Cyclists!!

willhegofirst

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Not horsey, but, we live on a private single track lane that leads up to a public footpath, it is fairly steep and our front door is literally on the track, the tractor runs over our door mat when it goes up. The track is not on the OS maps as a public footpath, but it is used as such mostly by locals. We are on the side of a hill, over the summer and this week we have had mountain bikes coming off the hill and past our door at a rate of knots, a tradesman working here last Friday was really shocked at the speed the last guy went past. Two points really, 1, they really have no right to be riding on the track at all, and 2 the speed they go they are going to cause a nasty accident at some point, if we or our dogs go out the front door as they come past, or as there are two blind bends on the track they could hit a walker or a car, there are three houses on the track so cars etc use the track. So the question, who do we talk to to get them stopped or what can we legally do to slow these muppets down, we don't want to harm them, just get them to respect the fact we and our animals live here and they need to slow down.
Thanks
 

Clare85

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Could you try contacting local cycling clubs and asking them to pass on info to their members? Or put up some signage at each end of the track? Have you contacted the council? :)
 

Pebble101

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Is it wide enough to put a gate across. That's what the landowner did on our track and it slowed them down outside the houses (it wasn't done to slow the cyclists but to make it our houses more secure)
 

willhegofirst

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I think a gate wouldn't go down well with the house above us, the track does a hairpin bend to their house and the bikes don't go passed their house, or the farmer that uses the track, there is a cattle grid above us, his land starts there, we have thought of some sort of speed bump and signs warning of them, as it's an unadopted road I don't think the council would be interested.
 

willhegofirst

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A strand of wire at neck height should sort them

Just what my husband thinks is the right idea:p could make a bit of a mess though. They seem to have no concern for their own or anyone else safety, though it's is rather funny to watch them then struggle to ride back up the road hill which is 17 percent so on the steep side.
 

The Fuzzy Furry

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Pop a sign up: private track, traffic calming measures ahead.

Then sculpt a nice 3 inch high x 3inch wide speed bump (bit like the width of a small branch)
You might have to provide sticky plasters tho :D
 

neddy man

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if the track is fenced/walled ,lay a piece of 3x2 timber ,or a jump pole across the track at 4 ft(1.2mtr )high , easy for passing householders to move and replace, and nearly as effective as a strand of wire,but not illegal.Or a little lower to wreck the bike ,and the rider.Putting speed humps just encourages them as its more fun.
 

Flicker

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Wow! I know these posts are tongue in cheek, but I wonder how we'd feel if we came across a cycling forum whose members were advocating similar action against horse riders. 'A strand of wire at neck height' makes for uncomfortable reading.
 

madlady

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I've had a couple of run ins with local mountain bikers. We live at the end of an unadopted road which is actually the private road for our 4 houses. At the side of that road is a public footpath, the footpath then continues round the end of the row and up the side of our shared back garden.

It is a footpath but recently bikers have taken to coming through - which they shouldn't! A few nights ago I was on my way to the shop and was nearly mown down in my own back garden, when I mentioned (quite politely I thought) that it was actually a footpath I was met with a lot of abuse - I advised them that if that was how they felt about it that the next time I saw them I'd let the dog chase them. (I wouldn't) However the next day I contacted the council - they have been brilliant. They came out within a couple of days and put signs up to say footpath only no bikes and they have said that if it persists (which it is doing) then they will put either a stile or a kissing gate in with a high enough fence to deter them from just chucking bikes over.

OP I'd speak to your local council rights of way/footpath person so see where you stand. If it's private land then they are trespassing and you are within your rights to stop that :)
 

Merlod

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This thread makes me embarassed to be a rider! Do you really want to be responsible for breaking someones neck - whether you tamper with the track directly or this thread gives someone else the moronic idea to put their own wire, planks or speedbumps up! I share tracks with mountain bikers and I actually find them much more friendly and considerate than most horse riders!
 

Equi

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Wow! I know these posts are tongue in cheek, but I wonder how we'd feel if we came across a cycling forum whose members were advocating similar action against horse riders. 'A strand of wire at neck height' makes for uncomfortable reading.

I saw a post on FB of a horse rider who had got caught in a strand of wire at neck height, presumably put up by someone wanting to stop them or cyclists. Had he been going any faster than walk, he would have been killed.

On the cyclists thing, i have read a few of them, and car forums. The things they say about riders is vile. This is tame compared to it.
 

willhegofirst

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I think we will speak to the rights of way officer madlady, and also the farmer who owns the land above the cattle grid that the footpath is on, though he is fairly laid back as long as it's not hurting his livestock. Having the right to stop them and finding a way to stop them with out upsetting others is not so easy.
 

Auslander

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Wow! I know these posts are tongue in cheek, but I wonder how we'd feel if we came across a cycling forum whose members were advocating similar action against horse riders. 'A strand of wire at neck height' makes for uncomfortable reading.

This thread makes me embarassed to be a rider! Do you really want to be responsible for breaking someones neck - whether you tamper with the track directly or this thread gives someone else the moronic idea to put their own wire, planks or speedbumps up! I share tracks with mountain bikers and I actually find them much more friendly and considerate than most horse riders!

As the "moron" who posted "wire at neck height", I just wanted to make it absolutely clear that it was a joke. I misguidedly thought that it was blindingly obvious that I was just messing around!
 

willhegofirst

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As the "moron" who posted "wire at neck height", I just wanted to make it absolutely clear that it was a joke. I misguidedly thought that it was blindingly obvious that I was just messing around!

