I am a keen hillwalker and I do a lot of solo walking in the Cairngorm Mountains in Scotland. The semi-arctic environment there is unique in the UK and is home to wildlife seldom seen elsewhere in these islands. A couple of years ago I stood only about 10ft from 3 ptarmigan that were feeding close to the path, Their camouflage was a perfect match for the surrounding rocks, so I was able to stay very still and photgraph them without disturbing them. A few years earlier, at Easter time, I was able to sit quietly and watch a Snowy Owl sitting on a rock only about 50 yds away, a wonderful experience.
In recent years I have noticed that some mountain bike forums are advocating that their members take their mountain bikes up onto the high ground of the Cairngorms and they talk about how much fun they have travelling at speed over the moutains. I am very concerned that this type of sport will disturb wildlife. Most forums on this subject only talk about the erosion of the ground, but I think that it will ultimately scare away any wildlife there. I have e-mailed the Cairngorms National Park and they really don't seem to see it as a problem that they can deal with. It appears that income from leisure tourism will always win over the needs of the environment.
What I'd like to ask here is;- Am I right to be concerned? Will brightly coloured bikes and riders travelling at speed through the mountains scare away ground-nesting birds, or will the wildlife just adapt?
Stand Where The Peaks Meet The Sky
Thanks all for your replies. It pretty much confirms what I suspected - that income from tourism will always override the needs of nature, sad but true. Authorities are very weak if it's suggested that they clamp down on something that may affect jobs. Whether using bikes on the mountain tops is legal or not, it's surely immoral to frighten off wildlife and scar the ground just to get a thrill. It's a bit of an anti-social sport for a few, some bike forums revel in using paths where bikes aren't permitted and annoying bobble-hats (walkers, ramblers etc).
I guess that until someone with some clout has the backbone to press for legislation to prevent mountain biking in certain areas, then the wildlife will continue to disappear.
as abike rider i feel you over+ state the hazaerds bike needa fairly good path to ride over if you dont beleive me try ridering on at ploughed field its just impossibler so birds dont nest on paths nor dose anything else besides ants
its better that the poeple are in these places rather then on the roads after all how can they learn about the joys of the country side and how to protect it?
bikers get it from the perdestrains and the motorist and get blamed for their mistakes
the friedly bid watcher
Red Robin said: as abike rider i feel you over+ state the hazaerds bike needa fairly good path to ride over if you dont beleive me try ridering on at ploughed field its just impossibler so birds dont nest on paths nor dose anything else besides ants its better that the poeple are in these places rather then on the roads after all how can they learn about the joys of the country side and how to protect it? bikers get it from the perdestrains and the motorist and get blamed for their mistakes
I'm also a bike rider and use my bike to get near to the mountains, but I am concerned emough about the environmental impact to leave my bike at the end of the nearest road and walk from there. There might be a legal right to use a mountain bike in the mountains in Scotland, but anyone who cares even a little bit about the environment, will not do it. People who travel fast and noisily through the countryside will not see any wildlife, other than a rear view of something getting out of the way. I have seen bird nests right at the edge of paths and any rare species within sight or earshot of fast-moving, brightly coloured riders, will quickly leave the area. It's our choice as to where we ride our bikes in Scotland, but I'm not going to deliberately cause damage or scare wildlife, because there's hundreds of miles of very good bikeable tracks and roads in the valleys. If you really want to learn about and see nature, leave the bike and walk quietly and alone, then you'll see more than just ants.
Redrobin, I forgot to say - you mentioned that you need a good path to ride on. Well if you want to ride on the high ground of the Cairngorms (which is the area this post refers to), you will have to carry your bike up 3,000ft - 4,000ft of steep mountainside first, and even then, there isn't a real "path". There are some quite flat grassy areas, but much of it is rocky or very loose sand and gravel. Even the Lairig Ghru, the main pass that splits the Cairngorms, is pretty well unridable over at least 6 or 7 miles of it's length. I once met a lad at the South end of the Lairig Ghru carrying his bike. He had tried to ride through there and had wrecked his mountain bike. One wheel was bady buckled and both inner tubes were shredded. He was also cut and bruised.
I have seen all kinds of wildlife - otters, sea eagles, snowy owl, golden eagles, pine martens, wildcat, stoats, weasels etc - but never when I've been riding a bike - only when walking alone. This is maybe the start of where you learn about the joys of the countryside and where you learn how to protect it.