.

Maybe now is the time to open up the footpaths for cyclists to ride them to make more space!
Posted 32 minutes ago

Totally agree. OpenMTB did make the same argument, but there wasn’t much interest from our representative bodies or the wider public.

http://openmtb.org.uk/news/the-government-is-investing-2bn-in-a-cycling-and-walking-revolution-the-off-road-version-could-be-free/

Personally I went for a local road ride today, the West Lancs hills were way quieter than normal for motor traffic but busy with cyclists. It was almost like lockdown 1.0 with the sun out as well.

Maybe now is the time to open up the footpaths for cyclists to ride them to make more space!

Good idea, our local footpaths are underused save for the odd nimby and the psychopath dog walker. They are still overgrown from the summer.

Don’t tell anyone, I ride my bike on them and most people I encounter are as polite as I am.

Peaslake was the busiest I’ve ever seen it today, usually some of the car parks can be full but the trails area bit quiet, today all the cps were rammed and it was noticeably busy on the trails. Obviously no heed being paid to not being in big groups.

The car parks looked much the same today as they did 2 weekends ago, but I’ve never seen the area around the shop and hotel so busy. Lots of big groups, and not much room to distance for anyone that wanted to. I immediately regretted driving into Walking Bottom, only to waste time trying to ease my way round to get back out again. Felt lucky to get a space in the 2nd car park I tried.

Less consumerism, more outdoors…erism.

All good.

I ventured out on the CX at about 3pm knowing that I’d be finishing the ride in darkness which was fine. Up through Goyt Valley though, I seemed to get the rush hour of people leaving. All the car parks were full, lots of parking on verges. Once it got dark though it was fine. I rode back along Monsal Trail – on a sunny Sunday I can imagine it was rammed but I saw a couple of joggers and one group of MTBers.

So yeah, night riding is the way to avoid the hordes.

Ladybower / Fairholmes and Mam Tor / Winnats have all been absolutely chaotic every time the sun has come out. Was up Mam Tor yesterday (in the wind and rain) and it was still busy-ish. Glad I wasn’t there today, bet it would have been heaving.

It’s great

Maybe aftter lockdown is over people will realise they don’t have to sirens Saturday trudging round a mall to but stuff they don’t need

Local woods at Woburn very busy,On weds I got told off by an old guy fir cycling where I shouldn’t, he then told me I was out of order after I told him he was on the blue tail!

Less consumerism, more outdoors…erism.

All good.

PMSL at that one. Singletrackworld, the home of consumerism.

It’s carnage out in the Dales. Rode through Malham this morning and it was like Bank Holiday

Malham, Sunday morning, situation normal. I’m camped at 650m elsewhere in the Dales now, signal coming in from somewhere, having encountered four people all day. You can’t really go to honeypots then complain about all the other people there lacking imagination.

swung by Haldon

Thank goodness it started p***ing with rain in South Devon midday then, was planning to go to Haldon for a few hours this afternoon but didn’t fancy another soaking after being up on Dartmoor yesterday. We could do with Haldon trails being extended further along and down the ridge and another car park for bikers and walkers away from the main area IMHO.

We could do with Haldon trails being extended further along and down the ridge and another car park for bikers and walkers away from the main area IMHO

TBF, I imagine that the off-piste stuff was as quiet as it normally is.
Even on a extra busy day up there, the car park may be rammed, they may be nose-to-tail on the blue trails, but you’ll hardly see a sole if you venture more than a km from the hub.

You can generally park quite easily over the cafe side too, and in any number of small FC car parks on the other side of the A380.

Today was just insane though due to the amount of people trying to get into the relatively small area around the hub – mostly families I suspect.

Also the car park by the Belvedere – I’ve seen it full, but never as today with cars on the opposite verge and on the side of the road leading down the hill.

You can’t really go to honeypots then complain about all the other people there lacking imagination.

I wasn’t actually riding there, just past it on a 100km road ride. But I get your point 😉

You can’t really go to honeypots then complain about all the other people there lacking imagination.

Likewise…my route (from my door) wasn’t aiming at getting to Malham, just passed through one end of it on the way to somewhere else and departed sharpish. Wasn’t expecting it to be that rammed.

Malham, Sunday morning, situation normal. I’m camped at 650m elsewhere in the Dales now, signal coming in from somewhere, having encountered four people all day.

Can’t be many places in the Dales over 650m, I vaguely recall it was very difficult to do anything there which qualified for MLTB training as it was (nearly) all too low….

Was thinking of popping over to Gisburn but certainly wouldn’t bother on the weekend.

Was up at grizedale mid week with the lad and wasn’t busy on a Wednesday? But looking at anywhere ’outdoorsy’ round here at the weekend and it’s rammed.

There’s a small nature reserve place not too far from me. The only parking is a lay-by, but Saturday and Sunday that’s overflowing, the road/verge both sides is chockablock for hundreds of yards. God knows why, the place ain’t that big they must be falling over themselves when in there. (Fairy glen for anyone west lancs)

Roadie’d from Oldham up and round Rivington today. I don’t know the area too well but it was mad busy in some areas. Lots of lovely quiet roads but the areas round car parks were crazy with hikers and the like.

Lots of massive groups of MTBers knocking about, I imagine all from the same household. 🙄

Went by fairy glen this morning, yes it was very busy… As always.

Car parks looked quite full everywhere, but not as nuts as it gets over Rivi at the mo.

Dunkeld was pretty quiet this morning, and it did seem to be Perth & Kinross locals. So glad we live in a big, sparsely populated region, whereas Stirling, Clacks, etc have much more people & they aren’t allowed beyond local trails.

Saying that, I’ll bet the croft was mobbed, like every weekend since it reopened.

