United Utilities clamping down on MTB's again… Entwistle now.

There was supposed to be a feasibility study for trails around Entwistle, I suppose this is gonna cast a bad light now?

There was supposed to be a feasibility study for trails around Entwistle, I suppose this is gonna cast a bad light now?

A cynic might conclude that the "problem" may have been dreamt up to prejudice the outcome of the feasibility study 😕

Roger that… 🙁

Seeing as riding on footpaths is trapass and not illegal, and UU got the ex Waterboard land FOC, and that it used to belong to us, I've no problem with riding it, beats me why the walkers think that it's a probem, it's almost our civic duty to do it!

tell them to **** off

tell them to **** off

that would be rude! Say something like "share and share alike!" 🙂

To be fair, the rding around there ( jumbles / wayoh / entwistle) is at best useful for linking up better trails. The approach uu are taking at Rivington is much more worrying. If you wanted to pick a fight with them, I'd be concentrating my efforts there. Or has the Strawbury Duck improved recently 🙂

That's appears to be part of the feasibility study, the plan as i heard it, is for a loop linking healy nab, rivvi, smithills and the reservoirs but Bolton council isnt as enlightened as Chorley or Lancs cc…

As was stated earlier, this could be an early play in the defence against the plans, maybe a cost cutting exercise?

tell them to **** off

that would be rude! Say something like "share and share alike!"

So your telling me fellows road users arent complimenting me? 😥

tell them to **** off, the walkers are on a march to steal the entire countryside for themselves, kill em all , thats what I say! 🙂

it is an interesting issue and I agree the no go areas in exchange for freedom is the better option but we get too choose routes.
I walk their with young kids and the only thing they need to be wary of is MTB ers who do come down paths at high speed well above stopping speed and I suspect there have been a number of accidents between MTB ers and walkers at various locations bridleways included throughout the UK.
Perhaps we should consider how we would feel if they started walking trail centres – I dont ride them either but you see my point.
I ride with someone off here and we joke that my role is to go down everything slower than him and apologise to the walkers he has scared.
Sadly their is conflict because of the perceived high speed of mtb. I have been walking and had a walker hit by a mtb going up hill and when she said be careful politely he told her to f off they all turned to me as if I was also to blame. Bikers are not always perfect.
Sometime rights have to be balanced we have the right to ride the countryside but people have the right to walk their dogs and children safely in the countryside. A little more respect from both sides would go a long way.
SFB you get more stick from us as we all do ride paths to some degree but most dont do it with such little regard for erosion conditions numbers* etc as you. I get your view but it is the MTB equivalent of walkers blocking your path – little regard for other users making reasonable requests. Not looking to argue I understand why you do this as you do have a point and I am confident I wont persuade you otherwise.

*You are also probably more honest in this respect than many posters on here.

Good discussion lads… just what I was after. However, I am shocked by the amount of posters here who appear to regularly ride on my land without my permission.

Entwistle's recognised dog walk is shit, your right, but on occasion it makes a good link up. We only tend to do it at night as its a PITA during the day with all the walkers, however there can be some nice ladieees there too.

But there is some good stuff in the forests surrounding the res… and I;d hate to have to tell a ranger to go forth and multiply if I met him in there.

Anyway.. our attitude is summed up in a pic from years ago at the res in question.

You lot do know that i've got me application in for the northern area rangers position? Fight em from the other side… 😀

first off Geoffj,
Yep the strawbury Duck is much improved. It reopened the other week. It is all clean inside and done up very well. It is MTB friendly and more importantly the beer is truely excellent. I had the best Timi taylors Landord I can remember. Pedigree the other night was also very good.

As for cycling around Entwistle and the other resis. I think guys who do it as a w/e day time ride are mad and it is like waving a red rag at a bull as it is so full of walkers. If you want to ride there do a Lowey says and do it at night.

I do or at least did day time ride around with my boys when they were small as it is one of the few flat routes little kids can do. They have been taught to be totally respectful of dogs and walkers.

But the resi paths are a flat (boring) route. Stick away from the waters edge paths during day time and then we will not raise their hackles.

We do, however, also get problems with mountain bikers who are well aware which routes are footpaths and which are bridleways, but they actively seek out the steepest, most adrenaline-charged routes — regardless of other users on foot.

Wouldn't this thread be more accurately titled as:

United Utilities ask MTB'ers not to ride like complete knobs

?

United Utilities ask MTB'ers not to ride like complete knobs

but then they wouldn't be mountain bikers 🙂

little regard for other users making reasonable requests

I'm not sure where you get this from, I'm usually very polite to walkers 🙂 But if you mean other bikers who say "please don't ride on our precious things" then yes!

I walk Entwistle and the others a lot with my kids and it makes me wince when bikes come flying round on Sunday mornings when there are many families out.

There are better places to ride.

Tis true. Me and the boy rode there tonight after all the dog walkers etc etc had gone and it was fine. I wouldn't use it during 'peak hours' though. I did once go for a ride with a local group once and they went steaming round Wayoh at about 7.30 and really p1ssed people off. The attitude of the leader was 'F*ck em. they should have 2 paths, one for them and one for us.'
Brilliant. I haven't ridden with them since.

but they actively seek out the steepest, most adrenaline-charged routes

Which alternate reality entwistle reserviors is he talking about? Best used to link up other stuff off-peak and mid winter, nowt spesh and not worth the hassle of negotiating all the walkers at busy times.

UU getting hardline with MTBers is a bit worrying tho.

I walk Entwistle and the others a lot with my kids and it makes me wince when bikes come flying round on Sunday mornings when there are many families out.

There are better places to ride.

I walk Macc Forest (also UU) a lot with my kids and it makes me wince when bikes come flying round the blind bends down from Nessit Hill on Sunday mornings when there are many families out. And that's a BW (possibly a concessionary one)

I don't know what I'm trying to say really execpt that:
a) I can see both sides
b) I ride 'trails' (including BWs and FPs) on UU land and not on UU land
c) I choose where I go based on a number of factors with 'not colliding with small children' quite high in my priorities and 'sticking to BWs' quite low
d) wouldn't it be lovely if we could all be nice to one another in this world.