Coillte Trails - Stay at Home

Curiousness99

prunudo wrote: »

Obviously its up to the biker to be in control at all times but I've noticed a much more flippant attitude from some walkers lately to walking on trails which have been used predominantly as bike trails. They seem to be oblivious to the risks involved in walking on both on Coillte and natural trails.

I’ve been seeing walkers on all kinds of trails recently including in the middle of the forest on muddy trails

I don’t think there is much point going down the walkers versus bikers path, easier if mtb trails steer clear of walkers as much as possible imo as mtber take the flack regardless

Pretty sad to see trails that have been there for years disappearing

Tenzor07

prunudo wrote: »

Obviously its up to the biker to be in control at all times but I've noticed a much more flippant attitude from some walkers lately to walking on trails which have been used predominantly as bike trails. They seem to be oblivious to the risks involved in walking on both on Coillte and natural trails.

Thankfully not seen any on the Ticknock Coilltes, though when your going along the fireroads they all seem to walk 5-a-breast with the dogs off the lead, and then do the dramatic leap out of the way when they hear your approach... Irregular walkers at best...

I've passed more "Tent villages" in Ticknock today then i've ever seen, like a campsite out near the top of "Dreamtrack"..

Sooner the better the pubs open and Soccer/GAA starts up again..

prunudo

Curiousness99 wrote: »

I’ve been seeing walkers on all kinds of trails recently including in the middle of the cores on muddy trails

I don’t think there is much point going down the walkers versus bikers path, easier if mtb trails steer clear of walkers as much as possible imo as mtber take the flack regardless

Pretty sad to see trails that have been there for years disappearing

Agree a them and us attitude never leads to good outcomes but if these established trails are becoming contentious due new walkers then it comes down to needing a better understanding between both users.


@Tenzor, I've come across familes while barreling down metro in Ticknock and also house bound/home run in Ballinastoe.

Tenzor07

Curiousness99 wrote: »

Trails getting bulldozed this morning in front of the Ticknock mast(private land).

Coillte are felling/thinning a lot of their forestry and the upper Euroservices trails are closed from Monday...

Also, what you probably are referring to is that the "Dreamtrack" is now closed, the landowner has blocked it all off..

gnarbarian

Curiousness99 wrote: »

I’ve been seeing walkers on all kinds of trails recently including in the middle of the cores on muddy trails

I don’t think there is much point going down the walkers versus bikers path, easier if mtb trails steer clear of walkers as much as possible imo as mtber take the flack regardless

Pretty sad to see trails that have been there for years disappearing

I've seen my fair share of walkers taking on a lot of the bike trails out in Glenealy, and I understand that these trails are not specific biking trails but it just bugs me to think that the walkers complaints are heard a lot louder than us mtbers, and then once this lockdown is fully lifted half of these walkers will never be seen around here again and yet the damage from the complaints will leave a black mark on all of us for years to come.. its kinda sad really..
Can we all just play nicely together?

Curiousness99

Tenzor07 wrote: »

Coillte are felling/thinning a lot of their forestry and the upper Euroservices trails are closed from Monday...

Also, what you probably are referring to is that the "Dreamtrack" is now closed, the landowner has blocked it all off..

Heard it was dreamtrack, would have done one more time had I known, in fact had I known I would of made contact with the landowners (think 6 families) own jointly for a few generations and see if it could be avoided

Curiousness99

Tenzor07 wrote: »

Thankfully not seen any on the Ticknock Coilltes, though when your going along the fireroads they all seem to walk 5-a-breast with the dogs off the lead, and then do the dramatic leap out of the way when they hear your approach... Irregular walkers at best...

I've passed more "Tent villages" in Ticknock today then i've ever seen, like a campsite out near the top of "Dreamtrack"..

Sooner the better the pubs open and Soccer/GAA starts up again..

I’ve seen loads of walkes recently on eurosceptic and some on blaze! Legend, And one running straight down from mast.

