Swinley Forest - a warning......
Discussion
I live locally to Swinley Forest and have recently been hearing tail of the trails being boob-traped by some cycle hating nutter - didn't pay much attention as this is the sort of thing local legends are made of......
However, my sister was over Swinley last weekend with her kids and some friends when they heard someone crying for help - on investigation they found a MTB-er in the undergrowth having hit something maliciously placed on a fast section of one of the trails (rock or big chunk of tree).
Just chatting to a mate and one of his cycling buddies is off the bike at the moment having crashed in the corckscrew after some nutter dug a step into the drop-in - currently nursing a number of broken bones and won't be back on the bike until at least February.
If you are cycling Swinners, especially at night, take extra care.....
However, my sister was over Swinley last weekend with her kids and some friends when they heard someone crying for help - on investigation they found a MTB-er in the undergrowth having hit something maliciously placed on a fast section of one of the trails (rock or big chunk of tree).
Just chatting to a mate and one of his cycling buddies is off the bike at the moment having crashed in the corckscrew after some nutter dug a step into the drop-in - currently nursing a number of broken bones and won't be back on the bike until at least February.
If you are cycling Swinners, especially at night, take extra care.....
Hmmm. Noticed similar stuff in Hawley Woods too. "Forest operations" this year have meant a lot of small trees being thinned out, with lots left stacked in the woods. 4 to 6 inch diameter logs about 6 feet or so long keep 'appearing' on the various woodland sections, quite often at diagonals to the path. If you don't see them in time, the diagonal 'hit' sends your front wheel off the trail and you over the bars.
Again, some of it might be kids putting logs out to 'jump' over, but some of them appear to be deliberate attempts to unseat riders, and it's downright dangerous. Doing that kind of thing in somewhere like Hawley is one thing - there are no official 'trails' as such, but to do it at Swinley, where segregation of walkers from cyclists has been achieved for everyone's safety is just mental. I can only imagine if the 'perp' was discovered "in the act" there might be a fair bit of 'instant justice' handed down. No matter what the rights or wrongs of the built trails, or your opinion of those who use them, this could be viewed as attempted murder if it were to go too far.
Funnily enough I haven't heard any rumours of MTBers digging pits of spikes to trap dog walkers deep in the woods. It takes a certain level of savagery to do this kind of thing to potentially damage another human being. Warning duly noted.
Again, some of it might be kids putting logs out to 'jump' over, but some of them appear to be deliberate attempts to unseat riders, and it's downright dangerous. Doing that kind of thing in somewhere like Hawley is one thing - there are no official 'trails' as such, but to do it at Swinley, where segregation of walkers from cyclists has been achieved for everyone's safety is just mental. I can only imagine if the 'perp' was discovered "in the act" there might be a fair bit of 'instant justice' handed down. No matter what the rights or wrongs of the built trails, or your opinion of those who use them, this could be viewed as attempted murder if it were to go too far.
Funnily enough I haven't heard any rumours of MTBers digging pits of spikes to trap dog walkers deep in the woods. It takes a certain level of savagery to do this kind of thing to potentially damage another human being. Warning duly noted.
I'll keep my eyes peeled
There was something about this on the facebook group the other day. They actually caught the guy who was doing this red handed. He was an old fella and was puttting logs etc on blind corners.
I don' think it was reported but they did get a picture of the guy who was doing it.
If I can find the link later I will post it up here.
I don' think it was reported but they did get a picture of the guy who was doing it.
If I can find the link later I will post it up here.
I used to cycle on the south downs near Friston Forrest when I were a lad and we used to get a lot of this.
Usually militant ramblers. I came down a fast trial that we used to frequently ride down to turn a corner and find someone had put a log across the path. I went arse over bracket into a bush. f
king hurt.
Usually militant ramblers. I came down a fast trial that we used to frequently ride down to turn a corner and find someone had put a log across the path. I went arse over bracket into a bush. f
king hurt.A year or so ago, at my local woods ride we saw a woman with a dog pulling logs out of the wood and across the path (bridleway). We asked what she was doing, and she looked a bit sheepish, and said "trying to slow the bikers down, they go 'so fast' you see". I said, ok, lets see if that has worked, cycled 10m up the path, turned around (endo turn) pedaled back and bunny hopped the two logs she'd put across the track, stopped and said "think you might have to try harder than that" and just cycled off laughing! Made my day that did.... ;-)
Corkscrew is over towards Crowthorne. Not part of Swinley forest officially but often included in loops
http://app.strava.com/segments/explore#location/Wo...
http://app.strava.com/segments/explore#location/Wo...
shouldbworking said:
Some people are just evil.
Can I add stupid to that as well?There is bad blood between the local dog walkers and my archery club. The dog walkers don't see why they can't walk their dogs in our woods despite it being private owned, and no right of way, even permissive routes. Errrrr its a live fire range with 24 / 7 access might be a damn good reason!
Mr Bishi said:
There was something about this on the facebook group the other day. They actually caught the guy who was doing this red handed. He was an old fella and was puttting logs etc on blind corners.
I don' think it was reported but they did get a picture of the guy who was doing it.
If I can find the link later I will post it up here.
Needs to be reported to the police, it's like putting tank traps after a corner on the road. Until my back injury I was night riding there on a regular basis, those trails are designed to be high speed so that kind of sabotage could result in some nasty injuries.I don' think it was reported but they did get a picture of the guy who was doing it.
If I can find the link later I will post it up here.
I rode Red today, starting and finishing at post number 7 (or possibly 8? - Devil's Highway entrance to Swinley).
I saw no obvious sabotage, but some sections are in a right state. And what is it with folk making their own shortcuts?
I hit a stump today and hurt my knee, because some fktards have been riding STRAIGHT THROUGH a section of Tank Traps. Surely the whole point of that section is the 'swooping' up and down the sides? When I looked back I could see someone had taped off that particular short cut, but the tape had been snapped and still they cut the corner.
The reason I was caught out is that I'm not a regular rider up there, and the muddy, well used line was the 'wrong' line. I was heading for the short cut initially, so perhaps it was unwise to try to adjust to the proper line partway through? Many of these shortcuts are on simple corners too, it's not as if they are avoiding 'challenging' sections, just bloody lazy/trying to cheat at Strava. FFS you idiots, ride the trail AS IT WAS INTENDED or don't ride the trail at all. You are spoiling it for others. And quit with 'digging' those bloody braking holes too. There's no need, and it wrecks the trail.
I saw no obvious sabotage, but some sections are in a right state. And what is it with folk making their own shortcuts?
I hit a stump today and hurt my knee, because some f
ktards have been riding STRAIGHT THROUGH a section of Tank Traps. Surely the whole point of that section is the 'swooping' up and down the sides? When I looked back I could see someone had taped off that particular short cut, but the tape had been snapped and still they cut the corner. The reason I was caught out is that I'm not a regular rider up there, and the muddy, well used line was the 'wrong' line. I was heading for the short cut initially, so perhaps it was unwise to try to adjust to the proper line partway through? Many of these shortcuts are on simple corners too, it's not as if they are avoiding 'challenging' sections, just bloody lazy/trying to cheat at Strava. FFS you idiots, ride the trail AS IT WAS INTENDED or don't ride the trail at all. You are spoiling it for others. And quit with 'digging' those bloody braking holes too. There's no need, and it wrecks the trail.
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