Danbury Common Forest (Essex) is not a bin....

drewcole81

I know this has been touched on with a thread a few below.

But, whilst out walking round some of the trails last night with my dog, I noticed that there was a huge amount of wrappers and drink cans around.
A complete empty box of 12 capri Sun drinks all over the place, in all the normal places where people stop and chat whilst out riding.

I'm not sure if this could be down to half term and its the 'kids' who wouldn't normally litter as there are more people there when they go at weekends perhaps?.

I was fairly shocked to see how bad it all looked.

If we don't look after these places then the National Trust are going to step in like they have before in Danbury. There are signs already up saying that bikes are okay to ride on the bridle ways but should not go off track.
They turn a blind eye to our riding at the moment, But i fear that this kind of thing could ruin it for all.

I have been round clearing up with other riders before now, I would do it again.

Not really sure what the point of this thread is, I just needed to say it!

Hopfully some of the poeple who think it ok to leave there stuff around can read this and let the rest of us know why they think that... but I guess they wont have the guts too.

Focker out....

cjw

Whole heartedly agree with your sentiment, but the rubbish doesn't sound like bikers does it. Cans and multipacks of capri sun :?: Probably as you guess, kids on half term.

stucon

thank god!!!!

i ride over danbury every week and im getting so fcuked off with the little cun75 that go over there and treat it like a fcuking rubbish tip...

was over there sunday and took 3 bags of other peoples rubbish home with me...
me and a couple of chaps i ride with have asked the young bucks if they could clear the sh1t up and take it with them when they go.... they are going to get us in to all kinds of sh1t soon if they keep dropin rubbish every where.... and digging where they like...


i know it is half term and i know its the kids doing it... if im not mistaken the mess is around the bigger drops....... right?

not only that but they are digging up random places and building jumps in places they shouldnt... ok no one should be building over there at all..but, there is a few people myself included that do a bit and you have to try and stick to building out the way of where people are walking dogs etc....

i could go on all day about this as its my local ride and im worried that the young lads who are going roung building jumps anywhere they feel like and leaving rubbish everywhere are going to get this place shut down... ok not shut down but as good as when they come in there and flatten the lot... i can see its going to happen...

and for the "real" riders over there its gonna be sad!... that place is like nowhere else around....

drewcole81

stucon wrote:

thank god!!!!

i ride over danbury every week and im getting so fcuked off with the little cun75 that go over there and treat it like a fcuking rubbish tip...

was over there sunday and took 3 bags of other peoples rubbish home with me...
me and a couple of chaps i ride with have asked the young bucks if they could clear the sh1t up and take it with them when they go.... they are going to get us in to all kinds of sh1t soon if they keep dropin rubbish every where.... and digging where they like...


i know it is half term and i know its the kids doing it... if im not mistaken the mess is around the bigger drops....... right?

not only that but they are digging up random places and building jumps in places they shouldnt... ok no one should be building over there at all..but, there is a few people myself included that do a bit and you have to try and stick to building out the way of where people are walking dogs etc....

i could go on all day about this as its my local ride and im worried that the young lads who are going roung building jumps anywhere they feel like and leaving rubbish everywhere are going to get this place shut down... ok not shut down but as good as when they come in there and flatten the lot... i can see its going to happen...

and for the "real" riders over there its gonna be sad!... that place is like nowhere else around....

Yeah it was all over by the bigger drops and allot by the old drop in to the island, which got flattened by the National Trust a few years back when they last got narked off with the riders.

Not sure if there is a Danbury mtb club or not, i've been riding there since i was but a wee scamp, Like the other thread about the litter problem maybe if it came to it some of us who ride there should contact the trust to talk about it with them?

I picked up what i could, but not really going ready for litter picking with the dog i only really had dog sh1t bags to clean up after him..... which is another matter altogether...

Riding along my favorite bit of single track... oh, whats that on my neck.... nice, its dog sh1t....

