Just got an email from the ranger stating that if branches and sticks are found on trails so be it. What an arsehole.

where is this?

is it a safety issue?

Yeah mate it is. I came across a brach left across the run off of a 4ft drop off the other day – terrible consequences if that had been run into. Got a meeting with the ranger to discuss what to do about this and it turns out hes a rider as well so maybe not an arsehole after all. Hopefully.

email him back and say that as he’s accepting the deliberate attempts to injure cyclists that you’ll be holding him and his insurers responsible for any consequent injuries.

Why not just pile up a few more smaller sticks and make it into a jump?

email him back and say that as he’s accepting the deliberate attempts to injure cyclists that you’ll be holding him and his insurers responsible for any consequent injuries.

The obvious response to that would be to ban mountainbikes.

I thought these were all cheeky trails anyway 😉

to be controversial – ride within your vision???

Riding within your vision is very sensible advice – wind/rain/etc can do as much damage as vandals.

But obviously, something still needs to be done. If they’re looking for a particular effect (injury) they’ll get it by other means. Not necessarily something as visible as a branch.

If however they just want to get a message across, then that probably means there’s another type of user who feels aggrieved. The only way to sort that out is to find out who it is and start a dialogue.

The trail I use as part of my commute frequently has tree branches / boughs put across it.

Initially I thought it was some numpty trying to sabotage mtbers – the reality is probably more mundane. i now think it is the local teenage girly horse riders making obstacles for their horses…

You ride 4ft drop offs on cheeky trails blind then you deserve everything you get, dude.

Wasnt riding it blind mate. Wish I could coz it flows luvvly – thats what Im trying to get sorted. This is defo meant to obstruct bikes and riders. Where I am has been anti bike for years but had to change due to land access reform and its a real sore one for some of the people up there who hate everything tha,t they see as anti social. I agree with a few of them – a few young guys have built and ride irresponsibly so that gives them a bit ammo. These also arent cheeky trails – theyve been around for ages and are well established. A few folk have tried to have conversations with one of the local groups and the fella said he was made to feel like crap when he brought up the topic. Ive asked the group to put a note in their newsletter asking people to stop this and they passed on the email to the ranger. Dont know why I can do that myself so Ive emailed againasking them to put it in their newsletter again. Hopefully middle ground can be found.

These also arent cheeky trails – theyve been around for ages and are well established.

I don’t want to get into this too much but unless the trails are either;

a) legally on a right of way

or

b) there with the landowners explicit consent (rather than just a blind eye being turned)

then they’re cheeky.

if b) was the case then they’d be a lot more concerned about trail issues as they’d have an insurance liability.

BT, what would you like the Ranger to do about it? unless someone’s caught in the act, and even then, there’s nothing that can be reasonably done. The Rangers are pretty busy and i’m sure biking is way down on their list of priorities.

Rise above it mate. Things won’t change up there if there is friction between riders, non-riders and the Rangers. You also need to keep the Rangers very much on-side. How much support do you think you’d get from him if he reads your first post?

Diplomacy dear boy!

Pg – I dont give a monkeys about his support mate. The worst that can happen is the riding stays the same and the best is I get permission and it gets better. With or without the rangers support trails will be built. As for diplomacy then no – its not my strong point but I just deal with people how they are with me. I also get a bit tired of mtbs having to be the ones who are reasonable. Its about time others were reasonable towards us. But yer right friction is a real pain. Its why Im doing this myself for just now and not starting a group. If I get a decent response then I wont have to let people down. Get a decent response then start responsible trailbuilds and proper upkeep as a group. Patience is wearing thin though….

Bigthunder – you are illegally making trails in an urban park on a area that is under great pressure with multiple users and has history of conflict between different user groups.

its not responsible mate. Why not go to the other place I told you about – you won’t get stickman there and there is loads of scope to build the sort of thing you want without creating conflioct

Playing devils advocate here.
Whats going to change just because you have the rangers support? Clearly whoever is doing it really isn’t bothered about the legalities of their actions. Its not right, but thats the way the world is.
Also if you’re really hammering the trails, what happens if a tree drops large branches or falls on a trail? I wouldn’t ride something 100% committed without reccy’ing the trail first. Always ride within your limits.

bigthunder / TJ, please don’t degrade this thread about should / shouldn’t be riding there. That was done to death 2 weeks ago, with no real movement.

