Unauthorised trail building. What's your view?

[Mike D.]

Knobs.

 

[Alexbn921]

It's the only trails in our area, soooo. Zero vs well built bike specific challenging trails. You pick.

 

[Gary]

What's everyone's view on random old blokes whining about stuff online in a vague manner?

 

[Stihldog]

This mountain is still under developed imo. Some new trails are being built (secretly) and some of the features can make me lose sleep. There’s a handful of trail builders in our area who construct trails without the permission of the landowner (Provincial Parks). There’s also a number of steps that need to be taken before any trail building can take place(groups, Parks board, Aboriginal, users… etc. The amount of red tape can be daunting.
98% of the work done on trails is preformed by volunteers. I don’t build trails but I do resurrect old and abandoned trails. They’re not even on a map.
Many of the new trails are black diamond with some crazy features. I’ve suggested to a few builders that some chicken lanes or go-arounds be added for those who can’t ride the features. Adding these go-arounds might lessen the chance that their trail will be decommissioned.

 

[Zimmerframe]

What's everyone's view on random old blokes whining about stuff online in a vague manner?

Hey, I don't get out often .

 

[congerball]

Crack on

 

[Zimmerframe]

Knobs.

I think you're overly simplifying it.

You could live in the middle of nowhere, where there are no official or unofficial trails.

You could be expanding existing deer trails.

You could be trailblazing what will later be an official trail. For instance, near me, 40 years ago a lady I know and her brothers spent years slowly making the first and only horse trail round the lake. Personally, I'd never want to ride a horse around it, much of it is scary as hell - they must of had balls of steel or v's of steel - I've no idea what the lady equivalent is ??! Now, it's banned to mountain bikes and horses and is for walkers only - even though they didn't make it.

Walkers also have the unfortunate disability of not being able to use their arms when walking, so unless someone comes along on a bike, the trails would eventually become un passable from the fallen branches and rolled rocks.

Have we really reached the point where a man needs to seek authorisation for anything, no matter where, it says common sense has finally been committed to the grave.

If a tree falls in the woods ... and it wasn't authorised by someone ... did it really fall ??

If a wild boar makes a new trail down the hill, do we shoot it ??? (actually yes, this is France and the hunters do get a bit carried away, so beware, several cyclists, walkers, old ladies in gardens, trees, several windows will also most likely die in the incident, but as long as the hunter says "I thought it was a boar" - it's ok.)

 

[Gary]

Ovaries. I believe

 

[Zimmerframe]

Ovaries. I believe

She has Ovaries of STEEL ! Can't say I've ever heard it, but I will bow to your superior knowledge !

 

[Zimmerframe]

She has Ovaries of STEEL ! Can't say I've ever heard it, but I will bow to your superior knowledge !

Is that deemed attractive for a lady - from a lady's perspective ?

Maybe she should have ovaries of titanium ? Or T1ts of Titanium ! That has a far nicer ring to it ?

@IndigoUnicorn maybe you can help with this anatomical slang conundrum ?

 

[Zimmerframe]

Knobs.

Or are you meaning they should be made naturally only using our bodies ? Like knobs- to plough ?

Presuming they're exited in their work - and who wouldn't be !

 

[Banktramp]

It’s only unauthorised if you get caught .

 

[Gary]

Steel, titanium? Happy to try any ovarian armour if it helps stop my semen fertilizing (yet again)

 

[Pdoz]

Steel, titanium? Happy to try any ovarian armour if it helps stop my semen fertilizing (yet again)

guaranteed solution. Stick to watching.

What's everyone's view on random old blokes whining about stuff online in a vague manner?

Oh, sorry, I quoted the wrong post

 

[Mike D.]

Trails erased from the Surrey Hills

November 19, 2015 - Howard from Pedal & Spoke in Peaslake has posted news about some of the locals' trails in the Hurtwood. Looks like they're being 'managed' out of

singletrackworld.com

 

[Gary]

You expect us to be interested in reading a singletrackworld forum thread from 6 years ago?

Jog on mate

 

[Mike D.]

No thanks I don't jog. Whatever. It's illustrative.

 

[Mabman]

In my neck of the woods both happening within meters of the other. One sanctioned and the other non-sanctioned

We don't cut down live trees and follow the path of least resistance, or what we call POLR trails. Whereas with the proper authority you cut down all the trees and go in as straight a line as possible.

