Again, the issue as I see it is that the bikes were there before your NIMBYism! If you’d moved there in 1970 I’d be sympathetic, as i am to any resident who’s been there since then, although i maintain they’d not have their shop. But if you’d visited on a sunny Saturday in 2004 it would have been just as bad then!

This argument also strikes me as a ‘the surrey countryside should only be enjoyed by those rich or fortunate enough to live in it’ type rant.

No suggestions for easing the situation, just threats to stay out of the village (which is hardly some birthright of yours, seeing as you’ve only been there yourself for 8 years). Pathetic.

a lovely ride in the hills today. it was no busier than usual and one person let the side down by cycling on the footpath from the bottom of bkb, the rest of his mates took to the road.
i must admit this will be my last ride in the hills for a bit, the tracks are muddy and need some recovery time, so heres hoping for a dry spell.

i also did not visit the peaslake store, prefer to ride to Leith and enjoy the view (there was one person there at 10am)

…whilst its possible to ride for 2hrs in the peaks and not meet another human.

Thanks for staying packed tight into the S.E and trail centres.

Thank you. 🙂

hora – you used to ride in the Surrey Hills all the time. You were famous for it at one time 😉

Heres a thought.

In the spirit of having hit the nail on the head earlier in this thread. Why not look at what can be done to enhance harmony between cyclists and the local community rather than just a slanging match about who was here first and how people need to walk in the road etc.

My observation is that the people who have the most right to bitch about the cyclists are those who live in the house immediately to the right of the shop – people lean bikes against and sit on their wall – this is a little anti social and inconsiderate. The bus shelter is at least publicly owned and therefore better.

Maybe the Hurtmore group and the local residents should pull together and advertise well (get the shops on board and do a press release for the major forums and magazines MBR will publish most stuff) a sensible code of conduct. Get some buy in from the local businesses (village store, bike shop, pub etc.) and see where that takes you.

I agree about illicit trail building being a problem – surely the Hurtwood team know the culprits and should work to foster relations with them to resolve the issue, getting additional help etc. Perhaps a FR area might make a big difference and reduce the illicit trail building.

Just suggestions take or leave them as you like.

If anyone wants some help or ideas then my email is in my profile give me a shout.

Southerners are funny 😆

2hrs in the peaks and not meet another human.

OK, I know Northerners are a bit, well, different, but they are at least human! Aren’t they?

😉

After reading this thread I actually want to go down south to ride my bike, 😆

The hot-spots of the Peak District can be just as bad, if not worse, than Peaslake! Its perfectly possible to ride for 2 hours and hardly see anyone “down South” too, just not in Peaslake.

Flashy – you’ve clearly never been to Leeds! 😉

Racists and bottle throwing **** who also happen to be LOWER down the table than Hudds 😆

Well, out around Pitch today. Walkers outnumbered bikes in the afternoon on all the trails I went around. Every one of them happy and friendly. The majority of the time I also barely saw anyone. Nice quiet countryside ride with the odd passing walker or cyclist. Just as always.

As I kept mainly to Pitch I’m in the big car park and riding those hills so don’t even cause a problem for locals in the village centre. But aside from that it was relatively quiet when I went past for a short spin up Holmbury.

Frankly for a November Sunday afternoon it was no busier than I remember it 4 years ago.

As for bikes, sure I saw a photo from way way back of the village centre and sure enough… there were bikes there! Not too sure on the date but looked old enough to be pre-70s, even far older. Okay they’d probably have been mainly on the roads, but any argument about bikes congesting Peaslake has to include road bikes as on a nice day there are plenty of them passing through and have done probably for far longer than mountain bikes.

shortcut – Member
Maybe the Hurtmorewood (!) group and the local residents should pull together and advertise well (get the shops on board and do a press release for the major forums and magazines MBR will publish most stuff) a sensible code of conduct.

I have already posted that link on the previous page. Its very clear!

I would like to visit this mystical Peaslake place referred to in the OP. The “other” one near me, never seems that busy and I can ride for hours in relatively peace and in harmony with walkers, dogs and horse rider 😉 And there’s a village shop, pub, bus stop and bike shop in my one!!

Binners, I have….Several times….Including many Friday nights in town. The horror….the horror…!

Then again, I also used to live in South Yorks and even more scarily, endured many a weekend at the Bell & Crown in Snaith, but that’s another story…..

Many Peaslake residents ride bikes both mountain and road bikes. The MTB Orientating event is organised by residents to encourage people to visit and to contribute to keeping the school open. The groups of riders generally seems to be pretty evenly mixed between road and mountain bikers and they are eating and drinking stuff bought from the shop.

You’ll always get a mix of supporters and those against pretty much anything.

The only issue I see is the cars parking around the square/shop but if that were “no parkin” the residents would find it difficult to visit the shop.

I like Peaslake especially the pork and leek plaits.

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmpork.

As someone who lives 2 miles as the crow flies, I find this a really disappointing thread, mainly for crossfire’s confrontational attitude and deluded responses.
However, I do understand some of the frustrations given the focus on parking in Peaslake – walking bottom today was overflowing, with parking down the centre and on the verges around the exits.
There is a pretty simple solution to this:
(1) Produce a map with alternative car parks.
(2) Charge people for parking in Walking Bottom, and perhaps give exemptions to people displaying something saying they are Friends of the Hurtwood Estate, as per the National Trust
(3) Make parking in the village “Residents Only”

In that way you either reduce the number of people driving into Peaslake to ride or generate a decent amount of revenue from them. Either way local residents “win”.

I’d also point out that a not insignificant percentage of cyclists passing thru Peaslake are roadies – little mention of them in crossfire’s rantings.

We live in a crowded island, eh?

There’s an OS map marked-up with alternative car parks Here.