The ranger can’t do anything about riding in the park, so he can do one as far as that goes, but he can do plenty about trail building there. Presumably if he is on side he won’t start pulling down everything bigthunder builds, so there does seem to be a lot to gain by engaging this person.
It’s a small park so it’s not like you can really build on the QT.

I didnt think there was any building per-se, just grooming.

Just for the record, if this becomes another Bigthunder/TJ thread, I’m going to ****ing kill you both, and anyone else who gets murdered as part of the process should consider it their fault for standing too close.

That is all.

bigyinn – Member
I didnt think there was any building per-se, just grooming.

IIRC, cement was involved. That’s more than just “grooming”, even if it was done “sympathetically”.

Are we still talking about a place which might soon be in close proximity to a panda?

Indeediedoodly

This is a hard one to catch anyone doing it.We have the same problem in a Wood above Cheltenham and Gloucester.Someone keeps breaking branches of and putting them over the trails big ones.Then one day i was walking the dog in there and found loads of nails on the trail.filled half a carryer bag most were rusty.Great for the wildlife.But know one has ever seen the the person doing it.

bigyin – if the ranger comes through with a bit permission I would like to be in a position to help with the legit trails that have been recommended in the recent survey that was done by pete laing.I also would like to start a wee club to upkeep the woods(not just the trails) as I use them for dog walks and head up there with the kids as well so I would like it to stay nice. I also feel it would be a good way to control irresponsible trailbuilds and seperate walkers and bikes. I have a stack of resources kicking about as well so it would be a good use for all that. Tj – Im not getting into this with you but I do feel its responsible due to the same reasons as above. Im gonna have a look at that other spot but I want my local better first.

Right – dinnae be dicking around like that on corstorphine hill, I walk up there with my kids and trust me, if you landed on one of them i’d kill you. Why not go for a little explore up river from cramond brig. you’ll find plenty in there to keep you entertained.

I haven’t been to CH for ages but is it worth all this grief? If as others say there are other places to go play,then maybe you’d be better to do that.

sbz – thats a piss poor attitude. READ my posts and you will see thats exactly what Im trying to avoid. and dont threaten me.

are the pentlands not about a 15/20 minute cycle from there? Seems an awful lot of hassle when there’s Alot more hills close by…

stevenmenmuir – all this grief is the initial stage of getting things legit mate and I knew it was coming. for me and quite a few others then yes it is worth it because the riding is so good and the location is very central. its also been getting used by bikes for years already and all the trails need very little to make them ace. I do go play elsewhere but this is doorstep stuff for me and loads of others. Im a bit disheartened to find so much opposition though and its interesting that people think I would be so destructive when thats just not the case. If I give up then none of the outstanding issues will be resolved(people/bikes mixing,irresponsible trails expanding etc) and that would be a shame.

The way I’ve been reading it, bigthunder seems to want to have “better” trails so that there’s less rogue trail building going on where there might be user conflict. That seems like a reasonable approach and might, just might, result in an area which could be shared by all users.

Turning a blind eye to what some folk are doing and letting some of the kiddies do as they please in a haphazard fashion seems more likely to result in an accident and/or injury.

druid h is spot on. I dont want to build any new trails just tidy up whats already in use and add signage to inform everyone whats happening. Ive been walking up the hill and a bike comes round a blind corner and its not great. Im trying to get the best solution for all with permission.

There’s no space in druidh!!!! 😈

surprised tj didnt pick me up on that. sorry.

If it’s worth it then go for it. But do everything you can to get the ranger on side, your not going to do yourself any favours winding people up. On the other hand you’ll never please everybody. SBZ is just willy waving.

I think it’s really just a case of with trails that close to a city you are always going to get conflict, it’s the same out in mugdock, the closer you are to milngavie and up at the visitors centre(read the dog walkers and family day trippers) the more you need to slow down. But head out a little further and the place is empty. I’ve never been to CH, but from a quick look on the map, well it’s surrounded, so it’s going to be full of walkers, and some will invariably get upset, I’d take a guess that’s pretty much going to be a constant and very difficult to change in an urban environment. Good luck with it, but the term, pissing in the wind does spring to mind.

yeah mate theres always gonna be walkers up there including me and my family and I just think the best way for everyone is trying to seperate users. might work out might not – I would just like to try.

Good luck meeting the ranger, be very professional and diplomatic, and hopefully being a rider he hasn’t come across your thread calling him an arsehole!

Cheers. Yeah fingers crossed – got a bit hacked off with him and he with me. Strange to imagine eh!