Illegal use of ROW

Regardless of the status of the RoW I would suggest that there were quite simply too many bikes travelling together. When walking I have no problem whatsoever with people in vehicles or on bikes as long as they travel in small groups or solo in order to reduce their impact on other users. To have to avoid at least seven oncoming bikes in rapid on a route such as that is not acceptable IMHO.

Rubbish! Surely it's far easier to 'avoid' seven bikes travelling together in a group than 7 solo bikers travelling seperately and passing you at random intervals?

On or around Mon, 20 Nov 2006 19:48:08 -0000, "Darren Griffin - PocketGPSWorld.Com" enlightened us thusly:

I dunno, I did think there were rather a bunch of them, mind, they got bunched up by mountain-bike-man. 7 or so 4wds in a convoy are definitely too many in a bunch; bikes are smaller but seem to make up for it by being more obvious. In this case they did seem to be motoring on a bit, too, unless that was an artifact of the filming. OK, in the bit I saw there wasn't anyone walking or riding a horse or such, but I hope they slow down and pootle past walkers etc., and if they meet an oncoming horse I'd expect them at least to stop, and maybe shut off engines if necessary, if the horse looked like it was upset.

If they blatt past anyone at significant clip then they're being tossers - if you want to hammer around flat out off-road, then as with 4WDs and mudplugging, go to a dedicated site for the purpose.

I was out taking photos in a forest once, which is what I originally bought the landy for (quite a lot of gear), two walkers in one direction, a lone motorcyclist on a pretty quiet bike (relatively speaking) in the other. Motorcyclist slowed down to a mild jogging pace well before the walkers but they were still furiously motioning him to slow down. "I have slowed down!" sayeth he. "I think it should be BANNED" the eejits said to me. I gave them a bit of an earful about a "just and tolerant society" and something about bigotry and sticking to footpaths in the future. The lane itself was wide with a firm, stony surface.

While I do agree that in my experience, bikers are far more likely to be a pain in the arse, it's hard to please the antis without pouring petrol over yourself and striking a match. Legions of moderates can't compete with the rantings of those who just see what they want, e.g. 2-foot deep ruts between two fields being blamed on 4x4 users.

You mean like on the M1? It's still a right of way; and do they know each other?; and do you stop and wait for the not unusual forty-odd red sock brigade whilst they wend their way past; I do, but then I try not to annoy them anyway but some still have a moan.

Martin

bikes are smaller but seem to make up for it by being

Is there ever a need for 7 mates on bikes on in 4x4s to complete the same lane on the same day?

The aparrent need to travel in convoy leaves me wondering what the real motivation for being there in the first place.

Just practising being Ramblers on wheels!

The real joke about all this damaging of unmade roads is that long before the advent of the motor vehicle back in the days before macadamisation, the roads were not some paradise for pedestrians or any other road user for that matter, but were full of deep and impassible ruts. It is the way such roads are and always have been, there is no mythical past where the red socks and bobble hats could roam in arcadian innocence.

Well I had a video on when I crashed into a hedge a couple of years back, I still had to pay for the hedge.

Ouch!

Sure but IIRC you got a decent poem out of it so all's well that ends well!

Get out of the way? At the first site of a large flock of chattering ramblers I usually run away and hide :)

Whether on foot, bike trail bike or 4X4 if you want to chat/muck about with your mates its best done without destroying the peace and tranquility of the countryside for others. Enjoy the peace and quiet alone or in a small group of the countryside and socialise in the pub IMHO.

Indeed, I often refer to highly publicised lanes like the Ridgeway as the equivalent of the M25 of old! Most of the lanes I drive I have to find the bleeding thing under all the vegetation.

By "vaseline" do you mean "rubbing compound"? Something as abrasive as their attitude would be appropriate.

(says the man suggesting the insertion of bicycles)

Exactly! A group of chattering ramblers is bad enough without the added disturbance of putting them on bikes ;)

Dunno, is there?

o Barbecue? o Search & Rescue? o A --> B (where A is some start point and B is the destination)? o Twitchers? o Thatchers? o Going to work? o Going to lunch? o Plane spotters? o Picnic?

Aside from idle curiosity, why would the motivation of any other traveller be subject to question?

FFS, is there a need to justify any (perfectly legal) journey to anyone except oneself?

Where are you going sonny? Where have you been? Is that your vehicle? Do you know what the speed limit is?

There's the massed bobble-hats, waves of pathetic chatter, rivers of piss and the stench of Kendall Mint Cake, ban them all!

I usually go in a lone vehicle but it's a good idea to have someone with you if you need a tow through a particularly bad patch, most of the lanes I've travelled are not really within the range of a mobile.

I didn't know about Mastiles lane from Kilnsey to Malham tarn until I read an article in The Dalesman written by Sir Chris Bonnington complaining about the damage done to it by recreational 4x4s. It was a beautifully surfaced lane apart from about halfway along where a tractor from a nearby farm had really chewed it up into very deep tractor sized ruts and rather than get stuck with my non-aggressive 265x70x15 Bridgestones I turned round and never completed it. I met quite a few walkers and cyclists who were all friendly and whilst coming back down to Kilnsey I wondered who moved the 70 tons of rubbish left on Everest by the last expedition.

Martin

I get hacked off when my way is blocked by 10/15/20 walkers who seam to think that they heve right of way over me when I am on a road.Perhaobs they should walk in groups of 3/4 as well.