Going to head over at the weekend i hope and keep a bin bag in the pocket just incase.

stucon

im going over there at lunch time today.. by the time i get there it should give me about 40 mins to run round and pick up some of the rubbish...

goin to go over there sunday to have a ride and i think its about time i have a real chat with the young lads down there about building in silly places and the way they just drop rubbish everywhere.........


im well up for havin a chat with the trust so we can work together to keep it clean and safe for everyone....

will prob be there from about 11 - 12 sunday.. if you see me over there come and say hello and lets have a chat about what we should do... like you iv been ridin danbury for years... about 15 on and off... i would just be so gutted if we lost that little spot of ours..

so keep an eye out for my bike mate... 06 stinky with added white bits!.. will be with a couple of other chaps that will be on stinkys to.. please feel free to come and chat, we need to sticktogether on this and get it sorted asap...

cheers, stu.

drewcole81

stucon wrote:

so keep an eye out for my bike mate... 06 stinky with added white bits!.. will be with a couple of other chaps that will be on stinkys to.. please feel free to come and chat, we need to sticktogether on this and get it sorted asap...

cheers, stu.

Stu,

This may be a bit ramdon, but did you used to drive a Green Golf GTi and live in New London Court!?

There was a guy there who i spoke to in Danbury a while back who had the same bike.

Drew.

Chalky76

I go to Danbury pretty much every weekend and I think its getting worse. Problem is those boys spend all day sitting about near the jumps eating and drinking, spending around 5 minutes actually on their bikes!

Digging new jumps etc can make it interesting too when you speed round a corner or come across a double with a pit in the middle!

What chance we could have a bin put in the area where they congregate? - I'd be happy to go along and empty it now and then as I take my car up there. I'd be gutted if bikers were not allowed at Danbury as we really are stuffed for other places nearby

Good on you if you talk to them but I'm a bit more cynical and can't see it really sorting out the problem. Plus not all the rubbish is down to the kids, other people use the common, especially at night!

drewcole81

I wouldn't have thought 'they' (whoever that might be!) would allow a bin in the wood as its just asking for sopmeone to drop a match in it... then we would have any Danbury left at all!!

I guess the best way to do it is take a thick bin linner and hang it from the trees near the small tabletop jump. then whoever is last home take it with them?
Not everyone whould do this though.

I dont see why if you have a bag with you when you go, why its so hard to put the same rubbish back in to it when you leave.

Haven't been to Danbury on the bike for a few weeks now, Building my Kona back up which is taking a while as i'm poor!

But if you see a VW Caddy with a big Kona sticker in the car park then i'll be knocking around the woods either on a Chris Boardman or walking the Hound (German Shepard)
Give us a shout.

Drew.

stucon

drewcole81 wrote:

stucon wrote:

so keep an eye out for my bike mate... 06 stinky with added white bits!.. will be with a couple of other chaps that will be on stinkys to.. please feel free to come and chat, we need to sticktogether on this and get it sorted asap...

cheers, stu.

Stu,

This may be a bit ramdon, but did you used to drive a Green Golf GTi and live in New London Court!?

There was a guy there who i spoke to in Danbury a while back who had the same bike.


Drew.

drew,

yeah man.. thats me!!!!

dam i miss that golf!!.. thanks for bringing it up!!!!

drewcole81

Thought so... I knew i'd seen that bike before!

Used to live upstairs there had the white Astra van with the Kona sticker on it.

Got a different white van now with a different Kona sticker on it... only got part of a Kona too.....

Building up a new one as the old Kona was shite and broke. Riding around a Boardman Team at the mo.


That was a very nice Golf... lots of flashy lights! :shock:

drewcole81

Chalky76 what do you ride?

stucon

chaps,

did go there sunday and guess what...

young lads were over there again and yes there was a bit of rubbish about...

did stop to ask them if they would clean it up, but they didnt...

about 4 hours later just before i left to go home i went past again with my mate... who jumped off his bike shouting something about the f*in kids and something about a bag and started to pick it all up... then he just jumped back on his bike and rode off with the rubbish in his hand...

i stayed there and had a good chat with about 15 young lads.. to be fair most of them were ok and once i told them that we may end up with no where to ride as they just wont put up with the rubbish and the digging everywhere.... they did look like they were taking what i was sayin on board...


was talking to them for a good 10-15 mins and i think i got through... i asked them just to pick it up and put it in bags and either take the bags home or leave them tied to a tree and i would go over there a couple of times a week and pick the bag of rubbish up and get rid of them.....

like i said to them, we are all riders at the end of the day and we should all be on the same side and take the time out to look after the place we ride and call "our" riding spot....

lets watch tihs space and see what happens!!

stucon

drewcole81 wrote:

Thought so... I knew i'd seen that bike before!

Used to live upstairs there had the white Astra van with the Kona sticker on it.

Got a different white van now with a different Kona sticker on it... only got part of a Kona too.....

Building up a new one as the old Kona was shite and broke. Riding around a Boardman Team at the mo.


