Cradle Lane issue on Sunday mornings

[burls]

I think we all agree this group is bad news for us but what can we realistically do.

This. We won't stop them but they should be aware if they post evidence on the web, we will lose (in this case) Cradle Lane.

[Billy]

I think we all agree this group is bad news for us but what can we realistically do.

This. We won't stop them but they should be aware if they post evidence on the web, we will lose (in this case) Cradle Lane.

But that wont bother them cos they are quite happy to ride Bridleways anyway.

[farmerdave]

I think reaching out to them is a good plan, if that doesn't work maybe the Police would be interested in an infiltration volunteer? Catch them breaking enough laws and crush their bikes - would teach me a lesson!

"Infiltration " you are joking right?, Illigal riding will always go on,as Billy says the more legal lanes and legal tracks that are closed then the more illegal riding there will be, period. Guys be serious , do you think reaching out to them will really work? I mean good luck if it does. Speeding has always been against the law and I bet 99.99% of us regularly do it,and imagine next time you do then stop at some lights and some guy or other pulls up next to you and tries to reach out and tell you to drive more responsibly ,what will you do ? Say ok friend thank you for pointing out the errors of my ways I will change my ways. Or as a fully grown up tax paying member of society with your own morals and rules (to a point) tell him or her to go forth and fornicate with them selves. We are not the Police ,they hopefully will use 95% of their overstretched recourses catching proper criminals, and have no power to educate other grown ups, and IMO would cement the general view of non TRF members of said TRF members as old womenAnd clickey busy bodies? Over a pint if you chat with a bloke and find out he rides illegally all the time then gently have a word. Just my opinion

[Howsono]

Ok. Just thunking. I'm new remember.

[filthyflogger175]

Who is organising these large group's,who is riding with these large group's,someone know's something about this.The group size is intimidating to some people,as well as the speed.As usual,a minority will piss people off and ruin it for the majority.

[stevent]

I think reaching out to them is a good plan, if that doesn't work maybe the Police would be interested in an infiltration volunteer? Catch them breaking enough laws and crush their bikes - would teach me a lesson!

"Infiltration " you are joking right?, Illigal riding will always go on,as Billy says the more legal lanes and legal tracks that are closed then the more illegal riding there will be, period. Guys be serious , do you think reaching out to them will really work? I mean good luck if it does. Speeding has always been against the law and I bet 99.99% of us regularly do it,and imagine next time you do then stop at some lights and some guy or other pulls up next to you and tries to reach out and tell you to drive more responsibly ,what will you do ? Say ok friend thank you for pointing out the errors of my ways I will change my ways. Or as a fully grown up tax paying member of society with your own morals and rules (to a point) tell him or her to go forth and fornicate with them selves. We are not the Police ,they hopefully will use 95% of their overstretched recourses catching proper criminals, and have no power to educate other grown ups, and IMO would cement the general view of non TRF members of said TRF members as old womenAnd clickey busy bodies? Over a pint if you chat with a bloke and find out he rides illegally all the time then gently have a word. Just my opinion

Well yes "reaching out" sounds very Surrey bourgeois, but a friendly "chat" might do to job, as Steve said, they may just not realise, might lead to them calming it down a bit, and going out in smaller groups. Also out of 22 guys, there might be some decent guys in their midst, who just want to ride trails, and who just happened on their group. Having a go at getting in touch and talking is better than doing zip all.

[Billy]

So you are gonna stop a group of 22 riders and point out, in a friendly manner, the error of their ways.................Good luck with that.

[Billy]

And if you happen across a large group of Ramblers walking down a Byway perhaps you could point out that they shouldn`t be walking down the middle of a public road.

[farmerdave]

So you are gonna stop a group of 22 riders and point out, in a friendly manner, the error of their ways.................Good luck with that.

Quite!

[stevent]

So you are gonna stop a group of 22 riders and point out, in a friendly manner, the error of their ways.................Good luck with that.

Quite!

Well, I know this is thinking out of the box, but an email might work

[steve sharp]

An email or message to their leader is worth trying..

[stevent]

I've just had a 40 minute conversation with the guy who shot that video. He sounded a very decent guy to me. He is contrite, and admits that what happened shouldn't have happened and that it was a mistake. He explained that his group got mixed up with another group while out on that day, and that is why the group appeared to be so big; and then this other group said they'd show them some lanes and it ended up with them going down the bridleway, he stopped and said where the hell is this guy going, he knew it was not the right thing to do but admits he followed on. He said it was 3 minutes of video which he admits did not look good but does not represent him or his group. He wants to clear the name of his group, as the video did not represent who they really are. He is quite upset that its caused so much upset.

I said the damage it can do to our reputation as trail riders, and people get genuinely upset and scared, and he agreed and acknowledged this. He said he very much supports the TRF and the work the TRF do to keep lanes open. We talked about keeping a low profile when out on the lanes so that we don't get noticed. And keep the groups small, staggered starts etc. \He seemed a bit put off by previous experience of the TRF, I invited him along to our club night on Tuesday, and said we've got a great group, not a bunch of old gits and we have lots of good stuff going on like Steve's training and events and trips away and stuff. He said he will be telling the guys he takes out about the work TRF do to protect the lanes. He really appreciated the fact I made contact to discuss.