I am not dismissing them, I am simply putting forward a possible alternative view in order to encourage some debate on the subject. Sometimes you have to be a bit provocative, just to get a response.
Of course I am fully aware of the damage that inconsiderate users of the countryside cause, my sister being married to a farmer in rural Warwickshire, after all. Indeed, his farm suffers from yobbish ‘off-roaders’ in 4x4’s, on motorbikes (yup, them too, though JB only highlighted four wheelers in his piece, which maybe indicates nothing more than a bias) and now, increasingly, on quads. That we also have quads and bikes hurtling around the streets, green spaces and small pathways of central East London is another matter entirely, though it does indicate that yobbish behaviour and its effects are not, by any means, limited to the wilds.
Google have recently updated their maps and now show what might appear to be roads that cross-cross his and his neighbours’ farms, which are (deliberately or by accident) now being taken up by the off-road brigade, though they are plainly not legal, so I can relate to the problem very easily. Google has agreed to address the issue, in a similar way that they will (if requested) blank out or obscure some properties.
The world, whether we like it or not, is changing. Magazines such as Adventure Bike Rider used to just carry words to describe their rides. They now sometimes carry maps of the routes; sometimes quite vague (poor, even) but sometimes quite detailed. Why they vary in quality I am not sure, not least as good quality mapping is easy to come by in the publishing world. It is only a matter of time before the magazine if it hasn’t already (I don’t subscribe to it) makes very accurate GPS tracks available, just as the German on-road magazines (which I subscribe to) do *, sometimes free and sometimes for a nominal charge of a couple of quid. I think this proves that you can’t always fight progress, whichever direction it takes. What you / we (and I include myself in this) can do is seek to educate….. at least those that are prepared to listen.
You, JB, Greg M and I am sure lots of others do do good work encouraging / helping bods to enjoy off-road riding, up to and including sections that are technically difficult / challenging and others that would be easy (in relative terms) for anyone who can ride a motorcycle. In the same way that Sgt Bilko helps and encourages bods who want to ride into and across North America. I think it’s great that you all do. Long may it continue. Don’t take a bit of prodding with a fairly blunt stick (carefully sourced from a managed tree) too seriously, please.
* They now and again have off-road articles using, I assume, legal roads. These very often have very good maps and good quality GPS files. I put them up from time to time in the Travel section, largely dicatated as to whether I (how modest is that) think they look any good or not. It helps to address the requests we do see for off-road ideas, sometimes spanning the whole of France and Spain…. But hey, we get those from the strictly ‘on-road’ brigade too, along with requests for a detailed long range weather forecast