Saw loads of people camping too

Curiousness99

Heard of people both walking and biking giving abuse to landowners, that’s never going to end well...

Curiousness99

gnarbarian wrote: »

I've seen my fair share of walkers taking on a lot of the bike trails out in Glenealy, and I understand that these trails are not specific biking trails but it just bugs me to think that the walkers complaints are heard a lot louder than us mtbers, and then once this lockdown is fully lifted half of these walkers will never be seen around here again and yet the damage from the complaints will leave a black mark on all of us for years to come.. its kinda sad really..
Can we all just play nicely together?

It is what it is unfortunately, coillte and the likes definitely more walker friendly.

I’ve done a reasonable amount of mountain leadership stuff over the years, was shocked on a course A few years back when npws person was giving a presentation and had a slide with a picture of a mountain biker on it when they were referencing the biggest threat to national parks

Wanderer78

We had horse riders building fences across our trails one day, on a relatively fast section!

Lemming

Curiousness99 wrote: »

Unfortunately lock down has caused way more people to uses ticknock and heightened concerns of a lot of private landowners around Dublin who have seen massive increase in numbers, one of big landowners near me has stuck up private land signs for the first time ever

The issue here is sanctioned/"official" MTB trails vs. bridleways or singletrack which belong to no one group, but people treat as theirs and theirs alone. The increased covid-19 footfall is really bringing contention to the fore at the moment. Despite being lucky in that Sheffield has a decent amount of sanctioned MTB trails to choose from on foot of local riding groups having a good working relationship with the various stakeholders in land management, I am frequently encountering walkers on the official MTB trails with the increased numbers out and about; most will be utterly ignorant of the fact and near oblivious to what's going on around them but will be receptive to a friendly chat informing them thus. You'll still get militant types and it is what it is at the end of the day.

It's a different story where trails are not explicitly MTB sanctioned trails, i.e. bridleways, singletrack, and the like. Yield, if for nothing else but being polite & saying hello (where horses are concerned, yielding is the sensible thing to do in general anyway). Being confrontational will only see you (and the MTB community) come off the worse for it because the powers that be will side with the walkers & horsey folk 99.99% of the time, even when they are the ones who are out of order. The other thing to consider is that some of the older walkers (and a lot of the horsey set) are either sufficiently well-heeled and/or with time on their hands to get legal and make a lot of noise, or know how the play the local politics game and persist in wearing the ear off the land manager until they're sick of hearing about how uncouth and loutish that MTBers are, or some other equally banal trope.

What is really needed is a working relationship with the land owners/wardens/whatever, but where Coillte are concerned (and the current state of affairs regards insurance) that's a long, long road to travel at the moment.

Tenzor07

gnarbarian wrote: »

I've seen my fair share of walkers taking on a lot of the bike trails out in Glenealy, and I understand that these trails are not specific biking trails but it just bugs me to think that the walkers complaints are heard a lot louder than us mtbers, and then once this lockdown is fully lifted half of these walkers will never be seen around here again and yet the damage from the complaints will leave a black mark on all of us for years to come.. its kinda sad really..

First point is there are no "bike trails" in Glenealy...

... it was an unheard of patch of forest off the N11 until the Enduro's started using it.
Up until then it was only used by Horse riders and MX'ers, along with a few locals out for a walk.

So regard yourselves as guests on the trails in that area, or the fate of the "bike trails" will be the same as the Dreamtrack..

*Not singling you out btw..

Icyseanfitz

Gotta love mountain biking in Ireland, if its any bit of a niche activity and ain't GAA, it's seen as disruptive and anti social, forget that's it's an Olympic renowned sport worldwide.

Tenzor07

Curiousness99 wrote: »

Heard it was dreamtrack, would have done one more time had I known, in fact had I known I would of made contact with the landowners (think 6 families) own jointly for a few generations and see if it could be avoided

From the sounds of it i'd say the landowners just had a pain the be-olicks with all the complaints and were probably worried about being sued by a walker who got hit or a biker who fell and injured himself, either way must have been something serious cos the DT trail has been there for a long number of years...

