revtothelimit - motorbike forum

Back in the RFOD for a month, and today was mooching about the Cannop area, when I joined a convoy of BFO 4x4 pickup things, all with bikes strapped onto the tailgates.
Not one of them turned into pedal bike away, but all carried on, then turned off onto forestry access roads.
Now if you're coming to use the area, and drive a £30k+ truck with a couple of grands worth of mtb, surely you can afford to pay for parking?

Made no sense

Except all the trucks are on finance, as are the bikes.
there's not much left at the end of the month but at least the neighbours think i'm rich ? !? !

You’re not wrong, we see loads of VW Transporter Californias with £15k of e-bikes avoiding the £7 day charge

We’ve got a year pass which is about £45

And then they'll complain that there are no facilities.

But it gets worse, pedalabikaway posted today a 1* review that they got for the parking fees- that they have no say over.

Let's be fair, whatever the charge is for a full days parking, it's a fucking bargain for what you get in the terms of trail options.

Same here at Sherwood pines, people are entitled twats and expect facilities for free, £10-£15 for a day out anywhere is a bargain.

Let me answer this from another point of view...

Personally, I have zero interest in the trails housed within the network accessed from the Pedalabikeaway car park any more... I think it's great that they're there, and that they're maintained, and that there's facilities for people there that want them too... But whilst I used the network of trails and the facilities there for many years some 15-25yrs ago, that kind of riding hasn't been for me for some time now.

When I go down the FoD I'm going there to ride off piste stuff away from the trail centre stuff, as this is the kind of trails that I enjoy riding... I have a pretty intricate knowledge of the area and know where I'm going so don't need the safety of a signposted trail network, and I can park near(er) to where I want to ride in any number of places for free! The FoD is a huge area, with lots of laybys on the sides of the roads and quiet side roads where parking a car or van is safe and not in anybody's way, and isn't needlessly taking up important parking spaces (the place is always rammed at weekends, car park is often full by 10am!) for other people that actually want to use the trails and facilities and don't mind paying for the privilege...

I can't speak for the individuals' choice of vehicle (I personally really don't like the modern trend for pickup trucks and think they're highly impractical and have become a ludicrous status symbol), nor how they pay for them (maybe I know far too many self employed tradies, but almost everyone I know still wants to buy their expensive bikes and commercial vehicles with cash!). But "value" is in the eye of the beholder... For me, it just doesn't make sense to park at the Pedalabikeaway regardless of cost, as it's not near the trails I've gone there to ride, so the value of parking there would be terrible for me. Aside from the fact that one of the great things about cycling as a hobby is that once you've spent the not inconsiderable amount on the bike that many of us do, you can then proceed to enjoy it without having to pay to use it should you want to... Unlike a great many other hobbies, where even once you've bought your equipment, you then still have to pay to use the facilities to be able to use it.

As for the parking charge @ Pedalabikeaway... Well the 1* review is obviously unfair, but to be fair, unless you'd bothered to find out, you would have no way of knowing as to who/how/why the parking charge was set at £7, and you would also be highly unlikely to find out about the annual Discovery pass that @weeksy has alluded to, nor the fact that it entitles you to park in any number of other car parks spread across the area too... Which obviously creates a far better value proposition, and is absolutely the way to do it if you happen to go down the FoD more than a few times a year and need to park in one of the many car parks with facilities down there...

I'm still not sure whether you're having a go at the cyclists or the fact there are parking charges?

Are cyclists really any different to anyone else? Plenty of car drivers and motorcycles do exactly the same. The summer near here can be busy on the coastal towns with bikers. rather than pay for parking or god forbid have to walk very far, they ride their bikes and park along the pavement areas causing plenty of issues for pedestrians etc.

This is a society issue all round.

mboy wrote: Mon Nov 24, 2025 2:36 am Let me answer this from another point of view...

Personally, I have zero interest in the trails housed within the network accessed from the Pedalabikeaway car park any more..

That doesn't matter... People like you park in PArkend or somewhere, that's OK. It's the people who park within 200m of the Pedalabikeaway and not in correct areas then DO use the facilities and trails, they're the issue.

People who come in and park in somewhere that's not at the center, i have no issues at all with.

weeksy wrote: Sun Nov 23, 2025 5:57 pm You’re not wrong, we see loads of VW Transporter Californias with £15k of e-bikes avoiding the £7 day charge

We’ve got a year pass which is about £45

That sounds like a bargain, the Ashdown Forest is £80 a year for a bunch of unmaintained car parks with no facilities and all off-road cycling is illegal.

Mussels wrote: Mon Nov 24, 2025 10:30 am

weeksy wrote: Sun Nov 23, 2025 5:57 pm You’re not wrong, we see loads of VW Transporter Californias with £15k of e-bikes avoiding the £7 day charge

We’ve got a year pass which is about £45

That sounds like a bargain, the Ashdown Forest is £80 a year for a bunch of unmaintained car parks with no facilities and all off-road cycling is illegal.

Yeah it's a good deal as it's £7 or so for a day pass, i'd say we've been there 30+ times this year, so for us it's a complete no-brainer.

weeksy wrote: Mon Nov 24, 2025 8:52 am

mboy wrote: Mon Nov 24, 2025 2:36 am Let me answer this from another point of view...

Personally, I have zero interest in the trails housed within the network accessed from the Pedalabikeaway car park any more..

That doesn't matter... People like you park in PArkend or somewhere, that's OK. It's the people who park within 200m of the Pedalabikeaway and not in correct areas then DO use the facilities and trails, they're the issue.

People who come in and park in somewhere that's not at the center, i have no issues at all with.

And the people that park outside mallards pike causing an obstruction on the road.
They're in mallards riding those trails but won't pay the parking charge in the car park.
The street view is funny though