'Aggressive cyclists' warning on the Long Mynd

Rangers on the Long Mynd, a Mecca for walking and cycling enthusiasts, say something must be done about a growing number of mountain bikers who they say are sharing illegal routes on social media and encouraging each other to ride as fast as possible.

Peter Carty, countryside manager for the National Trust in South Shropshire, which owns much of the Long Mynd, has written to social media site Strava – which is used by cyclists, runners and other sport enthusiasts to share such routes – saying the situation is "unacceptable". He fears a "serious collision between a high speed cyclist and a pedestrian, school child or horse rider".

However, a spokesman for Strava said the sharing of such routes was down to "segments" created by users which it was unable to restrict – though other users were able to flag up routes as hazardous.

Mr Carty said it was not good enough. He added: "Long Mynd receives about half a million visitors on foot, many hundreds of visits by horse riders, 30,000 school visits and 3,000 Duke of Edinburgh visits per year.

"The bridlepath routes that descend from the Mynd are multi-use for walkers, horse riders and cyclists.

"Cyclists are required to keep to the bridlepaths – this is a legal requirement and cyclists are required to give way to walkers and horse riders."

"This is essential on the narrow steep pathways that are typical on Long Mynd."

He said some of the routes being promoted via Strava were not bridlepaths and therefore suggesting illegal use of National Trust land.

He said the trust had a good relationship with responsible cyclists and mountain biking businesses, but things were being spoilt by an "aggressive" minority.

He said: "We jointly run work days to fix the paths, we welcome mountain bikes to our tea room and we sponsor the Batch Burner which is a well-managed safety conscious event.

"Most mountain bike riders are courteous and friendly. A small number are not and are aggressive and in my view ride without due care towards other users.

"Strava is clearly encouraging cyclists to ride as fast as possible in busy multi use areas where people live and work. I find this unacceptable.

"I intend to pursue this matter until we can agree a sensible solution," he said.

A spokeswoman for Strava said National Trust personnel were free to leave comments on "segments" – or user-created routes – that were considered hazardous or illegal, but: "Because Strava does not have a way to verify property boundaries, we can't restrict segment creation in certain areas.

"Strava users do have the ability to create segments from their own activities.

"If you believe a segment to be hazardous, we also have a way for you to report this to Strava and thereby notify all Strava users," she said.