The walls on Great Coum (almost) provide decent shelter from the winds beating up my little tent this morning… that’s how I avoid the crowds, on foot or on the bike; careful route choice, late/early.

ibnchris

Maybe now is the time to open up the footpaths for cyclists to ride them to make more space!

they’ve been closed?

Our road was packed with folk parking to access the local woods, but it was great to see so many people enjoying the great outdoors

Swinley was no more busy than usual for cyclists, but was busier for walkers without doubt.

We’ve also been going to Slanting Hill which is fairly local to us, that was packed at times, but we’ve not been there much before to know if it’s usually busy or quiet, but to a small unknown woods, i thought it was busy 🙂

The walls on Great Coum (almost) provide decent shelter from the winds beating up my little tent this morning… that’s how I avoid the crowds, on foot or on the bike; careful route choice, late/early.

I think you’ve got a fair chance of seeing no-one on Great Coum! Presumably that’s just a (boggy) push from virtually the top of Kingsdale?

I live in stockport and everywhere “local” that we can drive to with the kids for a walk is absolutely packed by 10am.

I absolutely hate it and just want some peace and quiet. I just stay in and do DIY at the weeknds now.

On the flip side my local skatepark was dead quiet yesterday morning. Just me and two lads on scooters till I buggered off just gone ten after snapping my chain.

Also had a nice family walk in the woods on Saturday with a few folk out but not loads, was getting busy when we left at 11.30 though. I think that one stays quieter cos there’s a a testing site taking up most of the car park!

One thing worth remembering is in normal times people would car share when out riding but obviously thats not happening any more so naturally more cars in car parks – I don’t think this necessarily equates to more riders. Also people have no where to go currently so a walk in the woods is pretty much the best option if you want to leave the house.

Conscious I was contributing to it but I went to Dalby yesterday morning early doors. Car park was reasonably busy when I set off. Was total mayhem when I got back – glad to get outta there. Although to be fair, everyones outside, social distancing seemed to be getting adhered to etc.

QECP is packed from the pics Ive seen

We rode there – I have never seen QE so rammed with cars. No summer’s day since I’ve been going there in the 90s have I seen the car parks overflowing down the roads, even parking on the slip road off the A3(M).
Great to see so many kids on bikes, but I dunno.. why can’t people stay out of their cars? Do they really enjoy queueing to park, queueing to pay? or do they complain bitterly on their social medias about all the other people doing the same?

more outdoors…erism.

All good.

Except for the fact that they ALL have to drive there and park there **** cars wherever they feel like it. Essential travel only? All good, yeah

I see huge numbers of the Mtb community are having real difficulty with understanding very simple rules.

Groups of 10 everywhere is acceptable right?

Essential travel only? All good, yeah

I was riding on Saturday and coming back into town, I passed about four branches of McDonald’s.

All of them had a queue stretching around the drive-thru area out onto the main road and back to the previous junction.

Traffic chaos at every one of them.
Yep, all essential travel. Morons. I think people are bored beyond belief now. Tired of interminable “lockdown”, nothing to do. Imagination is limited to driving to local honeypot or driving to McDonald’s.

I actually prefer staying in at the moment.

Cannock was rammed, probably busier with cars and folks walking than I’ve ever seen. Didn’t see all that many bike riders which is unusual for a peak Sunday morning.
When I say Cannock I’m not talking about the Dog/Monkey trail, it’s just depressing how busy it gets round there I actively avoid it during peak times.
No issues really with people walking etc. just ding your bell and be courteous (i.e. actually slow down instead of just bullying your way past like I’ve seen a lot of people on bikes do) common sense really.
I’m going to be honest and say despite my tolerance I wish a lot of them would just bugger off. Selfish attitude? Yes, but come on, I bet those folk who say ‘it’s great to see so many people out’ secretly think the same…go on, admit it 😉

As Kimbers said, loads of walkers up Woburn yesterday but once you got off the main routes onto the singletrack it was fine.

Good to see people getting out but I can imagine the residents of Church lane are getting prett fed up of the weekly bedlam.

With Chicksands, Aston Hill etc shut the bike park was unsuprisingly poppin’ as well.

Borrowdale seemed busier than usual for this time of year, not too many walkers but one of those odd days where there are quite a few riders out. Most were just riding alone or in pairs but we did spot a group of 5, maybe they all live together?

Rest of the Lakes seems busy’ish but more with road traffic than trail users, most likely due to not being able to car share like others have said.

Went to Gisburn Saturday morning, purposely chose the worst of the two weekend days weather wise hoping it would be quieter, on car park for 8am, about 5/6 cars there, saw maybe 7 other people out on the trails, car park pretty full when we left, I’d imagine Sunday would have been packed as it was a lovely day for a ride.

I do think it’s great that more people are out, enjoying the countryside and fresh air. But, the flip side is definitely crowded trails (and roads), whether local or a bit further afield.

But had a glorious quiet ride yesterday morning. Out by 6.10am, had the trails to myself, then headed urban, no one around down the sets of steps through the Uni campus, or skirting around the city centre, and then just a few runners along the canal as I bimbled home.

GC is no place to be on a bike outside extreme drought or arctic conditions, but it’s ok with a big rucsac containing a winter weight sleeping bag, whisky and a good cheese selection.

Was over Surrey hills Saturday and then more local Sunday. Surrey car parks were bizzy (like a summers day) but if you headed away from the centre it was fine. Think I’ve lost count of the number of families that were lost and had to ask for directions (always fun when they say they want to get back to the car park and I say which one). As much as I don’t like it being as bizzy as it is it’s the country side etiquette of new riders (ebikes not helping for the noobies ) and walkers that will lead to land access right issues. It may be a positive for the future though, who knows