That was a very nice Golf... lots of flashy lights! :shock:

sweet,

still cant beleive i sold my baby!!.. yeah all the lights!! haha!!!... red ones in the rear windows were the best!!!!

yeah i remember ya van man!! and the sticker!!!...

well like i said before im over danbury most sundays and really tryin to battle with everything that is going on over there at the mo.... it does my head in.. i mean the last thing i want to do when i go for a ride is stop to pick up other peoples rubbish...

i will keep an eye open for your new van mate and if i see you i will say hello!!... or on the other hand if you see me flyin about on the stinky chuck a stick in the front wheel and say hi (ok, dont do the stick thing as that will fcuking hurt but wait till i stop and say hi then!!)

stu

Chalky76

I ride a black Scott Spark (upgraded about 6 months ago and loving it) - I'll keep an eye out for you. What colour is your Boardman? I'm usually with at least one other guy (also a black Scott but a Genius) and my little brother rocks up now and then and rides my old Cannondale hardtail (also Black!) Do you park your van at the top near the big house or in the middle car park?

Good on you Stucon speaking to them, could have made a big difference. I have noticed bags hung off the trees sometimes, so lets see. I'll start taking a sack down with me.

Won't be down this weekend as biking in Oxford with a mate on the Saturday and going to the Carling Cup Final on Saturday!

By the way, do either of you do night rides at Danbury? I'm gagging to give it a go and have borrowed a decent light off someone at work but my mate is not interested. From what I read it helps your every day riding and is supposed to be good fun?

stucon

cant sat iv done a night run over there yet... just not got round to looking in to a nice light.... really wanted to give it go go this winter tho... a couple of my mates got lights a few weeks back and have done a couple on rides over there!!.. they said it was great fun!!!..

still with the nights getting lighter and lighter all the time now its not goin to be long before im over there a couple of nights a week after work for a few hours!!!...

Chalky76

that's true, won't be long now and it will be worth going over in the evening.

Nice bike by the way

stucon

i have to say, i love having a ride later in the day... you know what its like, rubbish day at work, boss is getting on ya back all day due to the fact you spend more time on "a mountain bike forum" than you do working...

then 5pm comes and there is still a good 4 hours riding time left in the day!!! you feel awake and ready to roll!!!!... love it!!!!!

and cheers for the comment on the bike...

welovekeddie

As a regular Danbury rider I agree with all the comments regarding the litter it does drive you mad.

I have to add though what also does my head in up there, and will also end up with the NT doing their best to stop riding, is the people who park on that bridleway leading to the main jumps.

You don't see walkers parking there so it'll soon piss everyone off just like the litter. It's friggin lazy as well, park in the proper car park and ride your bike to the trails! Driving to within ten feet of the jumps is some kind of warped version of mountainbiking.

Hmmm moan over!

stucon

yeah, i have to say i have parked at the top of the fire road a few times. but only if there is no one there as you can get 2 car there no probs.... and if there is cars already there i just drive round to the big car park. but never park on the fire road its self.... thats bad news!!! i know where you mean tho, just on the left by the big table..... like you say it is just lazy and will pi55 off the NT no end!!....

there is a lot of real good guys over there young and old. i just think we should all work together to look after what we have...

drewcole81

Hi Guys,

Funny you should say about going on a night ride!

As i was reading this thread just before i left work yesterday I decided to go over there in the evening and have a look around, took my lights with me.. they really aren't very good! Lets just say its a good job i have good padding across the nuckles on my gloves.... ouch.

But was glad to see that the amount of litter had dropped, there was still some around which i took home. also the odd inner tube hanging from trees as well, noticed some spray paint on the trees too...

But what i did find REALLY FCUKING ANNOYING was that, just after the exit on number 2 canyon(?) was the massive freshly dug pitt that was on the landing spot!

Its a good couple of ft wide the sandly stuff dug up had then been made into a jump next to it for a drop back into number 1... I lost my front wheel into it which nearly put me over the front end.. I really dont know what possesed some muppet to dig a hole there!

You'll see it on Sunday if you go.

Boardman is Grey (they all are) got a Kona Caldera 07 which is black thats waiting to be built up at some point. I normally park in the main car park unless its late the the one near the pub.

Going to try and get over on Sunday and see who is around and digging the place up... I really want to find the person who dug that hole......

stucon

they did that last week and my mate filled it in.... now they have done it again....!!!

its not on.. i mean, i came out of number 4 on sunday and nearly landed on the stupid fing kicker they had built right on the exit.....

why do they want to build jumps on the exits of other runs/drops.....