Tenzor07

Icyseanfitz wrote: »

Gotta love mountain biking in Ireland, if its any bit of a niche activity and ain't GAA, it's seen as disruptive and anti social, forget that's it's an Olympic renowned sport worldwide.

Ha! It's "niche" compared to GAA, however MTB'ing here has exploded in popularity here in the last number of years... Every weekend various whatsapp or facebook groups out on bikes, everything from ebikers to the full face endurrooo's popping up all over the hills in Dublin, Wicklow and beyond, not surprised a lot of landowners have a pain in there ballox with them all...

Curiousness99

Tenzor07 wrote: »

From the sounds of it i'd say the landowners just had a pain the be-olicks with all the complaints and were probably worried about being sued by a walker who got hit or a biker who fell and injured himself, either way must have been something serious cos the DT trail has been there for a long number of years...

heard that a group of young lads nearly ran the owner over and then gave him abuse when be said something. if that happened can totally understand why he landowner got the humpf and then the insurance issue...

Icyseanfitz

Tenzor07 wrote: »

Ha! It's "niche" compared to GAA, however MTB'ing here has exploded in popularity here in the last number of years... Every weekend various whatsapp or facebook groups out on bikes, everything from ebikers to the full face endurrooo's popping up all over the hills in Dublin, Wicklow and beyond, not surprised a lot of landowners have a pain in there ballox with them all...

It is definitely a lot more popular than when I started 10 or so years ago, just no where near mainstream enough to make landowners and policy makers take much note. Add in the insurance crap and I guess it's just seen as a trouble sport for delinquents by people in power and or the general public.

Icyseanfitz

Curiousness99 wrote: »

heard that a group of young lads nearly ran the owner over and then gave him abuse when be said something. if that happened can totally understand why he landowner got the humpf and then the insurance issue...

That would do it alright.

Tenzor07

Curiousness99 wrote: »

heard that a group of young lads nearly ran the owner over and then gave him abuse when be said something. if that happened can totally understand why he landowner got the humpf and then the insurance issue...

Well, yea wouldn't surprise me at all..

Built by bikers, and now destroyed by the new generation of bikers...

Tenzor07

Icyseanfitz wrote: »

It is definitely a lot more popular than when I started 10 or so years ago, just no where near mainstream enough to make landowners and policy makers take much note. Add in the insurance crap and I guess it's just seen as a trouble sport for delinquents by people in power and or the general public.

What's happening in places like the Dreamtrack will happen everywhere MTB'ers make trails, one spot in Wicklow where bikers popped into the forest was soon blocked up by a number of signs saying "Private Property" stuck there by the landowner..

Problem is that MTB'ing is full of all sorts of small groups with no single unifying voice speaking for everyone to the landowners, both private and Coillte...

gnarbarian

Tenzor07 wrote: »

First point is there are no "bike trails" in Glenealy...

... it was an unheard of patch of forest off the N11 until the Enduro's started using it.
Up until then it was only used by Horse riders and MX'ers, along with a few locals out for a walk.

So regard yourselves as guests on the trails in that area, or the fate of the "bike trails" will be the same as the Dreamtrack..

*Not singling you out btw..

Oh of course, no worries i don't feel singled out haha.
I understand they are not biking trails, I misspoke or typed lol.
I used to be a Glenealy local as a kid before my parents moved into Wicklow town and I spent almost every day out in Carrick, it was literally my backyard!
I am always very courteous to everyone I meet out there, I yield to everyone!
As I had said in my last post is it would be great if we could all play nice and share the trails.. 😀

Curiousness99

gnarbarian wrote: »

Oh of course, no worries i don't feel singled out haha.
I understand they are not biking trails, I misspoke or typed lol.
I used to be a Glenealy local as a kid before my parents moved into Wicklow town and I spent almost every day out in Carrick, it was literally my backyard!
I am always very courteous to everyone I meet out there, I yield to everyone!
As I had said in my last post is it would be great if we could all play nice and share the trails.. ��

It’s partly cultural and partly a numbers game imo

Horseriding (even hunting) is more socially acceptable than mountain biking with a lot of people and then there’s the huge growth in mountain biking over the last few years. I used go to djouce loads 20-25 years ago and only remember ever seeing one mountain biker in all that time

It’s going to take time for attitudes to change..

