Bridleway Erosion

If you are to believe some messages on MTB boards (it's just possible some people do) then there's absolutely no case for thinking bikes cause erosion. In fact such is the intensity of the self delusion that the commenters in question have persuaded themselves that boots worn by walkers are the real problem; that and horses as well. Anyone but themselves in fact. It's only fair to say that other MTBers are far from persuaded by the fundamentalists and express more caution, being the kind that ride with their eyes open. There is even a website where you can download supposed academic research papers to back up the arguments supporting the fundamentalists' view. I guess that the point of these is not what they actually say but that they exist at all. Most will not read them but the fact that they know about them bolsters their opinion. The ones I've read are actually ambivalent about the causes and anyway relate to certain specific areas with conditions that aren't replicated everywhere; and they are also American.



You're better advised to rely on the evidence of your own eyes in places you really know. And this morning's example is the Strawberry Lee bridleway heading down towards Totley. This is the White Canons ancient route from the small agricultural settlement in the pasture land leading towards Beauchief Abbey. You can see the original stony track on the left. What's happened is that in recent years traffic has increased, largely bikes and many are going off to the side to avoid the stones, preferring where the ride is more comfortable. The tracks tell it all. And the result is that the bridleway gets closer and closer to looking like a trunk road before the surface is put down. Now before the hysterical and indignant comments come in, I'm not saying that every MTBer goes off to the side; some do ride over the stones and probably prefer it - one did this morning, but he knew I was watching! Nor am I saying that no walker or horse rider ever goes off to the side helping to widen the path. Once a route is there all sorts of traffic uses the full width. But the motivation for the change is MTBing. It's going downhill and it's just where you can start to gather a bit of speed by going on the smoother surface. The question is how long will it stay smooth and what's the impact on the character of a route which is important historically? The other question is what is the limit on a human's capacity for self- delusion?