For instant hiker remove brain.

cj11

I know other people have moaned about walkers/ramblers on trails before but after this morning i need to rant..... I was on the downhill section of Haldon Forests red route and on target for new best time (personal). Came round a corner flat out and was met by a group of 8-10 hikers and was suddenly playing an unplanned game of people skittles. The result of this was three hikers on there arse and me eating tree...nice. In fairness to the somewhat stunned group they accepted full responsability as they had got lost and figuered they would follow the first track they found,not realising what it was. So now i look like i lost a fight with tyson and didn't beat that time. If god had meant us to walk in the woods he would not have given us the ability to ride.

cooldad

BOF point of view - However righteous you may feel, we still have to share the trails. Very few are marked clearly if you join them in the middle.
Whether riding or driving in public areas, you should be under enough control to stop if necessary.
BOF pt of view over.

stingmered

Hmmm, they were clearly in the wrong, yet they fully admitted it. Like the time about 4 weeks ago I was pinning it on my fav. trail to find a large tree down completely blocking the way and I got real REAL angry and didn't bother writing to Agony Aunt Radar.

Everyone makes mistakes, get over it I say.

camerauk

just one of those things really
lately have had a few near misses up there yesterday(on Challenge trail) I meet three mtb riders going wrong way up the trail they were only going slow and so was I so no problem but had it been someone like yourself travelling fast could have been bad :shock:
few days ago walkers with dogs all over the trail very close shave but I have to say I slowed down but would have run it over had it not moved rather than go off the track into tree's :twisted:

Anonymous

Got to agree with cooldad on this one.
If it wasn't a group of ramblers, it could have been another biker crashed, and mangled up on the trail.
Or an animal, or a fallen tree, or a large boulder, or... well, you get the picture.
Sh*t happens, the trails are not guaranteed to be clear.

ride_whenever

This is now the second time i'm agreeing with yeehaa... Something really isn't right, he's making sense :shock:

Anonymous

ride_whenever wrote:

This is now the second time i'm agreeing with yeehaa... Something really isn't right, he's making sense :shock:

You should pay closer attention on occasion then.

cj11

I get the point about obstructions and yes from now on will take it easy on trails when i dont have a clear view ahead. We live and learn i guess. always meet the unexpected on the challenge trail but due to the number of kids dogs walkers etc i ride very carefully round it and just enjoy the surroundings and the fact its nice to be out of the town.

Anonymous

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying to go slowly. I'm more than happy for you or anybody else to go tearing around. But, if (or when) something does go wrong, be prepared to at least partially accept the blame for it

cooldad

yeehaamcgee wrote:

Got to agree with cooldad on this one.
If it wasn't a group of ramblers, it could have been another biker crashed, and mangled up on the trail.
Or an animal, or a fallen tree, or a large boulder, or... well, you get the picture.
Sh*t happens, the trails are not guaranteed to be clear.

Agree with me? - you sadistic b*stard - I think you only said that to see if I'd have a stroke or something.

cooldad

Possibly bad choice of words.
I don't have a decent stroke in me, so change that to heart attack.

cj11

Sorry Yeehaa mis-understood you the first time. Im new to trail centre riding im lucky enough to live near a lot of open country and a reasonable but short downhill course so have never parted company from my bike due to people before only rocks trees and lack off skill (mostly the last one) i was reading a post on here the other day and a lot of comments were about hikers on trails so thought i would have a pop at them too

Anonymous

Well, you could go slowly, and avoid any incidents like that, but where's the fun in that?

j_l

with respect to cj11 he couldn't have been going that fast as the Haldon red route is very flat and just a bit GAY

Herbie The Dog

cj11 wrote:

Sorry Yeehaa mis-understood you the first time. Im new to trail centre riding im lucky enough to live near a lot of open country and a reasonable but short downhill course so have never parted company from my bike due to people before only rocks trees and lack off skill (mostly the last one) i was reading a post on here the other day and a lot of comments were about hikers on trails so thought i would have a pop at them too

One thing to remember with Haldon is that it's not a trail centre. It's a family day out in the woods. There are loads of trails for hikers, bikers, walkers, kids etc and sometimes these criss-cross each other.

Add to this the fact that the trails are pretty badly marked in some places and it's no wonder you get bikers going the wrong way and hikers using what many people deem as MTB only trails.

Ride up there long enough and you'll soon realise that all the trails get used by all the aforementioned groups.

Anonymous

Like I said though, whether or not any other group uses the route, you might come across anything, like a crashed rider.

Herbie The Dog

yeehaamcgee wrote:

Like I said though, whether or not any other group uses the route, you might come across anything, like a crashed rider.

And that. Plus the deer that are often seen dancing along the trails.

Anonymous

Dancing deer? That's awesome!
All we get round this way is headbanging squirrels.

Radioactiveman

Inadvertently chased a badger down a rutted trail, surprisingly fast. Glad it ran for it I didnt fancy my chances if it stood its ground.

Big bugger as well

The Northern Monkey

Radioactiveman
was it a honey badger?

Herbie The Dog

yeehaamcgee wrote:

Dancing deer? That's awesome!
All we get round this way is headbanging squirrels.

The are awesome...sometimes it resembles the mosh pit at a Sisters of Mercy gig I went to in 1991 while others it's like watching a group of cloned Ola Jordans doing Strictly.

Badgers, deer, foxes...it's like Bill Oddie's wet dream up Haldon.

Thewaylander

To a point I'm with both sides.

If your going to fast to stop you have accept some responsability, But then if there on a marked trail its there responsability to know where they are have relevant maps and so on.
So i have little pitty for the the walkers to be fair in these situation, but any poor cyclist getting run down when he's crashed then thats a shame and you have to try and anticipate that as best you can.

See it at Cwm sometimes with walkers but i fgure there is risk in everything you do, you choose if you accept them or not. A walker who hasn't taken the time to plan his route and then goes wandering round a center with bike trails is taking a risk in my veiw and has to accept that.

If you can't go hell for leather whats the point of the bike only trails?

timpop

I live in Dorset now and regularly need to dodge deer on the trail; far more a hazard than people and rocks.
I sprouted in BC Canada so we were always wary of bears and cougars. I've had close encounters but all my limbs intact still. :shock:

Radioactiveman

The Northern Monkey wrote:

Radioactiveman
was it a honey badger?

I don't know it was going to fast to lick it, will try harder next time

mobilekat

Deer at Haldon, they are easy to miss, its the herd of bullocks they use to keep the grass short- not only are they quite firm to hit, they love to decorate the trail (squelch!!)

But its is a place where I have never gone and not met someone walking/going the wrong way!!

But the cafe does a really good Pasty and chips!

Miggins

CJ11, I can well understand your frustration. It always seems to me that when I'm on "the good bit" of a trail, there's a load of walkers which means I have to slow right down - really annoying! But it has to be remembered that they've got a right to be there too. I realise that in your case you were on a MTB trail, but as was shown and the others have pointed out, we've got to bear in mind that there might be something unexpected lurking round the corner. I can understand your rant, just as long as you keep it on the forum/amongst mates and don't rant off to the walkers

I'm pleased to read so many sensible responses to this thread. I've come across one or two MTBers in the past that seem to think that they've got right of way at all times. That gave me the impression that it could be the view of the majority but the comments above don't reflect that. It comes down to decency and manners at the end of the day; be polite and considerate as the last thing we need to is give any group using the countryside an excuse to ban us from doing what we love.