All went silent as the doors swung open and police officers walked into the Llanwrtyd Wells Memorial Hall in Mid Wales, armed with paperwork and stern faces. That was on the eve of an autumn 1994/5 Polaris Challenge, then a classic two-day MTB orienteering event. The hall was crammed with eager, pasta-munching mountain bikers, including past Tour de France riders, Olympians, and national champions. With that sudden eerie silence came the news that the event was likely to be ended before even the starting gate, due to issues with rights of way.
The problem? Racing bikes on bridleways isn’t permitted in England and Wales, even if Llanwrtyd could be considered one of mountain biking’s original homes in the country, and the Polaris was a long-standing classic event held at various locations nationwide without issue.
As heads dropped and questions were asked, someone spoke up, and the officers were called over to the side of the room. It turns out this guy knew his stuff on rights of way and cycling. I don’t know exactly what words passed between them, but the gist of it was that he clearly told the officers it was not a timed ‘race’ as such, therefore it was permissible. Somewhat stumped, the policemen walked away, and the event continued.
There was a lot of relief in that hall following this swift turnaround, and if it hadn’t been for his knowledge on the subject (this was in the early days of such events and of growing awareness of bikes on trails and of what was/was not possible or acceptable), we’d quite probably have all been heading home that night, or simply riding unofficially.
This legally legit ‘loophole’ is quite likely why marathon events and off-road ultras are able to survive here – and it provides a lifeline for their riders and the organisers alike. On the downside, as Matt mentioned in his Gravel National Champs story recently, this issue is also a major, and often expensive, hurdle for the progression of ‘big course’ gravel racing and MTB events anywhere south of the Scottish border (where trail access is a whole lot freer).
Paper maps to apps, natural trails to trail centres, rigid ride to rad rigs – the shifting landscape
If you’re relatively new to mountain biking or gravel riding, knowing your rights of way and the legal innards can be a daunting one to comprehend. Maybe the legalities even seem bonkers and antiquated to newer riders, even to experienced riders, and organisations such as Cycling UK and Sustrans do a great job in championing the need for a major update to the whole rights of way system from the cycling side (which is much needed).
As with Liam’s story on a recent report by Paul’s Cycles, that found 98% of mountain bikers surveyed admitted riding ‘illegal trails’ at some point, it probably runs throughout the rider age and experience groups.
Have awareness and respect of rights of way legalities faded over the years? Maybe, to an extent. I would guess there are still some out there who are either unaware of or unconcerned about a trail’s legal status, especially if it seems to make little sense on the ground or in quietly remote areas.
What makes riders ride, build, or seek out illegal trails? There’s a whole mix of things that potentially influence this, in addition to the aforementioned reasons. The demise of OS paper maps with clear ROW markings on (though Komoot recently added OS maps, and there is also the OS app – but small screens can be restricting on the move), trail centre riding backgrounds and then ‘going natural’, the lure of technical and gravity thrills, the increasing numbers of riders, and the massive evolution in bike tech and capability, teamed with the desire of riders to seek out trails and thrills to match them.
Whatever your style of riding may be, it’s prudent to know your rights. We all have a duty to be considerate and wise with our riding and route choices, and to leave no trace or reason out there for malice towards mountain bikers.
Who knows, you may be shredding down an illegal trail, bump into the wrong person, and find yourself up on a charge of ‘wanton and furious cycling.’ Yes, as nuts as that may sound, it is an offence, even if it’s very rarely raised. Though my mind boggles at the mere mention of this archaic-sounding Victorian law.
1 thought on “Every off-road rider should know the law around rights of way”
I was hoping to find a succinct list at the end of this article!
Bridleways – yes. Restricted byways – yes again, I think (?) Footpaths – no.
I’m usually on my own, in the South Downs, not racing or shredding or jumping off drops. Trying not to frighten walkers horse riders or wild life.