RIDE INVESTIGATES
Does the rise in popularity of adventure bikes mean our green lanes are under threat from over-use?
TRAIL RIDING IS as old as motorcycles themselves; we must only look at the 100+ year history of the Lands End Trial to see that.
However, in recent decades, legislation has vastly diminished the green-road network on which trail riding relies. In May 2018, the Government asked for an independent review into whether the protections for National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty are still fit for purpose.
In particular, what might be done better, what changes will help and whether the definitions and systems in place are still valid.
Called the Landscapes Review, while it made no reference to motor vehicles, the Government’s response (made by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs) included a section on ‘managing visitor pressures’. This included an invitation to the public to support or not a ban on recreational motoring on green lanes.
“Our presence on the green roads has never been without challenge,” explains the Trail Riders Fellowship’s CEO Graeme Collins.
“It’s why the TRF came into existence in 1970. Then, the Countryside Act 1968, that reclassified the legality of roads and byways, was a direct threat to trail riding. Successive legislation has further eroded public access to public roads; the most recent, the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act of 2006, removed hundreds, if not thousands, of miles of previously legal green — and even tarmac’d — roads. We are left today with a network of around 6000 miles which the TRF is defending tooth and nail.”
Is there a threat of overuse?
John Vannuffel, the TRF’s Conservation Director, explains that overuse, or just growth in numbers, is a myth.
“The evidence shows no growth in green-road use. From recent statistics generated by local authorities, through to research by DEFRA in 2005, to evidence long before that. We can see that the number of trail riders has, for a long time, been around 20,000. This is supported by DVLA records on registrations of trail-type motorcycles.
“What the evidence does show is an increased support for responsible trail riding, related responsible riding activity, and road conservation. This has seen the TRF’s membership swell to over 8000 but is distinct from a surge in trail riding and traffic volume.
