Quote Originally Posted by nikalas View Post
Really? Mountain biking has only really been popular for 20-25 years and the number of participants and the erosion they cause is minimal compared to walkers. The vast majority of mountain bikers don't enjoy mud plugging and will avoid soft trails if possible. Yes, there are exceptions but there's an antisocial minority in every pastime. It's also easy to point out specific trails but again, the same could be applied to scars of the landscape that have never seen a knobbly tyre. Also, a large proportion of mountain bikers ride exclusively at the ever increasing number or purpose built trail centres so, although the amount of mountain bikers is increasing, the traffic on "natural trails" is probably no more. It's sounds as though you've had a few bad experiences with a few bad mountain bikers and are tarring them all with the same reactionary brush.
I suggest you take a trip to Rivington and have a look at the damage caused by mountain bikers on the path from the belmont road.
I would also suggest a walk over Holcombe moor and have a look at the damage caused by mountain bikers leading down to moorbottom road, in at least three locations, as well as damage caused by mountain bikers on the moor itself. Mountain Bikers are also responsible for the damage caused in Redisher woods, a national nature reserve. The erosion in these areas has been caused by mountain bikers, the grooves worn into the surface are approximately 1.5 to 2 inches wide with a knobbly tread with continuous ware, which seems to come from some ignorant sods who seem to think that riding on the footpaths is fine. These areas are not hard pack they are soft moors and it doesn't take a large number of mountain bikers to do an awful lot of damage.