Whilst there’s loads of responsible mtbers there’s a fair few that don’t get it imo and some that are just plain stupid, for example, the shower abusing a land owner that’s facilitated mtbers for years

The sooner we all get along the better

Tenzor07

Advance Notice of Harvesting in Ballyedmonduff

From Monday 29th June for approximately 3 weeks there will be a continuous cover forestry harvesting operation in Ballyedmonduff. The ‘Blazin Saddles’ and ‘Afterburner’ Sections of Ticknock Mountain Bike trail will be closed on weekdays from June 29th for the duration of harvesting. The Dublin Mountains Way will remain open, traffic management measures will be in place. Please abide by safety signage.

This is the 1st of the Coillte Nature continuous cover forest harvest events part of the Dublin Mountains Makeover.

https://www.coillte.ie/…/ourprojec…/dublinmountainsmakeover/

https://www.coillte.ie/…/2…/06/CN_DMM_Brochure_Web-FINAL.pdf
Ticknock Mountain Bike Trail Coillte

prunudo

^^^
Haha, i remember going 'mountain biking' to djouce in the mid to late 90's, it consisted of tearing down the fireroads and broadsliding around hairpin bends on a Raleigh amazon We could only dream of suspension forks and i doubt full suss was even an option. Simpler times, should have kept it up but going out and drinking got in the way, only really got back into it again about 5 years ago.

gnarbarian

prunudo wrote: »

^^^
Haha, i remember going 'mountain biking' to djouce in the mid to late 90's, it consisted of tearing down the fireroads and broadsliding around hairpin bends on a Raleigh amazon We could only dream of suspension forks and i doubt full suss was even an option. Simpler times, should have kept it up but going out and drinking got in the way, only really got back into it again about 5 years ago.

Very true. I used to be out on my Raleigh Activator with elastomer suspension in the mid 90's bombing down the fire roads of Carrick pretending I was taking part in the Kamikaze downhill..
To us mountain biking is a passion but to everyone else they think we are either nuts or extremely dangerous and out of control...
Pic of myself in 96 bombing the fire roads haha

muckwarrior

Tenzor07 wrote: »

the DT trail has been there for a long number of years...

A very long number of years! I remember seeing a video about MXers using it in the 60s.

Bot1

Has anyone any details on what is planned with the funding outlined in this article?
https://www.coillte.ie/coillte-and-failte-ireland-welcome-funding-announcement-on-funding-for-mountain-bike-development/

prunudo

Bot1 wrote: »

Has anyone any details on what is planned with the funding outlined in this article?
https://www.coillte.ie/coillte-and-failte-ireland-welcome-funding-announcement-on-funding-for-mountain-bike-development/

That article is over a year old but from memory its basically just improving and adding to the trail centres that already there.
I think Ballinastoe and Ticknock were going to see a doubling of trails and possibly facilities would be built too, ie changing rooms etc.

Tenzor07

prunudo wrote: »

That article is over a year old but from memory its basically just improving and adding to the trail centres that already there.
I think Ballinastoe and Ticknock were going to see a doubling of trails and possibly facilities would be built too, ie changing rooms etc.

Yea Ballinastoe is getting some trail repairs/changes at the moment, not sure when they will be fully ready...don't go there that often..

bogmanfan

Tenzor07 wrote: »

Yea Ballinastoe is getting some trail repairs/changes at the moment, not sure when they will be fully ready...don't go there that often..

I was in Ballinastoe on saturday. Lad in the rental hut said Expressway should be back open this weekend.