Residents only parking in the village would be a win, but who would police it?

I park further afield and just pass through peaslake – get to ride more trails that way.

Thanks god I read the rules before posting that looong reply to all of you. Finally started thinking… 😀

Anyways, shame it took me so much to make you talk contructively. I’ll just sit quietly and listen to you now, as I did today in the afternoon at the bus stop 😉

Oooo. Crossfire, I love this subtle intimidation.
I imagine you sitting there with a trench coat and a broadsheet newspaper spying on the evil bikers.

Did you put some tracking devices on the bikes to monitor activities?

Instead of just sitting there, why don’t you share with us your constructive ideas for solving your issues? Even better, attend the Peaslake Community Council, put your suggestions forward there and try and get some of them implemented. Looking at their latest minutes, your concerns don’t even seem to be on their agenda http://www.peaslake.org/

crossfire let me guess, you are really a middle aged man giggling like a Japanese schoolgirl?

I’d rather sit quietly and enjoy the view 😉

All those sweaty young men, eh?

As for parking today, it was fine in the afternoon. I would assume the Remembrance activities in the morning had something to do with it (you did all remember? !)

However one odd thing I’ve noticed is strangely when it’s wet and muddy it’s more busy than when it’s dry! What happened to the fair weather riders? 😉

Actually that also suggests that most people there are the hard core, possibly more local types rather than the fair weather Audi driving bunch from London 😉

wrecker – make sure you book your place in advance to avoid disappointment

Thanks. Maybe we could make the numbers up a bit on a quiet day then?
Come say hello, we’re nice people and generally have a hip flask with something nice in. Perhaps try to engage with groups to lessen the impact of the visitors?

However one odd thing I’ve noticed is strangely when it’s wet and muddy it’s more busy than when it’s dry! What happened to the fair weather riders?

That’s because most of the trails are shit kicked from overuse and lack of maintenance.

I feel sorry for the guys who build the trails (who some morons in this thread won’t to stop) that do all the trail work only to have a load of brake dragging squids turn up and get stoked every weekend but never lift a spade. I guess it’s the Audi driving, self entitled attitude that’s all to common in the sarf east.

aP – maybe it’s one of the reasons why there’s so many of you around, who knows? 🙄

Can’t be bothered to read all 7 pages, but have we done the ‘local car parks rammed because of unfit MTBers’?

When we use to ride there we’d park over Ranmore/Box Hill and ride a decent loop with Peaslake as one of our three (Leith, Peaslake, Newlands) 😆 cafe stops. If folk could actually read maps and explored they’d find there is a lot more out there.

BR – thats what I do, surprised most people dont. But from my ride on Sunday I saw about 15 people on the trails, mostly near the ‘hotspot’ of Holmbury / Pitch on their all mountain rigs with pads etc so no wonder they can ride more than 10 miles before giving up.

I went out in the hills all afternoon yesterday. While riding our fantastic local trails I must have seen at least another 4 other riders. Possibly 5

Its all a bit….

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nZMM4nMqyQ[/video]

😆

thats what I do, surprised most people dont

People from outside the area need maximum bang-for-buck from their day. They read ‘Peaslake’ and ‘trail-centre’ often enough so that’s where they come. The bandwagon starts to roll, businesses start up to exploit it and stoke it, and it feeds back into itself.

As for the central issue here for me: if walkers feel they can’t enjoy the area in peace and safety then that needs to be dealt with, and I have some sympathy with that point of view.

Access is for everyone, but right of access isn’t the same as “you can do whatever you want and screw anybody else”.

Apologies that i haven’t worked out how to respond to a particular post and get that square box thing…

Quote from Crossfire80

“You won’t be laughing when you realise 2 out of 4 of your car’s tyres are flat, unless you cycle here all the way down from London. There’s no CCTV anywhere, maybe it’s the best time to move your camera from the helmet to the dashboard. Good luck to you”

Well – thank you very much – several nails in my car tyres on Saturday. Damage is £550. Doesn’t matter whether its an Audi or not. I’ve been riding in the Surrey Hills since 2001 and this is no way forward. Interesting observation is that the damage was done to 2 tyres…… Remarkable coincidence yeah….. A call to police beckons…

Wow.

crossfire80 – Member
I’d rather sit quietly and enjoy the view

Standard troll practice

I’ve been living in the area for 25 years and Peaslake stores has always been a biker hub, originally road biker dominated now it’s a bit more even mix with the increased presence of mountain bikers.

If you and fellow residents don’t like the extra traffic you believe is caused by Pedal and Spoke you can take that up with the council, likewise the parking around the monument area.

There are lots of places to walk in the hills around Peaslake where you’ll never see a biker, I know because I walk the dog there regularly. When I ride in the area as noted above I typically come across a mere handful of fellow bikers and only at rest points like the hill tops.

I was saddened to read about the “nails in car tyres” bit. Is open warfare about to break out?

Compared to when I first started riding in the area, way before the new construction around the bus shelter or the building of “Summer Lightning” or “trail building” of Bazza, I used to get a feeling of being somewhere relatively remote where I could get that solitary country ride feeling. There used to be no more than four or so other bikers stopped in the centre at any one time and even at the weekend, I’d meet no more than three or four other bikers out on the trails.

Given that that was what I loved about the area before “MBR” put their stick in the spokes back in ’99, I do understand the ire of those who’ve invested a great deal of money in in buying property there, or who’s family have roots in the area. It’s changed into a busier, more energised spot than the one they loved.

But hey. The atmosphere has changed. So has the riding, so I try to adapt because I love the area too. It’s better to embrace change and seek the positive side, isn’t it? Even I’ve got used to acknowledging that there are other, you know – people, there and having the occasional conversation! 8)

… crossfire?