When you get the chance. Rather a pain and it stops lots of people riding the trails, esp. Families who are not inclined to go under tape and clamber over the deadfall. Oh, and build another red trail while you there, or help improve and sign the fun cheeky lines just of the main trails.

Clean my bike and make me a bacon sandwich whilst you’re at it.

You could always volunteer to help, no?

Or, you know, maybe ride somewhere else?
Nearby you’ve got Woodbury, Dartmoor, Quantocks, etc. lots of good stuff.
And as said above they welcome volunteers for trail maintenance. Thursdays is the day AFAIK.

Given the recent weather, methinks there’s a troll in them there woods….

Mop up them puddles an’ all, so they should.

Quite often when I go tree-removing, people stop and help. But almost as often, people complain that I didn’t do it faster. Or that they like the fallen trees because it means there’s less cyclists.

If you want something done….. After the last spell of high winds two of us met a large group riding towards us, they warned us of blocked trails that they had to ride around/climb over, we carried on and easily moved the lot, whilst others couldn’t be bothered to even make the effort.Sometimes it’s quicker to do things yourself.

wordnumb – Member
Mop up them puddles an’ all, so they should

No… They should just get the volunteers lie accross the puddles so you can ride over their backs until sufficient time has passed for drying.

If we can only find some “short” volunteers, do we allow access for only 29ers??

Haha well that’s what I get up to on Mendip trails. My patch, my problem.

I did abandon the long queue in the cafe, so a bacon sandwich would not go amiss.

Could I have my £4 for parking back then? 😉

I once chatted to a guy at Glentress that appeared to be genuinely considering asking for compensation from the FC for leaving ‘sharp rocks’ on the trail that had shredded his tubeless tyre.

After the weather we’re experiencing again this morning it’s gonna be a while longer before Haldon’s useable..

This is Deb’n bey.. We have proper weather

After the apocalypse this morning/last night it’s going to be even worse 🙁 Just off to do a reccie of the challenge trail 🙁

Buzz, i notice on another thread that you’d said you’d got a flaming for your comments on this one.
i’m one of the volunteers at haldon, and regularly work on the ‘cheeky’ trails too. ontor above has done a lot of work up there, and there are a cast of 20 or so others who all give up their time on occasion too. it’s not exactly altruistic, we want stuff to ride too, but nevertheless the effort goes in.
the soil cover on haldon ranges up to about 1 foot thick over a flint cap. there’s really not much in the way of roots on any of the trees there.
over the past month or so thinning and harvesting operations have taken place so there have been closures and diversions in place, and where trees have been removed this has exposed other trees to the effects of the extraordinary winds we’ve had. the blue has around 30 trees across it at the moment, and it would take the recreation team days to get them cleared adequately, and some of those that are hanging ( ie not blocking the trails as such but threaten to fall ) the rec guys aren’t equipped to deal with. fortunately a diversion was already there because of the commercial work. from what i’ve been told the commercial guys are going to take these windfalls out and clear the blue section they’re on, but there will inevitably be tidying up to do after they’ve been through, and guess what? it’s the holidays. they’re off too. as it’s the holidays the rec guys are pretty thin on the ground too. there’s possibly an argument there that they should be better staffed during holidays given their areas of responsibility, but that’s something else.
i spent 4 or 5 hours and a not inconsiderable amount of effort ( with a hangover! ) clearing one of those cheeky trails yesterday, and i expect to be back up there today. you can take your idea for better marking them and **** right off! we get ‘some’ help from the FC to maintain those now, but this is only as a result of building relationships with them. they take pretty continuous attention to keep them in good shape with the traffic they have now. as they get worked on the goal is to reduce this overhead without detracting from their ‘natural’ feel, but obviously more trails inevitably results in more work, as does more traffic. there’s a lot of riding there. 8)
you’d be amazed the number of people i see riding these trails who appear completely oblivious to the idea that they get maintained at all, who think they’re old stream beds ( wtf? ), and ‘just need riding’ to keep them in good shape. out of every 10 folks who come through probably 1 stops and lends a hand for 10 mins, for which they get my eternal gratitude. i was able to rope a couple of lads in yesterday to help clear a tree and felt a little guilty that they weren’t even locals when i found out!
the tape is there to stop people. in reality it’s probably more about avoiding liability in the event that a tree falls on your head, but that’s the world we live in.
i guess what it comes down to is that there is only so much time in the day, and only so much in the way of resource available. i agree it’s frustrating that stuff takes so long to happen, and as someone who on average has given at least a full working day a week this past year, i get a lot more frustrated than most. The FC are a large governmental organisation and stuff takes time, but they are moving in the right direction as far as i can tell, and certainly the people i deal with are nice, very well meaning, put in a lot of effort, and most of them ride bikes too. they’re trying, they don’t always get it right, and they know that.
the amount of work that goes in up there that you don’t see so you can roll up in your car, and thrash your dandy horse around for a few hours, is enormous.
i find your glib remarks on a public forum rather irritating. i understand they have a facebook page. maybe before you drive down take a look at that for closure notices?

