The Guernsey Mountain Bike Association was granted a four-month trial last year from Environment & Infrastructure allowing cyclists with a permit to use routes in the area after dark, however after the trial ended last year an application to use the cliff paths again was turned down. <\/p>\n
A police spokesman said that in recent weeks they had received reports of cyclists using the area for trail riding.<\/p>\n
\u2018We\u2019d like to politely remind cyclists using the path to instead use locations where cycling is permitted,\u2019 he said. <\/p>\n
\u2018Mountain bikers using these paths are at risk of colliding with unsuspecting walkers. Uncontrolled access for mountain biking can also cause harm to wildlife and plants in these sensitive areas.\u2019<\/p>\n
The National Trust, who opposed the original trial, own a section of land in the area, however the majority is owned by La Societe Guernesiaise, private land owners and States of Guernsey.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
President Mike Brown said mountain biking on the paths was not only antisocial but potentially hazardous. <\/p>\n
\u2018Families with young children, older walkers and dog owners may find it difficult to move aside safely, creating an unnecessary risk of collisions or injury,\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n
\u2018At this time of year the natural environment is particularly vulnerable. New plant growth is emerging after winter dormancy, and ground-nesting birds will soon be returning to nearby areas.<\/p>\n
\u2018While they do not nest directly on the paths, fast-moving bikes can force pedestrians onto surrounding vegetation, increasing the likelihood of disturbance or habitat damage.\u2019<\/p>\n
He added that he would encourage anyone who encountered bikes on cliff paths to photograph them where it was safe to do so.<\/p>\n
\u2018This information can be passed on to us, so that the regulations designed to protect both people and wildlife can be properly upheld,\u2019 he said. <\/p>\n
Mr Brown said that the trust was still willing to talk to the GMBA to find a suitable location for mountain biking on NT land. <\/p>\n
\u2018If the GMBA could identify land that is not an area of biodiversity importance or a site of special significance, and does not have public footpaths \u2013 because we don\u2019t think bikes and pedestrians are compatible \u2013 we are still open to helping,\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n
However GMBA secretary Mark Smith felt the criteria ruled out any land owned by the trust and so was \u2018basically an empty offer\u2019.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018The data collected from members rides [during the trial] showed the majority of people who took up the trial stuck to the times and the speed limit with a couple of exceptions,\u2019 he said. \u2018This is actual data, not hearsay or made-up facts.<\/p>\n
\u2018How about engaging with the local mountain bike community who are willing to put in funding, volunteer hours and ongoing commitment to develop purpose-built trails in less sensitive land, rather than vilifying people who just want to enjoy being outdoors?\u2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Guernsey Mountain Bike Association was granted a four-month trial last year from Environment & Infrastructure allowing cyclists…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":444805,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[4985,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-444804","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-cycling","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/444804","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=444804"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/444804\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/444805"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=444804"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=444804"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=444804"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}