I think in reality we all knew this was a joke, the majority of "normal" people would not deliberately do something to injure, or put another persons life at risk.

Merlod, not sure what being a rider has to do with this at all.
 

ester

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I think in some ways it is more tricky if it isn't a footpath and needs vehicular access. Where does the rest of the track lead to?
 

willhegofirst

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The track come off the road, passed two houses neither of which are so close to the track as ours, round a couple of bends, passed our house, it goe on a little way to a cattle grid, at which point it is owned by the farmer, does a really sharp turn and along to the last house all uphill. The footpath in reality comes over the hill behind us and where it meets the track just above the cattle grid follows the track to the last house and through their land.
It is difficult, and has others have said if you can get them to stop you just get abuse, they just can't see what they are doing could cause an accident, if it involved a car they would come of worse.
 

ester

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On the basis that most people do circular routes, if you blocked off somehow/made pedestrians only where the 'footpath' (so no vehicles need to come through bit) comes on to the track that might work.
 

stilltrying

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Speaking as an avid mountain biker as well as horse rider, maybe just have a chat with them? Contrary to popular belief, not all cyclists are ********s! True they(we) aren't supposed to ride on footpaths...we are supposed to ride on bridle paths. If all mountain bikers stuck to the bridle paths, especially the downhill enthusiasts, those that ride horses would be in a whole world of trouble. If they arent part of club, they will probably still ride at regular times, but if you can't catch them in person maybe put a polite note on the gate they climb over?

I just dont understand why we can't have an access all areas, for riders, walkers and cyclists. I think it is very sad when you are out and about enjoying the countryside, and someone objects to that so much that they go to the effort of pulling logs out across the path to spoil your fun. Very sad indeed.
 

ironhorse

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Trouble is, stilltrying, these mountain bikers are behaving in a way that makes it impossible for the OP to live and let live, and regardless of access issues still shouldn't be on a private road and footpath.What would happen if riders suddenly decided to take to footpaths because of a shortage of bridlepaths? (there are a lot more footpaths than bridleways around us for certain)
But I know most are considerate - I used to be at a yard with a bridlepath running through it which was popular with cyclists and most of them were brilliant. I met a group of about a dozen one afternoon on a very green horse and they stopped so that I could move him off the track to have a look at them before riding off slowly.
 

Pebble101

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This thread makes me embarassed to be a rider! Do you really want to be responsible for breaking someones neck - whether you tamper with the track directly or this thread gives someone else the moronic idea to put their own wire, planks or speedbumps up! I share tracks with mountain bikers and I actually find them much more friendly and considerate than most horse riders!

I accept wire at neck height is not acceptable, I really cannot see a problem with speedbumps - councils obviously don't.

It is a private track after all and the cyclists shouldn't be using it. I always used to get so annoyed when people used one of our fields to walk their dog in as they 'weren't doing any harm'. I wondered how they would feel if I walked a dog in their garden.
 
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ester

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If they have to stop at the stile, then maybe a note on said stile saying it's nice to enjoy the countryside but please cycle carefully down the track due to free range and uncontrolled children/animals/boulders?

would mountain bikers just enjoy speed bumps too much? :p
 

stilltrying

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Trouble is, stilltrying, these mountain bikers are behaving in a way that makes it impossible for the OP to live and let live, and regardless of access issues still shouldn't be on a private road and footpath.What would happen if riders suddenly decided to take to footpaths because of a shortage of bridlepaths? (there are a lot more footpaths than bridleways around us for certain)
But I know most are considerate - I used to be at a yard with a bridlepath running through it which was popular with cyclists and most of them were brilliant. I met a group of about a dozen one afternoon on a very green horse and they stopped so that I could move him off the track to have a look at them before riding off slowly.

Agreed they shouldn't be there, but my point is, they SHOULD be on a bridle path. And as a horse rider, i'd rather they were on a footpath! Where i used to keep my horse there was a beautiful long canal path. Top section, wide and grassy, bottom section rutted with pot holes. Have a guess which was the footpath and which was the bridlepath. Yup, grassy bit for walkers, rubbish bit for riders. But because cyclists HAVE to use the bridle path, they put down some sort of hard tarmac type base right the way along, to make it a proper cycle path. So what happens now? Everyone walks on the bridlepath/cyclepath! And the footpath is left abandoned. So there i am, cycling along the cyclepath one sunny sunday morning, and some fat woman with a dog decides to have a go at me for cycling too fast...on a cyclepath! Well, i wont repeat what i said to her, but she got the shock of her life. I appear to have gone off on a tangent...but i can see both sides of this, and as a cyclist, yes we do trespass - we have to, in order to make the most of the beautiful countryside. But we are respectful with it.

OP - maybe a note on the style is the way forward? Or if its a popular route put some chairs out and offer to sell tea / cake, you'll make a fortune! : )
 

_GG_

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There is absolutely nothing wrong a little lighthearted humour, but I do worry that people know it's just humour and still decide to make something out of it/take it seriously??

Anyway...as for the problem, if they are mountain bikers, little obstacles won't stop them or slow them down...in fact, it'll probably make the track more challenging/amusing for them so I wouldn't bother doing that. I would be speaking to the agencies/authorities already mentioned and see what I could do about just closing the track off where they are accessing it.
 
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