The piece begins, like so many before it, with an ill-tempered encounter between user groups. I was riding on my local trails, which are somewhat unusual in the UK. For one thing, they’re purpose-built for mountain biking, but instead of being squirreled away in the depths of an abandoned forestry plantation, they’re in a massive former country estate just across the river from the UK’s tenth biggest city. Being so close to so many people, they get a fair number of users, and on this day one of them was me.
As I was puttering down the singletrack, I encountered a spry old chap in a beanie and Ron Hills, carrying a golf club that I initially mistook for a walking stick, and accompanied by a whippet that was having a fun old time off the lead. I asked if he was aware that he was walking his dog on a mountain bike trail. “Yes” he said, “I’ve seen the signs, but I just ignore them.” Oh, OK. I pointed out that the estate was a big place, and asked whether he thought it was reasonable to take his enjoyment on one of the small portions of it set aside for mountain bikers. He replied that he didn’t care, and that he’d been using that part of the estate for years and wasn’t about to stop now.
By now I was feeling the sense of combined anger and bemusement that I normally get from looking at Richard Dawkins’ Twitter account, but I attempted to counter his argument by pointing out that the trail he was on had been funded, built for and maintained by mountain bikers. “But you go everywhere in the estate, on all the paths” he replied. I pointed out that no, I personally didn’t, and that while some shared paths are used by mountain bikers, they’d be much less likely to expect a walker and a loose dog on a bit of dedicated mountain bike trail. “No, you go everywhere. You don’t care about that” he said, his repeated reference to all mountain bikers as “you” setting off a flashing sign in my head. We exchanged a few further words (No, “bellend” wasn’t one of them, I’m much too reserved and British for that) but it quickly became apparent that neither of us was going to change the other’s mind, and we parted ways.
So it might seem a bit churlish to get irritated with someone for playing us at our own game.
Once the whistling kettle noise in my head subsided, the whole sorry episode got me wondering whether in fact he had a point. Does the daft behaviour of some mountain bikers justify the bearing of grudges, and can’t we just get along without the use of signs to demarcate where everyone should be? I’m involved in mountain bike advocacy, and as well as more dedicated places to ride, I want to see more of the countryside opened up to mountain bikes. So it might seem a bit churlish to get irritated with someone for playing us at our own game.
At the same time, though, I recognise we don’t live in a perfect world, and compromises have to be made. Even in most inner cities, there’s no shortage of places to walk a dog, and equally I don’t want to go and ride my bike across the putting green of the local golf course to make a point. I’ve actually since worked out how much of the estate the mountain bike trail takes up, and it’s 1/260th. I used a calculator and everything. So the bloke insisting it’s his right to walk anywhere, at any time, isn’t necessarily wrong, but the maths says he was being unreasonable. I’m no fan of the “keep off the grass” attitude that often prevails in Britain, and I’m aware that when mountain biking started no-one asked for permission. But at the same time, when activities attract a certain number of people, it makes sense to set aside areas to do them in. Signs and designations are generally an attempt to keep everyone happy, not piss people off.
The other thing that stood out about this encounter was how rarely you meet someone who’s genuinely unrepentant about upsetting someone else. Obviously, on the internet, people are rude to each other all the time, but when you’re face to face on the trail it tends to inject a bit of diplomacy into the situation. I’ve been riding and maintaining this section for a fair chunk of my adult life, and the last time I spoke to someone with the same “beholden to no-one” attitude must have been half a decade ago. So I trundled on, feeling oddly optimistic.
After all, it’s hard to be angry for long when you’re riding.
I suppose as long as MTBers keep referring to footpaths as ‘cheeky trails’ what right do we have to expect walkers to keep off bike trails?
He could have just smiled and answered your ‘do you know you’re not supposed to walk here’ question with ‘I know, silly isn’t it’!! 😉
You were up for the confrontation and so was he… Not the best interaction ever.
Assuming they are purpose built MTB trails, then yes walkers should keep off.
They wouldn’t walk across a tennis court or football pitch when a match was being played.
Conversely bikers should stay off places they shouldn’t be, although I do appreciate in Scotland we don’t have a real problem there, but it is south of the border.
“Does the daft behaviour of some mountain bikers justify the bearing of grudges”
No. Two wrongs don’t make a right. Walking on dedicated mountain biking trails is dangerous to (in ascending order of importance) him, his dog and mountain bikers.
