the sport or passtime of mountain biking does noticable levels of damage to the countryside, like it or not.

so, are you happy to share your local trails, cheeky or otherwise, across the internet via routes, reports, pictures

or are you concious of the increased damage that popularity can/will bring and therefore prefer to keep the knowledge to yourself.

Dirt jumpers and illegal DHrs have long been keeping their locations secret for a variety of reasons, is it about time that the more XC oriented riders followed suit.

Recent threads covering the Cairngorms and Swinley touch on this.
Share and watch it spoiled?

I agree with with this.. I try to be quite vague when posting about locations and I wince inwardly when others are less so..

(especially when it’s my local trails 😐 )

I’ve certainly received route guides and suggestions and pointers by email from folk on the forum.. which I feel comfortable with.. however open discussion on general threads slightly less so..

Surely by sharing, you’re spreading (and therefore reducing) the damage caused at the “honeypots”?

All outdoor activities cause damage, not just biking. Look at the mess horses cause!

concious of the increased damage that popularity can/will bring and therefore prefer to keep the knowledge to yourself.

This.

It’s a lot more fun to find a trail ‘for yourself’, than to be told x marks the spot.

I am not sure this is logically consistent but IMO GPS tracks just randomly left on Interwebs are OK. Posting explicit directions on eg blogs and forums is not. Vague directions where people have to think or look at a map is OK. Asking me if you meet me riding is OK too.

Getting out there and keeping your eyes open is best of all.

everyone knows the trails where I ride as theyt are on the OS map as bridleways and I ride only where legally permitted. People like you make me sick – so you dont respect the countryside to not dmage it but want to save it for yourself so only you ruin it. Vandals and hypocrticial ones at that

To be honest, I think most of the people who would ride a trail that has been posted online are likely to live in fairly close proximity to it. By not sharing you’re being fairly selfish, and probably just delaying the amount of time before they discover it themselves.

Surfers call it Localism, where locals who regularly ride a beach with good waves will protect it from visitors who have heard about how sick to the gnar it is.

I would rather share, make sure my local stuff gets ridden, doesn’t get overgrown too much etc, even if it is a bit cheeky. The only stuff we don’t really talk about is an SSSI (patrolled by nazis)

One example of the above is it’s alledged the misery guts landowner who owns a large chunk of my namesake hill keeps an eye on certain websites and then knows if the trail pixies have been out on his land.

Hence the trail pixies have to use their Interweb connection to keep an eye on various ‘my mtb blogsitesis to get comments and clues taken down when they would rather be building trails.

People like you make me sick

Jeebus.. have you got a rash on your vag today..?

Unless people like riding one section of trails for the rest of their lives fine.

However for everyone else who likes to ride something new..

People who think its ‘theirs’ should show everyone the deeds to the land that prove this. Otherwise foxtrot oscar you small-minded idiots.

The non-riding land owners in some of the Surrey hills allow us access. Who are we to say ‘no its mine’?

Oggles – I used to think like that, but for a start MTB is nothing like surfing in that you arent all trying to catch a trail in the same place at the same time, and most MTB ers are 40 and have grown out of fighthing, but also
a) finding trails yourself is more fun so not telling people increases their pleasure
b) if ‘get orf my land’downers find trails on their land online and then put them out of action then pressure is increased on nice landowners trails or we end up on bridleways. Again the sum total of available fun is less.

Ultimately it is a personal decision, there are arguments both ways and it is not a matter of right or wrong.

does noticable levels of damage to the countryside

Eh? How do you damage dirt? Or are you cutting down trees?

winterfold – do you really think the saffa looks on this forum 😆

Anything natural – could not give a fk. Share the info and help people find the trails. Free the Jakeys from their Schemes. Access to our countryside should not be restricted and no one is to be excluded.

If the trail is purpose-built for MTB then it’s a little bit different. Trail builders have a huge amount of ownership over what they create and that has to be respected. If I explore the local woods and find some jumps and a cheeky wee DH course then it would be fairly crass to post up here about it. Could result in it getting bulldozed.

I’m happy to share the local trails…. with ppl who’ve actually ridden all winter and aren’t about to pop out of the wood work, now the suns come out! 😉

“The non-riding land owners in some of the Surrey hills allow us access. Who are we to say ‘no its mine’? “

What about if the landowner or representative asked that new cheeky but tolerated trails were not that publicised as they are prepared to allow them to stay as long as they dont become heavily trafficed, ridden in the wet by Skiddo Marx and friends etc etc?

So in this particular case ‘trail nazis’ who dont feel compelled to provide GPS coordinates are complying with the landowners wishes.

Why would the land owner allow additional trail building? They would object to additional trails being built not the usage. Ergo the damage is being committed by building a trail in the first place.

freeridenick – not on here, you’d nver find it among all the ‘what colour superstar hub should i get?’ threads – mind you it would keep him busy…

There are other groups who are much more easily googled with a few sensible keywords who got asked not to be so explicit about locations because trails got found and trashed. It might have been coincidence – but why take the chance when we are already taking the piss?

I like to think I am doing my bit by using this alias but only riding Hurtwood land 😉

hora – because some new trails relieve the pressure on existing ones, and I am speculating here, but eg they might have been a quid pro quo to get help maintaining and building more sustainable sections to replace existing trashed sections? Or they might be more tucked away and give the overall impression or fewer mountainbikers and thus make some people lives easier eg less moaning by other recreational users about people on bike. Or because they are really good and sustainable trails?

