To think these dog walkers are bonkers.

[QuebecBagnet]

So at the weekend me and a mate went mountain biking in a local wood. The wood is totally private property and owned by the local cycle shop. No public right of way at all. There is a sign by the entrance saying “bike trail”. You used to have to be a member of the shop’s cycling club to use it but think they’ve stopped that now (I’m a member anyway).

it’s a proper mountain bike track, single track, twisty through the trees, loads of jumps and berms. It’s admittedly not very well used and I’m often the only person there when I go.

we came across two different groups of dog walkers on the path. First one a solo woman with an off lead dog. The second lot a group of 5-6 people with 5-6 off lead dogs. Dogs were running infront of the people (out of their sight) and I nearly flattened them as I came round a bend. First dog was growling and snarling and baring it’s teeth at me. We obviously stopped until the owners came running and put them on leads. They were apologetic about the dogs

I Politely pointed out it’s not a public right of way and they just sort of shrugged and said it’s a nice walk and that maybe we should go slower! They seemed so adamant that it was ok them being there that I came home and checked the OS map and definitely no right of way. No where near a right of way.

Why would they walk on a single track mountain bike trail? It’s dangerous for me as well as them!

How do you know they haven’t also got permission from the owner to be there?

They are silly. Recipe for dogs and people getter hurt.

Firstly because I think if so they’d have said. Secondly because I stopped at the shop and asked afterwards and they said people shouldn’t be walking there but they know people do and they’re struggling to stop it.

"Bike trail" and "private property " are not remotely the same thing. There are lots of single tracks twisting through trees that aren't the property of anyone. Why should they know they are on private property instead of public land. Bearing in mind the number of times cyclists have nearly hit me on public pavements, it seems these things aren't always clear...

It is 100% private property. It’s a private wood. The owners of the wood also own the bike shop. They built a bike trail in their wood and allow people to cycle on the trail. People shouldn’t go into woods, fields, etc unless there’s a public footpath sign surely?

and yes, people complain (rightly) about nearly getting hit by cyclists on pavements so here I am trying to avoid pedestrians, cars, shared use paths, etc and still can’t get away from pedestrians.

They technically shouldn’t be there but it’s still up to you not to hurt them by riding your bike dangerously fast into them or their dogs-that would probably be a criminal offence whereas trespassing isn’t. So maybe their advice to go slower and watch out for people wasn’t too far off the mark-surely you could have hit another bike anyway if you were going that fast?
also it sounds odd that you’re allowed to go on the land if you’re a member of the public that has a bike but not if you don’t have a bike-surely it’s either private land that no one can use without express permission or it’s not.

And I’ve never come across a single track which doesn’t belong to someone. All land belongs to someone even if it’s more “general public access” such as forestry commission land. It still belongs to someone even if it’s just the forestry commission.

I’ve got permission to be there. I’m in the cycling club which is allowed to use it. The cycle track is one way so hitting another cyclist isn’t an issue, the walkers were going the wrong way round as well. You have to be doing a minimum speed to make the jumps and take off! Honestly it would be like me cycling round Silverstone and complaining the cars are going too quick!

Cyclists near me love to off-road in our local woods, clearly marked 'no bikes'. Perhaps the dog walkers are fed up with being pushed out of their own area...

YANBU to think they’re bonkers and, as you say, you’re indulging your need for speed away from the possibility of hurting the public.

The bike shop are potentially unreasonable for not putting up massive signs that warn about the bikes. Because people are stupid and they need to cover their arses. I used to spend a lot of time dealing with people opening my gate to park “because when I was a kid we used to park here to fish”

IS THE MASSIVE GATE AND SIGN AND THE DOGS NOT ENOUGH? DOES IT LOOK LIKE A CAR PARK? 😂

Thick and entitled. If its clearly private land and marked out as a bike trail then they have no business being there. Would they walk there dogs around a skate park and complain about people going to fast there as well. How about a road, are cars in the way too.
The cycle shop need to put up signs to say bikes only.

I fear land owners are setting themselves up for liability claims if they don't put up huge signs saying private property.

I knew with all the anti cycling feeling on MN that somehow this would still be the cyclists fault. 😂. So predictable.

Private land without a footpath is private land where nobody should be without the permission of the landowner (unless it's open access land of some sort).

If OP had permission to be there, and the dog walkers did not, the dog walkers were out of order. As a dog owner, I can see why they might go there - it's always good to find a new place to walk the dogs - but a bike trail isn't a good option, it's too dangerous for the dogs and could also cause injury to a cyclist. Since I bloody hate cyclists who cycle in our local public open space (no bikes allowed) I can entirely see why OP would be pissed off at dogs loose in a private use designated for cyclists.

I’m definitely going to chat to the shop again tomorrow and ask about signs being put up making it clearer that it’s private and not for dog walking.

I suspect that most people on here down understand downhill and xc mountain biking which requires bikers to go hard and fast to make the jumps. If you don’t; you will suffer. I’m a dog Walker and the dog walkers should not have been there.
could you suggest to the shop to lock the trail with perhaps a key code on a padlock for those with right of entry?

Lampyshady · Today 21:29

They technically shouldn’t be there but it’s still up to you not to hurt them by riding your bike dangerously fast into them or their dogs

Check out some clips on Instagram or You Tube to see why MTB riders go "dangerously" fast and you might understand why the OP is annoyed.

There's a forest where we go walking quite often, and just off the main footpath there's a sign which says 'bike trail, no pedestrians', with a visual cue of a person walking crossed out, for those who STILL don't understand. Yet despite this people continue to wander onto what is basically a dirt track, because miles and miles of wonderful footpaths with varying levels of difficulty are clearly not enough for them. We hear quite a bit of yelling from the depths of the forest!

YANBU. But even if the signs are made clearer, entitled people will still think it's ok to ramble about wherever they choose. As for anyone thinking you should slow down and watch out for pedestrians WHO SHOULDN'T BE THERE, words fail me!

YA definitely NBU.

I'm amazed at pp suggesting you were going too fast - when you were on private land used exclusively for off-road cycling and a one-way system too.

Of course the dog walkers were wrong but people always get defensive when challenged. Nobody can seem to accept that they're in the wrong and just apologise any more.

Hopefully it was all bravado and the near-miss will encourage them to walk elsewhere now.

YANBU

People are stupid and entitled.

YANBU, people see a wooded area and just assume they’re allowed to walk in it. I lived in the countryside and have heard loads of (and have a few of my own) stories of people almost being killed, causing harm to livestock and generally bing CFs.

We walk regularly in a public wood, where there are adjoining areas of wood that are very clearly marked Private Property. Even though there are trails that lead into those areas I wouldn't dream of walking in those adjoining areas, because it's not public property! It's not hard to understand.

So, the dog walkers were completely in the wrong and put you in danger of having a nasty accident. Perhaps the signage needs to be clearer that there's no public access and that mountain bikers may be at high speed on the trails.

YANBU but someone on here once argued that instead of dogs being on leads, farmers should keep cattle out of their own fields in case they hurt off-lead dogs using the footpaths. Some people are bonkers, and also a bit clueless about where dog food comes from.

Maybe they should put some more signs up saying this wood is for biking only, no walkers or dog walkers allowed. X

Crazy. Reminds me of the angry picnic man demanding the combine harvester stop combining because his picnic was getting crop dust in it! 🙈