[Closed] Came across my local trail logger!

Why did not talk to them? Or just moved the logs as soon as they placed them there and see what they say.

photograph them and report them!

Missed opportunity for a polite bit of education. Man up.

Wasn't up for any confrontation, just wanted to let it happen and see their antics

I was about 100m from them so I just kept going. Next time I will.

Missed opportunity for a polite bit of education. Man up.

I tried this when I came upon a trail saboteur near me. Didn't work, they got all shouty and frothy.

I then suggested that if I caught them again I'd insert said bits of wood sideways up their nethers. That seemed to work better, and they left quite quickly 😆

I would definitely have talked to them. They are probably completely ignorant to the potential harm they could cause. Non bikers, especially idiots like these may well be placeing logs on the trail and thinking it will stop bikers and they will just push thier bikes round thus spoiling a nice ride in the country - they don't realise the log could be lethal and cause a life changing stack because they have never ridden a bike or never ridden a bike offroad at speed. They need to be put staight on this. If they then continue to do it at least you know who you are dealing with - someone who is perfectly happy try and kill you. That puts a whole new light on how you deal with them in the future.

I had the same last year, riding in my local woods, some woman with a dog pulling a log across the trail.

I simply bunny hopped over it and shouted "that'll make a brilliant jump, thanks"

She really didn't know what to say back i think....  😉

"Came across my local trail logger!"

Did you at least have the decency to wipe it off and say sorry?

Ha Taz has a similar train of thought! I thought you'd had a w*nk over someone taking a dump in the woods...

Definitely speak to them.

It's easy to lay logs across a track without thinking about it.

If someone explains that by doing this they could cause a major injury, very possibly head/facial/spinal, and that it could seriously affect your job/young family/etc (delete as appropriate) in an adverse way.

I'd probably also mention that you'd taken a photo of them already (even if you hadn't) and would keep on file as I'm sure the local plod would want a chat if there were any serious accidents and injuries caused by doing this.

Might make them think a bit more....

(then clear your man-paste off their face)

Wasting your time being rational and trying to reason with people. The intention is to anonymously hurt people by proxy, they'd see that as vindication/encouragement.

Better to remind them you have them on camera/car reg/know where they live and the police will be involved or give it to them in the only language they understand!

Why not ask why? Could be they don't want to be passed by bikes at speed or have had a bad experience. You say cheeky trails so they have as much or maybe more right to be there as you.

I don't "do" the had an off because you could see the obstacle. Slow down! How can this argument have any value? (I'll accept its different on a dedicated cycle route to a small extent). How can a log be any different from a child? If you cannot stop at any point in control you are wrong. Road, woods, anywhere.

Note. This is different fro those who place wire at neck height .That's stupid and wants a bollocking.

It’s easy to lay logs across a track without thinking about it.

Isn't it just. I've occasionally absent-mindedly built an entire log cabin across a track and not even realised I'd done it. Wasn't until a passing dog walker asked me if I was Laura Ingalls Wilder that I realised what had happened. As I didn't have planning permission, I then had to dismantle the entire thing. This soft of thing can escalate very easily.

Wasting your time being rational and trying to reason with people.

This.

We've had several encouncters with a guy that has tried to tell us how we are wrecking the local common land and then seen him breaking trees to try and block the track.

I've given up confronting him and now just ignore and carry on.

Dicks is dicks and they aint going to change.

"And why do they actually do this? "

You had the perfect opportunity to ask them and didn't take it.

Caught a couple years ago doing this at Cannock and what I said to them was very tamed compared to the two girls on horses that also saw them doing it.

We had this locally.

<span style="font-size: 0.8rem;">Got some photos (using trail cameras looking for local wildlife, ahem), printed them out and dropped them through the door of the local police station with a note saying who the guy was and roughly where he lived.</span>

Next thing - he was being charged with reckless conduct.

Win.

I wonder why they're so upset?

We had this a few years back in Cranham woods in Gloucestershire above Cheltenham and Gloucester it started with broken branches etc across trails then on a trail they called the shrine over a big mound the **** only went and through down hundreds on rusty nails and screws which gave a few people double punctures which is a pain but what damage  they could do to wildlife and horses and pet dogs is scary lucky enough he never put them back again after I picked up half a carrier bag full u.

Maybe he got fed up of doing it after a while or walked somewhere else a guy did catch him once putting branches over the trails now the same trails are all marked out now he would not like that.

I know they go walking around these woods around Saturday lunch as I have seen them before in the area, so i will session the area next week until I bump in to them. Feel like a muppet to not talk to them tbh especially knowing that I could of escalated the situation, I didn't know that then. I remember riding on a Sunday to find logs everywhere so it seems to add up to their time frame.

There were about 7 people including kids and a white lab. For context there was a 300m fire road which 3 trails cross, I was right at the end walking up 1 trail and saw a guy about 100m away placing a log across one of the trails. Checked the area later to find they had walked down one trail and put logs across then along the fire road, went up the exit and blocked it and then kept walking.

OP, it has limited relevance in some ways but did the logs appear to be in deliberately dangerous points?

Blind bend, sharp decline etc?

Must admit id have had a chat and perhaps pointed out that children around the age of their own likely ride those very same trails.

I would always go the polite route initially, in life generally, as you're always able to modify that approach of meet with a foul mouthed arse.

They seem to have been put across any where they could get a log, no real deliberate danger. There was a log diagonally placed on a steep section before  a corner, some across a berm  and a young dead tree with a couple of sticks on a bend, no intention to hurt just block.

When they did it on a foot path they did it everywhere including one that was centre of a wheel height so would seriously flip you. This 'foot path' isn't even marked so I guess it is a free for all.

I'll approach them politely, but if I have to adapt I will.

Funny old world eh?

Some mother's children.

I would always go the polite route initially, in life generally, as you’re always able to modify that approach of meet with a foul mouthed arse.

I think hugo suggestion is a fairly good one. It might just be unthinking stupidity but if not the it is going to the cops isnt a bad fall back.

Fortunately despite the limitations of where i live for riding dont have any of these muppets currently.

Wasn’t until a passing dog walker asked me if I was Laura Ingalls Wilder that I realised what had happened.

Nice reference! I was thinking more H<span style="font-size: 0.8rem;">enry David Thoreau, but then I read at a level of someone with a double-digit age ;). </span>

How can a log be any different from a child?

You have really odd looking kids.

What sort of logs are we talking? I know they can be annoying but as mountain bikers don't we seek obstacles and a bit of the unknown to ride over?

(I'm not condoning it and people around our way try to do it to stop crossers but we usually can get around them or over if small enough.)

I wouldn't call them out as a huge safety hazard in particular.

The 'Adult' here is also teaching their kids that this behaviour is okay.  A word in their ear would have been in order.  Grow a pair.

I can understand you not wanting any conflict, the way this place is these days you’d almost have to be prepared to beat the head in of someone before considering confronting them.

someone is doing this on my local loop too, I found some barbed wire wrapped round fence posts covered in a pile of leaves the other weekend. I know that some lads use the trail on their motorbikes, so I’m guessing it’s for them - nonetheless, hurting people by proxy is not cricket.

Poor show.

What logs. Well I guess young tree trunks and large branches. 5 inches across and about 3m long.

I'm not keen on confrontation either but it doesn't have to be confrontational - worth politely asking them why they are doing it and pointing out the safety hazard it is, the liability of which falls with the FC, if it's their land.

Then speak with the FC, get their opinion.

If the FC think the logs should stay, it's worth a trip down there with a spade and bank them up into fun little jumps - could do with more of those on my local trails TBH