The MTB Mindset

First thing to say is that not all mountain bikers (MTBs) are like this. Just as not all Audi, BMW, Merc drivers think they own the road - just rather a lot of them, and, oddly, most of those I come across.
It's just that there's developed an MTB group culture and it's pretty pervasive. And any criticism brings them out in droves speaking the same self justifying tosh. And it all comes out when you talk about the serious impact they have on tracks and paths.

Why does it matter and is it worth bothering about? About eight years ago I was talking with a quite well-educated MTB man and he said I shouldn't worry because there were only a small number of bikers compared to walkers - his story was that though he agreed that bikes cause a greater impact on the ground there were only a few of them so...well, just relax man was his advice. Well if there's been a growth area in the economy anywhere in recent years it's been in sales of mountain bikes.

We should all know that there's a distinction between footpaths (public rights of way) and bridleways. Cycling is officially permitted on bridleways but not on lesser paths. So that should be fine. Blacka alone has over 5,000 metres of bridleways where the MTBer can legitimately ride his (it's mostly a he) vehicle. Even on bridleways they cause problems and sometimes very serious erosion. But increasingly over the last two years some MTBers have not been satisfied with this and they have been riding bikes on narrow winding footpaths only suitable for walking. The results are already clear and they will become greater. Paths get wider and more rutted. Water fills the ruts when it rains and the erosion worsens. Narrow ruts make bikers and walkers divert to the side and a pleasant narrow path becomes a wide and increasingly muddy track.

When you meet an MTBer on a footpath you should always ask him why. The chances are that you'll get engaged in some sort of altercation as I did this morning enabling you to get a taste of the MTB mindset. Some of the characteristics of this are listed below:
1 If you can walk why can't we ride our bikes?
2 It's been proven that bikes cause no more (or less) erosion than walkers' boots!
3 Everybody should be allowed to do what they like. You're just a miserable git wot wants the place to yourself.

The man this morning claimed precedence from the Kinder Trespass in the 1930s!! He saw himself as a pioneer blazing a trail for freedom. If you're determined to selfishly do your own thing whatever the consequences for others you can persuade yourself to believe anything.

It's now commomplace for MTBers to claim that serious academic studies 'from Oxford University' 'prove' that MTBers cause no more impact than walkers. Similar claims have been sent to me at this blog with links: they are utter rubbish and anyway you only have to use your eyes to refute them. It's a matter of judgement whether you try to argue with these people. It's like when years ago I was accosted by a fresh-faced young American scientologist on a train. After two minutes I knew it was not worth arguing. The self-belief was truly frightening.
One of my favourite quiet walking paths is now being regularly invaded by some of these bikers. This route winds delightfully through natural vegetation above a gorge, one of the very best places to be.
There will come a day when its character will have been transformed into a wide and rutted affair with broad deltas at the end where other paths are joined; and you can see this beginning to happen now. The impact on one bridleway now makes it very difficult to walk on due to narrow ruts even in dry weather.

When wet, or merely damp, it's treacherous and I know walkers who now refuse to go there despite its giving access to some of the best views in the district.

The fault here, as usual, lies with the utter uselessness of the bureaucracies which bear responsibility for administering countryside access. Failing to grapple with the issues at the right time has meant it has become as serious as it has - and now with a momentum that's hard to stop.

Meanwhile the simple minded MTBer calls out: "You can go there, why can't we?"
And the answer has to be "You can. Just leave your bike behind - and take your ****** sports drink litter home".