Hacking Warning - Leicester people

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loopyloop

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After a highly eventful hack this am and a pretty close run in with 5 off roading motorbikes, just to let you all know some idiot has wrote into a 4x4 magazine and done a feature on how great our hacking areas around Willoughby, Ashby Magna, Peatling etc area is for off roading!

We narrowly escaped what could of been a nasty accident today after asking the guys to stop with plenty of notice and one guy bringing his bike up my mares behind while she was spooking at a freezer in the ditch, (granted he nearly ended up in the opposite ditch due to the lane not being very wide) he then decided to try again to fit threw the gap, havoc and abuse was the end result! To be fair the other four guys were very polite, patient etc which helped as wasn't convinced my mare was going to cope with the other four coming past after this!

But as the roads are dangerous enough I don't see what gives them the right to use our off road hacking, when they are actually breaking the law in first place!

Sorry to everyone this is irrelevent too, bit of a rant aswell as info!!!
 
Haha it did go threw my mind, but then realised he had a pretty good helmet on and due to being bigger than me he probably wouldn't of thought twice to pulling me off my mare!

One of the farmers has apparently got a police file logged on them, not that I'm going to hold any hopes of them ever doing anything about it but it's a start!
 
Were they on a bridleway or byway? if on the bridleway, you should have called the police! I would have done! If on a byway, they have the right to be on there, but should take every precaution to pass you safely. which obviously they didnt. If on private land, they should have permission, again I would call police, Store reg numbers in your phone if you can.

I'm from south Lecis, and met with lots of old fashioned mopeds yesterday, they were very good and stopped while I passed, my pony still freaked and spun around!
I will keep an eye on others using the bridleways tho.
 
Wonderful isn't it, bad enough the roads are full of idiot drivers noise and pollution, now they want the countryside and our bridleways as well, it's happening everywhere, pisses me off.
 
As well as the Police, you should let the Access Officer at the Local Authority know what is going on. I am not sure if access is handled at County or District level in Leics, but it would be worth a phone call to both with dates times etc.
 
You could try contacting www.bridleways.co.uk and see if they can do anything or at least point you in the right direction , Im sure the BHS are involved with bridlepaths as well , sounds like you had a right nightmare and lucky nothing serious happened , hope you report it and something gets done
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Depends exactly where you were whether they were breaking the law - Sadly a lot of the lanes round there are old cart tracks - so legally they are ROW for motor vehicles!
 
Are you talking about the meres in Willoughby Waterleys?

I ride around that area. I've been very lucky, I've only come into contact with one scrambler who was extremley polite. He spotted me first and turned his engine off & waited for me to come past.

Scramblers, Mountain bikers etc are well in their rights to use that network of tracks, which you dont mind if everyone is certious to each other.
There's always one that has to spoil it, it sounds like he was a total cock.
 
That is horrible! I also see a lot of off road motorbikes whilst riding and they have been known to go up the bridleways!
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I think something should be done as it is not safe for horses and riders and it is no wonder horses end up being scared of motorbikes!
 
eeek scary. I had a nasty encounter with some off road bikers in Ratby in Jan 07 - they were racing across a (bridlepath) field, had come to a stop in front of me but hadn't seen me, and they then slammed their feet on the throttles...me and the horse went zooming off in the other direction, it really scared me.
 
Thanks for all your replies!

I tried to get the guys reg plate but unfortunately we were just before the bend and he whipped of round it at great speed as my mare decided to go the other way (stupidly towards the other four guys!!!) Might just block the whole path next time, not like they couldnt see us in our high viz overload!!!

I'm not 100% on whether they def bridleways or byways or whatever, I was just going on what another rider told me, going to look into it this evening and contact the relevant people....(if any) Not bothered if they can legally be there or not, if so fair enough just concerned that if they are going to be there they do it safely! As the other four riders did, hopefully he was just an exception?!?

Yes Disco we were on the Meres, although not going round the block but straight down the track from Willoughby and out the other end. Other riders have since said they've seen them all over the area around us! I remember a few years back we had trouble and if I remember rightly and my source was correct the police managed to get rid of them?!?

Bex, that sounds extremely scary, if not very dangerous! Glad you were ok, even if you did disappear at great speed in the other direction! NOT FUN! My mare did that at two dogs (more so rats on stilts) the other day, turned round and went back and this woman was like are you coming by or not.....!!! i was like erm, trying!?!?
 
Those lanes are definately byways - sadly they've always been used by off roaders etc and with the houses being built at the Peatling Magna end it's now easier for them to access them.
I grew up in Willoughby and used to ride them. My mum still lives in the village and I sometimes go and stay with her (with horse) and enjoyed riding them again recently.

As previously said most of them are aware of other users but you always get one who has to spoil things.
 
Yeah, don't get me wrong the other four guys were brilliant, can't say a bad word about them, espec the poor bloke at the back that my mare whipped round on!

But it only takes that one idiot to cause a nasty accident and it's pretty annoying that he can get away with it!
 
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