Diary of a Mountain Biker - now Barry Knows Better

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Feb 2, 2012, 8:17am

Diary of a Mountain Biker :: General :: General Mountain Bike Chat :: now Barry Knows Better

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muddyfox
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now Barry Knows Better
« Thread Started on Oct 23, 2009, 12:58pm »

an update on the work being done to the end of BKB.

Now Barry Knows Better – making mountain biking work in the Hurtwood

Barry Knows Best, or BKB, as the Hurtwood trail is known to the mountain bikers who love its steep cliff face and knotted roots, is about to be made a lot safer for everyone. Now Barry Knows Better.

Thanks to a grant from the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty’s Sustainable Development Fund, a major realignment of the trail as it joins Ewhurst Road in Peaslake is now possible. The trail will still be a challenge for riders, but it will no longer be dangerous for bikes meeting the road, cars and other road users and people living in nearby houses.

The project will also prevent damage to the woods caused by bikes trying to find a safer alternative to the old route and reduces conflict with other users by avoiding a key bridleway.

The BKB project is another example of the Hurtwood Control Trust and the mountain bikers working in partnership to manage the increasingly popular sport in this much- loved piece of stunningly beautiful countryside. The success of this cooperative approach can already be seen on Holmbury Hill Fort, where trails have been redesigned and rerouted to protect sensitive archaeology and ensure the bikers can have fun without causing damage.

The challenge for the Trust is to accommodate all the users of the hill safely – walkers, horse riders, children, dogs and all the different types of bike users. Working with a small group of dedicated mountain biker volunteers is proving the most successful way to achieve harmony.

BKB is on of the most popular single-track trails on Holmbury Hill, with up to 50 bikes an hour riding it at peak times but its exit onto Ewhurst Road has always been a problem. At first it was too close to the houses and caused disturbance, but when the exit was moved further away, it proved too steep and dangerous for bikes and traffic. Braking caused damage to the hillside and bikes created myriad side-tracks as they tried to control their descent to the road, causing still more erosion.

The mountain bikers have investigated possible solutions for BKB. The exit can only be along a short stretch of road because of houses, and needs to be technically challenging to engage experienced riders and dissuade them from going off-piste. The answer is to make the trail longer by creating switchbacks that will provide interest and challenges, while ensuring the trail is sustainable, and will also mean that bikes join the road in a far more controlled manner.

Such major trail construction is beyond the scope of the Hurtwood Control Trust, but with the expert help of former Aston Hill trail builder Ian Warby of the Cyclists Touring Club (CTC), a bid for Sustainable Development Fund money was successful and an experienced digger team from Wales should be on site soon to sculpt the new section of the trail. The volunteers should finish surfacing the trail by the end of the year.

This initiative is being monitored closely by the Surrey Hills AONB as a possible prototype for a wider initiative right across the Surrey Hills. It is recognised that mountain biking is growing in popularity, and management in partnership with volunteer mountain bikers is necessary both to protect the environment and prevent conflict between bikers and other users of the countryside.

Good news for Nick