Re: greenlaning in wales
 

I mainly asked in the hope that it was on private land with permission.

Thats ok then :rolleyes:

I wont waste my breath trying to explain why thats a dumb attitude.

Re: greenlaning in wales
 

Yeah you'd probably do well to keep your mouth shut about that on public forum

Re: greenlaning in wales
 

I'm not going to be too judgemental about it, because I can't say that I didn't do much worse when I was his age. I didn't have much respect for the law in my teens and early twenties. Motoring offences only became a crime when you got caught.

Nowadays I prefer to stay legal, partially because nowadays the authorities are much less tolerant, so you can't look at a copper with big puppy eyes and get let off with a bollocking, a lecture and a quiet word with your Dad as used to happen to me. And because unless we stay legal, and respect the countryside, the landowners, and other users such as walkers, horse riders, etc, we are going to be legislated against until legal green laning with a motor vehicle no longer exists.

The saving grace for Barwel is that he was on a registered and taxed quad, so to other users of those trails he would have looked like a legal green laner, even though he doesn't actually have the correct paperwork.

Re: greenlaning in wales
 

A couple of reasons why I've not got into greenlaning before now is because of not having the right bike but also lack of local places to do it legally. With my job I cant really afford to be getting pulled by the fuzz (it hurts) so i'm going to make sure my bike is legit and I know for a fact the route im on im allowed to be there

A little offputting for me is the attitude of walkers (I can appreciate they came to the countryside for peace and quiet and fresh air - not the rasp and smell of a 2 stroke :p) but even on legal trails they still have a go at bikers for 'destroying' the place :rolleyes: I know because my uncle is 1 such wazzock. Throw in arsey farmers locking gates across legal paths and then stories like this 1 locally

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage...cle1452535.ece

and up until now I've stuck with the prejudices I get against for me being a road rider. Less hassle!

Re: greenlaning in wales
 

:winner:

Re: greenlaning in wales
 

There's not much you can do with walkers as there are so many of them. Just slow down, lift your visor and give a gracious nod and wave as pass with a wide berth. If you encounter them when stopped, chat and be friendly. The more they realise that the bike was actually ridden by a nice bloke not a hooligan, the less strongly they object. If you get any remarks or questions, just show them the map and explain nicely the difference between a byway, a bridleway and a footpath, explaining that if they want to avoid vehicles, they'd be best to avoid byways. There are many more footpaths and bridleways available to them, than there are byways available to vehicles. A lot of the objections come through ignorance, they see a motor vehicle on a muddy track and assume though ignorance that it's illegal. They don't see it very often, therefore they think it shouldn't be there. Walkers like byways because they are wide and often with a lesser gradient, but then because they want to walk them they don't like them getting all torn up and muddy.

With horses I always stop and kill the engine until they have passed, and have a chat if the rider stops as well. Most horse riders like that and go home with an improved perception of trail riders. They are not as bad as walkers because they can't use footpaths, so they have to understand rights of way and where they are, and they are more inclined to see that you are doing exactly the same as them, but you are using a metal horse with an engine. Understandably, they don't like loud exhausts and fast bikes scaring the horses.

Farmers I have little sympathy for if you stick to public rights of way. They know where these rights of way are and they know who is allowed to use them, but they still lock gates and create obstructions. Tractors actually do a lot more damage to these routes than motorbikes or 4x4. I'd understand if a gate was locked when there are livestock in the field, as I would rarely cross a field with livestock in, unless they were gathered on the opposite side of the field. I don't think many hooligans go to the countryside to ride around ripping up crops and scaring animals. It's just a case of "Gerrof my land" with most of them. By and large in Northants though I've found farmers to be quite friendly and wave. If I do come across an farmer who seems upset just by my being there, I'll lift my visor or take my helmet off and engage them in conversation, it tends to take the tension out of the situation. Sometimes you have no chance to let them see there's a human being on the bike, like the one who threw a metal footpump at Specialone in Shropshire.

The more people realise that we are just out there enjoying the countryside the same as them, and actually we are not doing anybody any harm, the better.

Re: greenlaning in wales
 

That just about sums it up. Sounds like you've got the right approach though Ralph. I plan on smiling politely and explaining what i'm doing is no more illegal than them being allowed out with that face :) like to think i'm a patient man but if someone threw that at me they'd be getting it shoved up their **** as payback :o

Are you a member of the TRF? If so would you recommend joining?

Re: greenlaning in wales
 

You cant win though it pays to continually try.
My group came across a lady with a sprained ankle on a remote lane, offered assistance but she declined. When they returned some time later she was still there, but now in pain. They could not move her, so called the emergency services, and to cut a long story short RV'd with the helicopter, and carried her into it. Without them she would have been there all night with no phone, unsuitable clothes, probably until discovered.
Guess what, she reckons her injury was due to the ruts from motorcycles. Grrr.

Re: greenlaning in wales
 

Wish I'd realised at the time cos I may have done something similar.

Re: greenlaning in wales
 

](*,) people like that should be seen and not heard. And when I say seen, preferably through the scope of a sniper rifle