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YOUNGSTERS are being encouraged to get on their bikes to keep fit and take part in some positive activity.
Police Community Support Officers from Catterick Garrison have started a new initiative to get young people in Richmondshire interested in mountain biking.
PCSOs Graeme Gale and Di Smith received funding from Awards for All Lottery funds and the Richmondshire Community Safety Partnership (RCSP) enough cash for ten mountain bikes, helmets and jackets, which were bought from Kudu Bikes in Hawes.
Di said: The ROCI (Richmondshire Offroad Cycle Initiative) courses have already started, and are already proving a big hit. Our aim is for teenagers to learn about bike safety and maintenance, but most of all to go out and have fun riding some good trails in and around North Yorkshire. A 14-bike trailer is also available, meaning we can even venture further afield!
Liz Smith, chair of RCSP, said: ROCI is a great idea, and there are some fantastic biking trails in and around Richmondshire, so Im sure the scheme will go from strength to strength.
Both PCSOs are qualified Mountain Bike Trail Leaders and are encouraging more young people and adult volunteers to get involved.
If anyone is interested in doing the course or volunteering, please get in touch with either Graeme or Di, at Catterick Garrison Police Station on 0845 60 60 247, or email them at saferrichmondshire@northyorkshire.pnn.police.uk. Application forms are also available from all secondary schools in Richmondshire.
COMMENTS
mjvande http://home.pacbell.net/mjvande
Commented 14 weeks ago
Bicycles should not be allowed in any natural area. They are inanimate objects and have no rights. There is also no right to mountain bike. That was settled in federal court in 1994: http://home.pacbell.net/mjvande/mtb10. It's dishonest of mountain bikers to say that they don't have access to trails closed to bikes. They have EXACTLY the same access as everyone else -- ON FOOT! Why isn't that good enough for mountain bikers? They are all capable of walking....
A favorite myth of mountain bikers is that mountain biking is no more harmful to wildlife, people, and the environment than hiking, and that science supports that view. Of course, it's not true. To settle the matter once and for all, I read all of the research they cited, and wrote a review of the research on mountain biking impacts (see http://home.pacbell.net/mjvande/scb7). I found that of the seven studies they cited, (1) all were written by mountain bikers, and (2) in every case, the authors misinterpreted their own data, in order to come to the conclusion that they favored. They also studiously avoided mentioning another scientific study (Wisdom et al) which did not favor mountain biking, and came to the opposite conclusions.
Those were all experimental studies. Two other studies (by White et al and by Jeff Marion) used a survey design, which is inherently incapable of answering that question (comparing hiking with mountain biking). I only mention them because mountain bikers often cite them, but scientifically, they are worthless.
Mountain biking accelerates erosion, creates V-shaped ruts, kills small animals and plants on and next to the trail, drives wildlife and other trail users out of the
area, and (worst of all) teaches kids that the rough treatment of nature is okay (it's NOT!). What's good about THAT?
For more information: http://home.pacbell.net/mjvande/mtbfaq.
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