Del – As a local to Haldon i’m for sure in your debt! It’s a shame that the maintiance sessions are during the week as I would be happy to help out for a few hours on a weekend/evening.

Haldon does have alot of logging actvity at the moment but I’m sure in the long run things will work out well, esp. as “off piste” gets tweaked and changed. After all change is good right?

You don’t owe me anything. just remember skids are for kids and don’t ride around puddles! 🙂
yep – change yields opportunity and is inevitable. we have a couple of new features already as a result of some of these windfalls. 8)
and yes, it’s a pain that the volunteer day is thursday. there’s some resistance to working weekends and evenings, but i guess that everyone has friends and partners who are around at those times, so it’s understandable.

No Probs. The new feature sounds promising! Riding though puddles is the best bit. 😈

I love the new section at the top of the Red Route fire road/singletrack climb. Any plans for the top part?

Del.. I’m local to haldon and would like to help out with trail maintenance. Could you email me some details, times, days and things?
my email is in my profile.
Cheers

the bit that comes out on the fire road climb?
not really, as far as i’m aware. suggestions? it’s a difficult bit of ground. the soil there is only an inch thick! i understand there’s a couple of trees down on it at the moment. 🙁

sellisnba, the FC volunteer days are thursdays, meet at 10 at the FC office/workshop. otherwise things tend to be a bit ad hoc. i’ll drop you a mail later on. 8)

Del yeah thats the bit.I love the line, so I would just try and reinforce it and improve drainage. The drop at the fireroad brake could be rebuilt to as it has lost some height.

Its a shame that the big sweepy steep corners are eroding so quickly. Not sure how they could be reinformace/protected.

Could you also drop me an email as I’m sure I can help with some ad-hoc trail work now and then! Email in profile.

discovery, challenge and the more popular off-piste all cleared now 🙂 (though the blue is still diverted for logging)

EDIT:
I agree with Del.
Also; Some Sat trail building session coming soon…

So Del and I (volunteers) have been out clearing again today and poor Louise (fc) has been flat-out in the office.
I think Del puts it well above, we have a good working relationship with the FC through goodwill and hard work, the forest has an amazing network of trails that are looked after by relatively few people. In addition we have very unstable ground conditions to work with.

After seeing a few people ignoring the closures etc I thought I’d try to explain why they are closed and why everyone is asked to please respect the trail closures and diversions;

Top bit of Red – There are some landslides that are rescuable at the moment but will be knackered if you ride it. Please don’t make us more work.

Middle bit of Red – Water damage, big trees down across trail and 2 landslips. As above.

Return section of red – There are some trees down here, they’re quite large and the way they have fallen means they’re under stress & will be a dangerous job to clear. if you’re not sure what I mean then bend a piece of spaghetti till it fractures. Now imagine the pasta is tree sized.

Blue – Lower section of blue (where trail is diverted) is a massive job. I’m very, very relieved that the thinning team will do it.

Blue return uphill – there is a short section on the return that is diverted but looks clear. The reason it’s diverted is because of a very large tree that is hung up on others. The whole lot is unstable and one or more large bits of timber may fall at any time. Ignoring the diversion here (as several people were doing this morning) for 100m of trail is not going to cause the volunteers any issue but may result in very serious harm to yourself. Big hanging trees like this are outside what I’d want to do as a volunteer, even though I’ve experience of them.

Off Piste;
Please send a SAE

i find your glib remarks on a public forum rather irritating. i understand they have a facebook page. maybe before you drive down take a look at that for closure notices?

Fair enough. Humour can offend. As someone who just fixes trails myself I appreciate the work of others like yourself who are thanklessly committed to the sport for others. If I have a complaint (not entirely sure it was a complaint), it’s for for the folks who take the parking fees to help reopen the trails

I stopped en spec from Plymouth as I had my bike on me. None the closures presented an obstacle to me as I just clambered under tape and over deadfall on built and cheeky trails This neither put myself or the trails at any unusual risk. No, I was thinking of the families riding round who won’t do that.

S.I, we can have a chat about it. thing about flint is it won’t stick to anything else. that trail was marked out then ridden. lower down, where you get in to the sandstone soil things become more malleable, but the flint just does what it does.

Buzz, no, I’m sorry, it was a jibe. humour? i guess you could try and couch it as such.
‘won’t someone think of the children’?
do leave off. anyone who’s prepared to duck the tape, as you are, is prepared to take responsibility for themselves. anyone out with kids will take the diversions and still have a good time. trees get cleared according to safety first, convenience second.
you haven’t responded to any of the points I made. do you consider them invalid or simply not worth your attention?
in the meantime ontor and I have been out today doing stuff, and will be out again tomorrow.
how are your local trails fairing?
happy new year.

