Conference noted::bicycle

    I admit that I do ride on footpaths occasionally. My list of dos and
    don'ts include:
    
    DO:
    	- Observe country code
    	- Ride with sensitivity to the environment.
    	- Greet other path users.
    	- Slow down when passing people, and dismount if there is little room
    	  or risk of alarming people
    DON'T:
    	_ Ride in a manner likely to damage the footpath such heavy braking
    	  which could cut a furrow or rip turf
    	- Ride when path is very busy
    	- tear past pedestrians
    	- expect all pedestrians (or other path users) to be alert!
    	- give a bad impression of mountain bikers and ruin chances of
    	  paths being opened to bikers.

	Your right about the law being different in Scotland.

	Basically you can be prosecuted for damaging land but you have 
	every right to go anywhere you like (except goverment property
	MOD bases ect. ect.)

	But in various area with land being owned by various ignorant
	english individuals they attempt to prevent access to their
	so called land. I had the pleasure of one of these dorks pointing
	a shotgun at me while I was riding a public footpath (its only 
	been a public footpath for about 300 years :-) ) that ran through
	his so called land. needless to say the individual doesn't have a 
	shotgun anymore.


	Kev.

    
    Re: .1
    Seems lile a good set of rules to follow.
    
    Re: .2
    If you have the right to go anywhere you like, why do you still
    have/need Public FootPaths ?

>        I know that officially, public footpaths are for feet only, but how
>        many people actually cycle along public footpaths ?
>        I saw a sign on a public footpath that said "No cycling on this 
>        footpath", which implies that you can cycle on other footpaths.
>
Well, I know that legally a footpath is for foot traffic only. Therefore, no
matter how carefully you ride, it is against the law. Certainly, riding in a
sensible fashion will minimise the risk, but there will always be a few people
who take exception to it. Personally, I refuse to ride on footpaths. It doesn't
seem worth the possible aggravation and downgrading of biking images in the
public eye. It does get very frustrating, seeing all those lovely lanes to go
down. I keep telling myself that it is for the general good.
>
>        Also, there appear to be footpaths and "public footpaths".! Is it
>        OK to cycle on footpaths not marked as public footpaths ?
>
I have no idea. Interesting question.
>
>        What about common land ? This seems to be another gray area.
>
As I understand the common land issue, if livestock are able to use it, then
bikes can use it. However, I don't pretend to be an expert in this.
>
>        Personally I try and stick to bridleways, and avoid single track
>        footpaths, but must admit that I cycle along wide footpaths and
>        dismount if necessary to avoid walkers. Some bridleways suddenly
>        become footpaths.
>
>        As I also enjoy walking/rambling/hiking (or whatever you call it),
>        I personally see no harm in mountain bikers using footpaths, and 
>        understand that there will always be someone who will complain, but 
>        can they justifiably complain, or even stop mountain bikes on 
>        footpaths.
>
Think about it this way - anywhere a horse can go, a bike can go. If we reverse
this, would you like to see horses on some of the smaller footpaths you have
gone along? Yes, people can justifiably complain and stop you. You ARE breaking
the law by cycling on the footpath. Whether you think that law is sensible is
another question.

For now, my personal decision is to stick to bridleways and other paths which
allow horses. One of the big areas of contention in the U.S. now appears to be
access to various bits of land which have been set aside as parks, historic
sites and other forms of protected land. In some cases, they allow horses to
travel on it, but not cycles. If we want people to support our case for having
access to new routes (e.g. footpaths), we have to make sure that we don't upset
the plans ourselves. As I see it, just one cyclist tearing down a footpath at a
dangerous speed could be enough to damage our hopes.

Thanks for asking the question. I hope we'll all learn something from it.

Cheers,
Tim

	Bikes can also use RUPP's ( Roads Used as Public Paths ) otherwise
	known as greenlanes .

	Let the O.S. map be your guide , if its marked as a bridleway or
	Rupp then there should be no problem .

	There was also an article in bicycle magazine recently which covered
	the do and dont's of land access and bikes .

	One point raised by .0 has still to be answered , ie the attitude
	of the Forestry Commission , I for one would like to know what their
	position is on this subject .

 	jimb....