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Went down it this morning and it's been completely filled in with poorly compacted limestone MOT. I loved that little bit of legal tech, RIP 🙁
Photo on here;
https://twitter.com/simonwattsy/status/1624115622480052244?s=46&t=MyP2nGAQql5V9NgzCGwmpg
DCC up to their usual sh1tshow work again by the looks of it.
That bottom section (pictured above) was done when I went down it last Saturday, I thought if they leave it at that it's not too bad as it gets pretty wet at the bottom. To my dismay it's now limestone MOT for its entirety including the rock tech at the top behind the gate.
Clueless.
Who'da thought that a bridleway was for use by people other than MTB riders who want something a bit more tricky.
Jeez!
Isn't that what gravel bikes are for?
Have they done anything to the section bt Hollins and the gate at the bottom? Its pretty technical in places.
The section from Hollins cross to the gate has not been touched by the limestone cowboys (yet). I suspect it won't as there is already a dedicated footpath back up to Hollins cross.
Who’da thought that a bridleway was for use by people other than MTB riders who want something a bit more tricky.
While I get the disappointment of having some fun taken away, and I despair at some of quality of work my council tax pays for, the only place you can moan about cycle trails being ruined is if it's a dedicated bikes only trail.
I like what's been done at Shining Tor with the sort of springy netting. It's more preferable than the giant rubble for my poor running legs.
Castletown is my kind of city.
Couple of bad winters and with any luck, it will all be on the road at the bottom.
Or, every time we ride down it, grab a pocket full of gravel and drop it 9n the road when you clear the section.
They have done the same on the last bit of Loose Hill to Hope
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DCC, turning the Dark Peak into the White Peak one track at a time 😂
Appreciate that the Hope valley is pretty much where it changes from limestone to gritstone so I'm on dubious technical ground, but hey ho.
DCC, turning the Dark Peak into the White Peak one track at a time
Today Castleton, tomorrow the world!
the only place you can moan about cycle trails being ruined is if it’s a dedicated bikes only trail
In England our access has been inherited from horse and foot use. There is no network of dedicated bike only trails crossing the hills, dales and mountains. We use shared used paths. Unsympathetic surfacing of those shared use trials is absolutely something we can moan about, and more importantly try and prevent through engagement with the responsible authorities. It’s seemingly impossible to engage usefully with some though… such as DCC… so moaning it is.
I’m not familiar with the paths in question, just looking at photos.
But I’m a rural walker more often than a cyclist these days, and that resurface looks like a travesty to me.
Peak District MTB have a good article on it. Not much reading between the lines needed, even they seem to be getting pissed off with DCC
https://peakdistrictmtb.org/a-hollow-feeling-dcc-on-hollowford-road-castleton/
I think PDMTB were established by being pissed off with DCC
DCC are utterly fhecken clueless at every turn. I live in Derbyshire and they piiiish money away doing stupid stuff like this (and of course worse still road planings elsewhere). Yet meanwhile the footpath down the side of the river Derwent from Bridge Foot in Belper remains barriers off because they can't be arsred fixing that footpath (people continue to pull the barricade fence out the way or get around another way anyway because it is perfectly passable anyway.
Top of my very road they resurfaced a 200 yard section of small road... except left patches which were obviously riddled with cracks undone. Then 30 yards further did half the road width for about 15 yards length. Then stopped where the next 400 yards actually is buggered and needs fixing. And to top it all not 2 weeks later the fhoookwhits stone chipped the whole lot that had nice smooth new tarmac. Ohh leaving a shiiiitload of loose gravel at a T junction where at the bottom of a fast hill and a bit of a kink in the road to try to maximise the number of people killed.
The road from Cromford to Lea/Holloway? 2 years+ to fix after closing it. FFS. And now 2 weeks after reopening it, guess what... a bit further up has subsided and so it's shit AGAIN.
Road from Beeley up onto Beeley Moor ? Still closed probably 3 years on. Perfectly cycleable. So they put bigger and bigger barricades up. Rather than fixing the road.
Then they whinge when there's not enough money. No wonder with this level of utter incompetence.
Why are they doing this? Did anyone ask for it or complain about its existing state?
These surfaces aren't enjoyable for walking on, suitable riding a horse/pony on, mtbing on or any other use imo, what a shambles.
Are they
A) clueless
B) stuck with one contractor who has found the easiest and most cost effective way of extracting money from DCC, environment be damned
C) got someone high up who is actively anti bike (and anti trail running, anti kids playing, anti horse riding*)? Basically anything that isn’t stereotypical miserable Rambling?
*ok this bit is probably a dead end in horse terms
.
Give it a winter and there will be a big groove cut down the middle of it and it will be equally shit for everyone.
That (apparently) isn’t the final surface. It will be topped with grit/dust and compacted.
i really feel for the efforts that PDMTB have put in to trying to engage with DCC and have a positive input to how work like this is done. There input has been totally disregarded.
the plan was for stone pitching i believe. No-one knew the plan changed.
Cave dale next….
Are they
A) clueless
B) stuck with one contractor who has found the easiest and most cost effective way of extracting money from DCC, environment be damned
C) got someone high up who is actively anti bike (and anti trail running, anti kids playing, anti horse riding*)? Basically anything that isn’t stereotypical miserable Rambling?*ok this bit is probably a dead end in horse terms
D. All of the above.
There certainly used to be one guy there who was well known for being thoroughly anti-cycling although I'm sure @Pook told me he'd left last time I spoke to him.
No idea what criteria they're using to assess any of this and decide on the outcome though. It's just insane.
Peter White. Yep - retired.
You'd think with councils being strapped for cash and everything, that one of the positive outcomes would be stuff like this getting binned. Seems like there is always money for meddlesome schemes, and if there isn't, they'll put up our council tax.
I heard from someone who used to work for DCC and is now employed the other side of the border that Peter White's replacement is a chip off the old block with the same views.
The other thing to remember is that there's an industry here. There's businesses and employees that make their living by doing this work, and there's budgets that need to be spent to get the same money off the government the following year. Entirely possible this was the right size job to empty a pot, and there's an amount of "keep my guys employed over the winter and we'll sort you a good deal on the big summer projects" from contractors.
its ok, just stick to the footpaths, they are much more fun anyways 🙂
sharkbait
Free Member
Who’da thought that a bridleway was for use by people other than MTB riders who want something a bit more tricky.Jeez!
Your point would have an ounce of validity if hoses appreciated loose gravel, which they won't.
Or wheelchair users appreciated loose gravel, which they won't.
[caveat to that, if thats the one i'm thinking of, in however many years I lived there I don't think I ever rode it because the broken road looks like an easier climb on the map, and nothing on that side of the valley really works as a descent so it was only ever a means to an end getting out and over to Edale]
It looks like the usual DCC construction with no drainage channels or water bars. Beet Lane was done a few years ago in a similar method, after the 1st winter 60% of it ended up at the bottom as large loose speed humps along with deep water ruts before the bend, not a good outcome for any user group.
At least its not bloody flexipave. The snowflake cyclists round Stockport would have everything flexipaved. Reddish vale and round Roman Lakes is ruined with it.