The ridge trail clearly has more issues than trees down so patience.

Spend the time doing the far better stuff available in the county instead (or even around Haldon 😉 )

But yes it would be great to see new red or even proper black trails there. Not going to happen as what we have now is less than what was not more, in technicality and risk (I never got to do the woodwork that was). Full credit though to the work done on it to make it appealable to a much wider audience and generally sustainable. Except in extreme weather 😀

Besides the off piste is much better and great thanks to guys like the above for working on them. I’m an exile from Devon so only ride the place a few times a year, if that, but do notice the work that has gone in on them while maintaining a natural feel. This kind of trail is often the best.

Been exploring Woodbury for the first time and much of interest there. Wide variety from xc to dh and freeride. Very dry the other day except for the odd boggy bits but not much.

Didn’t have any tree down issues. Well, except for trees deliberately down to stop bikes disturbing birds, just so people can go shoot them…

Del – I was one of the lads who gave you a hand the other day, and there’s no need to feel guilty about it! I’d heard rumours of cheeky trails around Haldon, but had never realised the extent or quality of what was there. We had a cracking little ride on the trails we found, so 20mins helping to clear a couple of trees is no bother, even if we only ride it once!

That said, now we know it’s there I’m sure we’ll be back in the future (potentially later this week since I haven’t got to return to London for a few days yet!). Thanks for your efforts, and keep up the good work!

Lawrence

Nice to meet you Lawrence. I’m just one of a bunch of guys and girls who’ve been working up there, and I wouldn’t be there if there hadn’t been a bunch of them before me.
I wouldn’t want anyone to think I’m happy to take credit for the labours that others have put in too, because I’m very grateful to them.

Glad you enjoyed your ride. 8)
If it ever stops raining I might get my bike out too. Give us a shout if you have use for a guide.

Here’re a few pictures posted on the Haldon forest facebook earlier which show what we’ve still got to clear. They’re more-or-less sequential along the bottom of the blue trail.

Blimey Del. Do you have any toys left to throw at me when I accuse you of being somewhat humourless about what is a clearly throwaway comment on a public forum.

Comments like that are exactly the kind of thing you should expect on a public forum. I suggest you toughen up princess.

Scienceofficer – Member
Blimey Del. Do you have any toys left to throw at me when I accuse you of being somewhat humourless about what is a clearly throwaway comment on a public forum.

Comments like that are exactly the kind of thing you should expect on a public forum. I suggest you toughen up princess.

This response makes no sense, where else have you posted on this thread? Are you using a dual login as Scienceofficer/Buzz_Lightyear and have caught yourself out?

I’m making reference to Dels over reaction to an innocent comment from a friend of mine.

Buzz even goes on to apologise in a roundabout way. What gives with the huffiness?

Do you have any toys left to throw at me when I accuse you of being somewhat humourless about what is a clearly throwaway comment on a public forum.

What gives with the me & I then? You have not responded before in the thread, so the me & I refers to a comment you made in this thread. Confusing. One of them (the I) could be passed off as a typo, but both of them smell more than a bit fishy.

I don’t think i was being huffy, merely matter of fact. I agree with Del, it appears you are being a bit huffy though?

You know, the nuances of English language are such that it’s really not worth my effort attempting to clarify. Choose your interpretation as you will, but it’s not really worth the effort on either of our parts.

Ha ha I don’t think you will get away with it like that. Please do explain. I have tried to consider a simpler explanation but really the only meaning that shines through here is dual login.

If you read my post again all of my comments are directed at Del. You don’t really come into the picture until you come up with your conspiracy theory. Sorry.

No conspiracy, and I don’t think any of it refers to me, that’s not my point. You refer to Del as if you had already been speaking to him but that was your first post on this thread. So unless you had a post deleted , which there was not. Del replied to each poster by name there are no replies to you, because you had not made a post.

What is abundantly clear is that you are responding to Dels criticism of Buzz-lightyear as if it was aimed at you.

Do you have any toys left to throw at me when I accuse you of being somewhat humourless about what is a clearly throwaway comment on a public forum.

Can you show me where, prior to this statement above, you accused Del of being humourless (which buzzlightyear did) and then where Del responded to you (he responded to buzzlightyear).

Your first post makes no sense, unless you had been involved in the conversation before . You don’t really come into the picture until you accidentally post under your alter ego.

If you say so.

The irony of this somewhat weird conversation is that because I’m not prepared to engage you will come away with some kind of sense of vindication that you’ve shown up some kind of dual ID.

At least you’re given me a chuckle before bedtime!

Thanks.

come on, if I have made a mistake (which is common) please do point it out?

The irony of this somewhat weird conversation is that because I’m not prepared to engage you will come away with some kind of sense of vindication that you’ve shown up some kind of dual ID.

This is utterly untrue, I just want an explanation. Please explain the sense of the initial statement that you made to Del. Your user name implies some kind of logic/reasoning, please do bear this out.