Where do you race - In and around Manchester ?

PB Forum :: United Kingdom
Where do you race - In and around Manchester ?
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flag GMPPolice
Posted: Jan 26, 2012 at 11:21 Quote
Hello,

In the area where I work, we have a number of riders which use private land and create their own tracks for downhill racing. The only problem with this, is that the land is owned by somebody and ultimately by riding through it and digging up the floor/cutting down trees, it is criminal damage.

Do members on this forum generally approach land owners before riding on their land or take the risk and just use it anyway ?

How do you find the Police's attitude towards you and the tracks which are built ?

If the Police spoke to a landowner and it was agreed you were allowed to use their land, would you ?. It could also be an opportunity to bring other members of the community into the sport.

I understand that DH Biking/Racing is a hobby that most users on this forum take seriously and I have to agree, from a Neighbourhood Policing perspective it's a good idea (as long as the land owners agree). It keeps people out of trouble and I'd certainly prefer it to hanging around the streets or causing trouble and spending your money on alcohol any day.

Regards,

Lee
flag seanbailey
Posted: Jan 26, 2012 at 12:19 Quote
Are you fake or are you actually Greater Manchester police ?
flag GMPPolice
Posted: Jan 26, 2012 at 12:21 Quote
Yes I work for GMP and have already been verified by a moderator.
flag seanbailey
Posted: Jan 26, 2012 at 12:23 Quote
arrrr ok mate just checking why are you on pink bike anyways ?
flag GMPPolice
Posted: Jan 26, 2012 at 12:25 Quote
We have a group of DH bikers in the area I work, which recently became a problem as they were using land without the permission of the landowner, in turn causing damage to the land.

I'm looking for view and ideas of this community with the possibility of looking to help the local community by approaching landowners who may be willing to have bikers use their land for DH biking within Salford/GMP.

At the moment i'm just doing a bit of digging to see what kind of places are good.
flag Brite
Posted: Jan 28, 2012 at 8:20 Quote
good to see my taxes are going towards some quality forum posts Jail
flag nitro66
Posted: Jan 28, 2012 at 14:16 Quote
give the guy a chance,
Its difficult to know wether most of the tracks we ride on are legal/illegal, most of the information is hearsay, my local track is rumoured to have at least 3 owners..nobody knows for real...so, I'd like to ride on 'legal' land but actually don't ever know and if there is someone willing to assist thats great....may even get the bonus of keeping trail wrecking crossers out!
flag GMPPolice
Posted: Jan 30, 2012 at 6:32 Quote
Brite,

I'm a Special Constable, I work for free as a Volunteer and I'm writing these posts out of Police time, your taxes don't pay my wage as I don't get one Big Grin

However if it improves the community and builds relationships between DH bikers and the police. Also allowing you to race somewhere without intimidation to either you or the landowners then I see no problem with offering my assistance. Cop
flag muckypup
Posted: Feb 16, 2012 at 5:28 Quote
Well done GMPSC for trying to do something posiitve instead of Ignorance and arrest.

If we don't have the land, we will find it! so if you are connecting people, places and what is allowed to happen you have my support.... and as you say its better than seeing the 'yout' getting arrested outside Spar on a saturday night.

Coincidentally I am on today to find a place to ride in the north west cos dont have the time to drive to AE forrest for some A line. I was hoping to find a section on PB that would point out areas of trails/ jumps/ pumps etc I could (Legally) ride before I resort to a spade - It doesn't have to be yr fave secret spot just a nice Freeride trail

If you could pursuade PB to set up a page to address this issue and managed the input from MTB'ers it would deff be usefull for GMP to promote and sponsor. Collaboration with the community/ If you build it, we will come! or something equally cheese on toast Wink

Good luck Groms
flag Jayracer
Posted: Mar 5, 2012 at 15:05 Quote
there should be more genral downhill and bike parks like lee quarry
flag muckypup
Posted: Mar 6, 2012 at 5:10 Quote
Good shout Jay.

I've only been up once and it was so cloudy and raining at the top that I apparently missed the downhill bit altogether
Facepalm

Someone mentioned south Manc or poss Cheshire there is something decent but can find anything on the net
flag Jayracer
Posted: Mar 6, 2012 at 9:12 Quote
Yeah delamere forest in Cheshire but yeah like u said lee quarry is quite exposed to the elements. There should be some more decent trails then we wouldn't go on privet land
flag muckypup
Posted: Mar 6, 2012 at 12:10 Quote
There is a whisper of someone building a proper DH in bury. No details yet....Wink
flag Brite
Posted: Mar 7, 2012 at 15:04 Quote
muckypup wrote:
There is a whisper of someone building a proper DH in bury. No details yet....Wink
*cough* give *cough*
flag robert-loughlin
FL
Posted: Mar 9, 2012 at 9:45 Quote
Possibly slightly off topic - I live in Central Manchester and unfortunately don't have access to a car so getting out to places like Lee Quarry is a bit tricky although Delamere is quite accessible by train.

I don't ride much downhill as there aren't many hills in central Manchester! I do have a DH bike but it's looking a bit sorry for itself at the lack of use at the moment.

For riding kicks I ride my hardtail jump bike around 99% of the time but find that the council spots are not very well maintained at all (Hulme Jumps anyone?), the council skateparks have been built by people who don't ride or skate so don't actually flow very well at all (apart from the one at Platt Fields) and the other places to ride (Platts BMX Track, the new BMX track in the Velodrome, Central skatepark) cost a fair bit to ride if you go any more often than once a week (not to mention the hoops you have to jump through getting accredited to ride the new indoor BMX track!).

I think something like the Hulme Jump Spot that was properly maintained and not located somewhere that meant people were always worried about being mugged for their bike would be a great thing in Manchester. Perhaps extending the BMX track in Platt Fields to include a smaller pump track and some trails style jumps instead of just the track would be good and would probably encourage more use of the place assuming the price didn't rise with the addition of new features. I also think it'd encourage cycling with the younger generation too as the park is used by loads of people all of the time so there may be some scope to run a development of the track alongside some government cycling initiative or something.

Coming to Manchester from North Wales where illegal trail building is rife, I think the trouble with trying to shut down trails built illegally on private land is that as soon as you shut one spot down then another one will pop up somewhere or the site will just be re-built a few weeks later. Yes it's very dis-heartening having a spot you've built torn down but it's the risk you always run building on private land with no permission. Also, whilst I know ignorance is no defence, a lot of the younger people who ride genuinely don't understand land/park ownership laws and will build until they're told not to or jumps are taken down anyway.

I don't think there's a shortage of places to ride in Manchester City centre, I just think there's a shortage of either good or well maintained places to ride and if there were more provisions made for such facilities run by people who understand mountain bikers then there would be less of a problem with the illegally built trails on private land.

Not sure if any of that helps you at all, feel free to email me on here if you want any further info/opinions.

Cheers.
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