A mountain biker not expecting him or the dog as they come round a corner or over a jump are likely to try to avoid him / them and may well injure themselves in the process. I don’t cycle on footpaths so it’s hardly justified for him to put me in danger because of the actions of others.
I’ve had a similar issue on this very same trail. Whatever the rights and wrongs, the problem was that it being an mtb trail I wasn’t expecting a walker an her dog to be around a blind bend coming towards me and nearly went straight into them at speed. I’m quite capable of hurting myself without help from walkers thanks but wouldn’t want such an interaction to end up with serious injury for either party.
When I expressed my concern to the lady for her safety and that of her dog she told me in no uncertain terms as far she was concerned it was a footpath, always had been and always would be. I concluded that there are some people you just can’t reason with and got on with enjoying the rest of my ride.
There is a sign clearly asking walkers not to use the trail, “for their own safety and the safety of others” so no, in simple terms he shouldn’t have been there. The important distinction is the safety issue, as a mountain biker on a “cheeky” footpath should be expecting to encounter others and riding safely (in the same way we are required to on a bridleway or any other route). The dedicated bike trail simply isn’t a public right of way. The whole point of dedicated trails is that the only thing a rider should be expecting to encounter ahead of them is that they might catch up with another rider.
However, i’d tolerate his attitude if he behaved appropriately when on the trail. What it comes down to to me is this – if, hypothetically, if I was on a cheeky footpath and had an incident with a walker, I would fess up and pay any compensation/take any consequences I deserved, knowing they had no reason to expect me to be there; it would be my fault. If this guy was prepped to get off the path every time he heard a bike coming and/or take legal responsibility if him or his dog caused an accident, I’d be prepared to humour him; tolerance works both ways.
I remember having to brake sharply to avoid hitting a couple of walkers sauntering round the middle of the trail. “I didn’t hear your bell!” Was the sarcastic self righteous reaction to my sharp braking to avoid them. It was on the black route at Glentress! In a section clearly marked with no walkers signs. Granted you should always be riding so that you can stop of you round the corner and find a fallen rider or whatever. So I would have been responsible had I crashed into them. It was the attitude that I should somehow be ringing a bell! I suspect they didn’t bother reading the signs.
“Walking on dedicated mountain biking trails is dangerous”
This is the salient point I think. Regardless of right or wrong (and I can totally see the “I’ve walked here for years” argument), it’s like arguing whether you have the “right” to walk down the middle of a carriageway on an NSL road. Sure you can walk there, fill your boots, but it’s a really really dumb thing to do.
The annoying thing is, when a Strava-fuelled MTBer inevitably carves his free-range pooch in half, it’ll be the biker’s fault faster than you can say “dangerous trail closure campaign.”
One overprivileged part of society can’t happily share their little piece of the planet with another. Don’t think we’re quite ready for free access do you? I ride in the Alps every year and seem to be able to chat, smile and get on with all the walkers there. By all means put up signs and warn people of dangers….but if you do meet someone walking on ‘our’ trails …stop..have a chat…ask about their dog maybe (only if they have one..else it’s a bit weird)… wish them a good day.
^ this. This method gets people much further. Well said. Make friends, then just before you part just add in, “by the way watch out on the corners, if someone comes riding down fast and goes into you you could seriously hurt yourself and the rider, I wouldn’t want to see that happen” or suchlike….
Hardly the alps, or Wales, but Surrey Hills has a similar attitude of generally just each other being able to get along. There are some conflicts but I think a chunk of the land being open access to all and the vast majority of trails being unofficial but as much right to cycle on as to walk, means we all just accept that. In reality most walkers avoid the bike trails but you do get them sometimes. Some will have a rant and point out the danger but I just say a cheery hello. Might just mention there’s a bunch of guys hurtling down behind me so watch out 😀
And the amount of times “we” ride places that either aren’t a right of way or even have a sign up saying no bikes… 😉
In Scotland, you cannot stop them
In a similar manner they cannot prevent you riding on a trail
The land reform act is much deeper than the following words but it’s a great starter
Any path, track or trail can be walked, horse ridden or cycled…
However, you do occasionally find family muppet picnicing with their legs dangling down a large fast berm that has a quite blind entry……