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This is more than a matter of politeness; if you approach walkers or horse riders at speed and/or fail to warn of your presence then you might cause a serious accident. There are already far too many walkers and horse riders with a low opinion of mountain bikers as it is and poor behaviour may mean certain rights of way being closed to mountain bikers in future. For example, a couple of routes in the Ashdown Forest (a large area of open heathland, just to the south of the North Downs) merited inclusion in this guidebook, however, the Forest is closed to mountain bikers because, several years ago, the Ashdown Forest Conservation Board rejected access for a variety of reasons including concerns about ‘biker behaviour’ and because of ‘considerable opposition from existing Forest users’. In this case the grounds for exclusion are contentious, but the fact remains that we are all ambassadors for our sport and for each other when we are out on the trails.

THE BIKERS’ CODE

 Don’t ride on footpaths. It’s illegal, it can damage paths and sensitive heathland environments, and it’s really annoying for walkers. Furthermore, the bridleway and byway network on the North Downs is so extensive that there really is no need to use footpaths.