OK – it seems we’re done here. Let’s get back to something really worth talking about……….

OK – it seems we’re done here. Let’s get back to something really worth talking about……….

I didn’t think I was trolling when I started this thread, but having checked the definition I guess it’s not surprising that that’s the way it has been taken by some. My intention was to start a debate not a hate-fest and, in that former respect, this thread has been a success as it has certainly exposed some wildly polarised opinions and triggered some lively discussion.

In my defence and to give some balance – I am not an evil person. My closest two friends are both devout Christians, albeit of slightly different varieties. I am saddened when I see road kill, I rescue spiders from the bath and put them out in the garden (some might say that’s cruel as they’re obviously domesticated) and I don’t try to kill flying insects purely because they are in my space. I hate seeing abandoned supermarket trolleys in my local canal, and I am sickened by our government’s lack of the moral strength to carry out necessary but unpopular policies. I see everyone driving around in overly opulent boutique vehicles that waste vast amounts of fuel lugging around electric motors for functions that could quite easily be carried out by a little human muscle, or air-conditioning systems so that they don’t break into a sweat if the temperature should ever creep above 20 degrees. I provide counselling on a voluntary basis to cancer patients about to undergo surgery, and I make charitable donations by monthly direct debit as well as into numerous pub rattle-cans. I’m not 100% bad!

However, I am opinionated, cynical, selfish and probably a little too flippant for most people’s tastes. I consider these to be positive attributes and wouldn’t have it any other way. Unfortunately, like everyone else, I do fall into the trap of instinctively believing that kittens are cute and that cockroaches are repulsive, I am self-analytical enough to realise that these are redundant emotional responses and I try to resist them.

Anyway……..I only started getting a little more serious about biking last January, and Swinley provided the catalyst. Over the months I explored (i.e. got hopelessly lost) the whole area and devised a route that not only took in the main named trails, but also some well-established but less well-known single track to link these all together – I’m not tearing across open heath land. It’s a big safe playground for all of us and now the majority of it is being put out of bounds and I’m sulking. I like the idea of the new improved trails, but I also want continued access to the less anaesthetised, more natural paths.

I really have no time for these birds, and I am neither ashamed nor embarrassed to declare the fact. If they became extinct tomorrow it would be a bit of a shame, but it wouldn’t all be my fault. Despite some of the hate on here, I’m not trying to organise a posse of like-minded bikers to meet up next nesting season to rampage across the forest armed with shotguns and killing jars.

To the protectionists on here, you have your views and I can see your reasoning, particularly on the point regarding complying with international conservation laws. But – I personally disagree with them; surely Swinley Forest is primarily a lumber farm and recreational area, not a zoo?

This is all just my opinion, and this is a forum. Will I die?

cynic-al – Member
WGAS

–as I write this, eighteen people including yourself. Not an STW record, but you never know. Your ID is very apt – logic-al certainly wouldn’t have worked.

thepurist – Member
……. risk the repercussions of going off piste or try some of the other riding in the area……

–that’s what I’ll do, but in the meantime I’m just seeing if anyone feels the same as I do.

rkk01 – Member
idiot

–not me – my mother had me tested!

konaboy2275 – Member
….The earth is in danger from paedophiles?

–my version of gentle humour – obviously not yours? Actually, thinking about it, they do present a danger to some sections of society.

MrGreedy – Member
3/10 rant, 1/10 if it’s a troll.

–So, I guess that’s they’re both “fails” in your opinion then. I can live with that.

I didn’t know about the restrictions on walkers – I’ve been riding there pretty much every week this year and I’ve never noticed any. But surely the point is that we’re being prohibited from all areas apart from the three new trails and fire roads, not just from the nesting areas wherever they might be.

sugdenr – Member
…… Anyway badgerbonk or whatever your troll names is – tell us what MONEY you have contributed to said forest/MTB facility before you start claiming preferential RIGHTS to use it.
Git.

—I have paid for an annual pass, and I pay the new car park charges. I believe that entitles me? And “ouch” – no-ones called me one of those for about thirty years.

To everyone else who contributed; I’m really not anti-wildlife or nature, it’s just that I think that on a lot of occasions (e.g. this one) the authorities come over all precious about some of these minor (to me) environmental issues. As I was trying to point out, there is a vast area around Swinley which these birds could surely migrate to if they found bikers an issue.

It seems that, judging by the tone of many of the replies, a fair proportion of you must ride your bikes exclusively on man-made trails or roads; the minute you ride on singletrack you’re at risk of causing damage. Fair enough.