Idealism is great but recreational use of someone else’s land is all about pragmatism. If landowner says I will tolerate that as long as you lot keep quiet about it and ask mates to keep quiet when they find it what is wrong with people keeping schtum.

im not taking the piss where i ride, its all mapped out for those who can be bothered to find it.
im also happy to show pretty much anyone round, on two wheels

but at the same time i dont enjoy the thoughtless parking, litter etc that seems to follow trail centre oriented mountain bikers
the group (4-6) who last year took to meeting at a local pub to ‘park & ride’, but didnt manage to stop for a drink on their return, were a great example

Having shared quite openly in the past I’m now trying to keep my big mouth shut, because good trails I may have helped publicise are DEFINITELY suffering for it, maybe not the numbers but people riding them when they’re waterlogged etc.

Since my favourite right-left-with-a-roller-in-the-middle-combo is now just a small pond with masses of tyre tracks through it, I’m taking the huff and keeping all future discoveries to myself. 🙁

Edit: Oh, and should I ever find the holy grail of Highland singletrack, I’ll only post tantalising yet vague photos, just out of nobbery. 😀

I have mixed feelings on this. Maybe publicise the trails that are not vulnerable but keep a bit quieter about the more easily damaged ones

but at the same time i dont enjoy the thoughtless parking, litter etc that seems to follow trail centre oriented mountain bikers
the group (4-6) who last year took to meeting at a local pub to ‘park & ride’, but didnt manage to stop for a drink on their return, were a great example

Give it a rest soob. ‘Trail-centre oriented mountain bikers’ with their littering and careless parking habits. Won’t someone think of the children? I mean really.

Are you saying that if someone posted on here that they’re visiting the Chilterns with their bike, any recommended routes? You’d tell them to get an OS map? Or you’d be ‘happy’ to shown them around (happy meaning secretly miserable that someone else was riding your trails), but you can’t post up any trail details?

The fact that the trail exists means your not the only one to use it. (Unless of course you did build it)

Im sure all the trails I love and ride are also other riders favorites, I dont own them. Im not the only one to find them.

But I too hate to see sweet singletrack widended / trashed / covered in litter.

Education will help, and lazyness. I imagine most inconsiderate riders are unlikely to go far from the car park.

Its a personal thing to tell others in my opinion. But then I dont know inconsiderate riders so Ive not a problem in showing others my favorite trails.

I share cheeky trails if I see people out and about, and also if they are obviously used regularly anyway. I keep schtum about ones I’ve found myself, or ones which are fragile. And I definitely don’t post any online…

Ger off my mountains!!

The first rule about riding cheeky trail is don’t talk about riding cheeky trails!!

It brings a smile to my face to see some subtle tyre tracks somewhere if I’m out for a walk.

I will take people down cheeky trails if they promise not to tell everybody!!

Jeebus.. have you got a rash on your vag today..?

No i was attempting to troll but I never seem to pitch it right
However this

The only stuff we don’t really talk about is an SSSI (patrolled by nazis)

is seriously irresponsible

SSSIs are the country’s very best wildlife and geological sites. They include some of our most spectacular and beautiful habitats – large wetlands teeming with waders and waterfowl, winding chalk rivers, gorse and heather-clad heathlands, flower-rich meadows, windswept shingle beaches and remote uplands moorland and peat bog.

It is essential to preserve our remaining natural heritage for future generations. Wildlife and geological features are under pressure from development, pollution, climate change and unsustainable land management. SSSIs are important as they support plants and animals that find it more difficult to survive in the wider countryside. Protecting and managing SSSIs is a shared responsibility, and an investment for the benefit of future generations

How do you damage dirt?

have you tried googling erosion? You seem to think things last indefinetly despite being ridden on. Why would you think that or is that how proper trolling works?

some of my local spots have seen increased traffic over winter and now there are huge rocks blocking it.

I’ll happily show people but on the understanding that its kept low key.

the rocks appeared after one group used it all day for a photo shoot. I can only assume that they pissed someone off, which in turn has spoiled it for everyone

When you say ‘my local trails’ I presume you own them? Certainly sounds like it from some folk.

sorry if ive touched a nerve Garry Larger, however the drive to ride set appear to care far less for the surroundings when they visit.

I have in the past offered route advice either directly or by linking to more local websites that contain good routes
afraid to say that i think as a general rule i will not promote off road riding in my local area in the future

MTB mags have been printing routes with maps for years and lots of areas i have ridden dont seem to suffer,

but if you add in an easily accessible car park (free preferred) and a cafe that tolerates wet muddy arrogance in exchange for a few pounds….. the usage rockets, to the detriment of the trails and the view of the sport to outsiders.

When you say ‘my local trails’ I presume you own them? Certainly sounds like it from some folk.

the trails local to where I live might be easier to understand..? or maybe not.. I just feel a sense of responsibility to.. err.. the trails which I ride regularly.. a sense of loyalty even.. duty perhaps.. maybe even love..

And then I think about how proud I am of the local trails.. and how I love to share them with friends.. family and the occasional forum member..
It’s one of my favourite feelings when I’m showing someone around and we stop to take in a view or something and they tell me how lucky I am to have such amazing trails on my doorstep.. to see them grinning and awestruck by the experience.. Or when I show one of my riding buddies a new descent or piece of singletrack..

maybe some of us really feel honoured to enjoy a love of our countryside.. I guess some others don’t place the same romantic value on it.. maybe feeling their local routes are more akin to a bag of crisps or a pavement or something..?