 

[Gary]

I don't think he realises the Internet stretches further afield than Surrey.

 

[Mike D.]

Well, you got the first three words right, anyhow.

 

[Doomanic]

@Mike D. your first post was somewhat ambiguous; who are the knobs, those who build unauthorised trails or those who flatten them?

 

[Gary]

 

[IndigoUnicorn]

Is that deemed attractive for a lady - from a lady's perspective ?

Maybe she should have ovaries of titanium ? Or T1ts of Titanium ! That has a far nicer ring to it ?

@IndigoUnicorn maybe you can help with this anatomical slang conundrum ?

lol. Flaps of ferrous metal? Clit of carbon?

 

[Stihldog]

In my neck of the woods both happening within meters of the other. One sanctioned and the other non-sanctioned

Whoa, enjoy it while you still can. Those brush cutters make quick work.
Our mountain was logged about 80-100 years ago. The park is a mixture of 2nd growth and old growth but progress is creeping closer to the park boundaries.
Some of the private lands have recently posted “Private Property” signs probably for insurance reasons but look the other way. We still ride and build trails through those areas freely…for now. But everyone is worried about liability.
One side is bordered by communities, two sides by water, and the last side by “you’ll probably never be seen again”.

 

[Mike D.]

I used to live near the Surrey Hills and started offroading there in 1991 on my first old school MTB - a Marin Pine Mountain.

Then MBR magazine discovered the area and it's been getting more and more crowded ever since.

The provision of official tolerated trails built by accredited groups was an attempt to defuse a growing problem of conflict between the bikers and other types of user but then as the pastime became more popular, these trails weren't enough for the new type of extreme thrill-seeking rider and some started digging in protected woodland without permission, causing disturbance to wildlife habitat and soil erosion.

I don't know what the current situation is there as I moved away in 2017 but I would imagine that with the dropping of e-MTB's into the mix, it can't have reached a resolution of any kind.

The problem in the UK is that there's only so much space to go around. This becomes even more of a problem as the countryside gets carved up by human habitat and transport development.

Perhaps a solution might be if the human population stopped expanding and went in to reverse.

Just stop reproducing.

A good place to start would be with testicles made out of square-patterned Caledonian cloth.

 

[Gary]

It seems you were pretty out of touch and ignorant to anything outwith your own locale even when you did live in the UK nevermind after 5 years of living in a completely different country.

You still haven't said what in particular it is you're complaining about.

 

[Mike D.]

Is there anybody on the Forum who cycles the SH currently?

I'd be interested to hear about it.

 

[Mabman]

Whoa, enjoy it while you still can. Those brush cutters make quick work.
.

Actually it is going to work out for us. I live on a road that Loop is part of the name but has been a dead end for the last 10yrs due to a bunch of slide activity that broke the road so they gated it off for 2 miles. That section will remain, and in fact is an option of the Pacific Coast Route, but they are starting a new road up and over the hillside through the managed forest. Plenty of clear cut activity goes on in there as well as some huge gravel pits.

We have been working on a trail from the "loop" road up into that area that is almost complete and luckily it is far enough off their line so that the only effect will be having to cross the new road at one point as yet to be determined.

Is going to open up our chanterelle zones to the masses though that are closest to our house but there are plenty others accessible by bike to choose from.

 

[Stihldog]

Is there anybody on the Forum who cycles the SH currently?

I'd be interested to hear about it.

I’d like to …but it’s a long way from here.

 

[Jackware]

If a wild boar makes a new trail down the hill, do we shoot it ??? (actually yes, this is France and the hunters do get a bit carried away, so beware, several cyclists, walkers, old ladies in gardens, trees, several windows will also most likely die in the incident, but as long as the hunter says "I thought it was a boar" - it's ok.)

This reminds me of a Barry Cryer joke I heard again today in an obituary for him;

A man shoots a golden eagle, a protected species, and goes up before the magistrate.

'I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to shoot it,' he says. 'It just flew into my sights and I shot it by mistake.'

'Well, what did you do with it afterwards?' asked the magistrate.

'I ate it,' he said.

'You ate it!' said the magistrate. 'What did it taste like?'

'Rather like swan,' he said.