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drewcole81

Might go and get one of the Army type folding spades and strap it to the cammel bag to fill them back in..... thing is that flat area has been like it for years.
Now its been dug up there will be a soft area that is going to get all chewed up in the rain.

Tossers.....

explosifpete

when I take my dog for a walk i take a bag and collect rubbish as it ruins it to see rubbish every where but i dont bother with the common as its home to so many stupid little buggers its not worth it. Hopefully these kids will learn to look after the places they enjoy.

Mike Skinner

Hi, I've been directed over to this thread by a friend, who like myself is a long termer over Danbury, and is involved in much of the digging and jump building over there, so I'd like to share a few of my views:

The common is always evolving, what is there now, is different to what was there just a couple of years back, and what is constant, is always being maintained. A lot of people seem to expect these places to just pop up and never be touched.

There is always new work being done, and this is often in conflict with existing lines and and jumps, and the general consensus is along the lines of, whichever works better will remain.

To come round a corner and be surprised by "a double with a pit in the middle" tells me two things. Firstly that you're riding the trails fast without checking them first, which is unwise, both because they regularly change, and because there have been instances of logs being put across track to stop the bikers.
Secondly,. simply the fact that doubles by definition have a pit in the middle..

My point being, that digging has always, and will always go on at Danbury, and all trails, to keep them new, interesting, and progressing in difficulty. If it were the same as it was when I started riding Danbury, there would be very few of the singletrack runs, little to do at canyons or at the tables.
Try to keep an open mind, as new lines can be improvements, and if they're not, they don't remain for long.



Onto litter and the NT. It annoys all the regular riders how much litter is dropped, young old and all disciplines. It also annoys various younger riders when they get told off for dropping litter by other riders when they've done nothing of the sort, but are criticised merely for being younger and using the jump areas.

We all want to stop littering, and ideas like bags being hung from tree's are welcome, but try not to stereotype all of the jump bikers. It tends to not be the regulars guys that drop litter, and a few have been offended by the assumptions of older riders.

We have spoken to the National Trust warden (Richard) a number of times, and the official answer has always been; Mountain Bikes are not welcome other than on the Bridleway (yes, there's just 1 bridleway on the top half of the common, the main track down to the house). However he has been accepting enough to turn a blind eye as by and large we've been very good at remaining in one small area, and there is little trouble of any form.

He will not be introducing litter bins or anything of that sort though, as it would be seen as allowing bikes use of the area.



I think I've covered most of the point there though. All riders are wanted over the common, and all get along very well in most circumstances, but there needs to be an understanding that those that do work at the common, do it to try to improve the place, and with a few exceptions, most building work is done subtly and with fore-planning.

And getting aggressive makes no friends for anyone

drewcole81

Mike,

I agree with what you wrote. It IS up to everyone who uses the common to keep it 'alive' and new.

Although some of the 'building' there has sometimes been in places that seem like no thought has been put into it, like the pit that was dug (now has been filled back in i might add) on the landing of the canyons. Which no matter how you look at it is just stupid.

I agree that you should run the trails first before going into it at any pace, sometimes you just expect things to be pretty much the same for the day before when you were riding.

There will always be problems over there and as long as we all work together we should be able to keep the places running along well. There is no need for getting aggressive at all.

I by no means am a hard core rider or and don't really do allot of jumping, more of the single track is my kind of thing, Danbury has got better and better for this over the years.

Hope to see you over there one day.

Drew.

lawl

So who here rides danbury still?

VWsurfbum

lawl wrote:

So who here rides danbury still?

yep. actually moving there next month (depending on solicitors etc)

drewcole81

Perhaps an organised meet over there with some riders form here could be good.

Ro5ey

I would jump at the chance of riding Danbury with a local who knows it well.

I hear, there is more to ride but that it's quite spread compaired to Thorndon (my local area)

VWsurfbum

drewcole81 wrote:

Perhaps an organised meet over there with some riders form here could be good.

good plan.
its all a bit spread out now in regards to where your allowed to ride.

danbury will seem lke heaven compared to thorndon LOL (also one of my local rides)

lawl

I know it very well, some brill trails/mini downhill if you will !

Im down there sunday from about 12pm if anyone fancys it...

Im on a white giant brass 1 with Marz 4x forks and a white 661 helmet, cant miss me.