Cycling is not a crime

"cycling is not a crime" is a sticker that adorns the down tube of my bike and I agree whole heartedly but what is a crime for the off road cyclist is sanitisation of interesting trails. The bottom of the canal towpath near Hanbury has always been technical with roots, large holes, flooding, off camber slippery slopes interspersed with rocky sections. In the winter its usually flooded and careful line choice is needed to avoid hub deep incidents. In spring it's swan avoidance time as they usually build a nest slap bang in the middle of the right of way and defend it to the extreme. In summer it's a fast, dust laden challenge as the bike pings from root to rock and from drop to launch lip. Usually now in autumn it can be a mixed bag, right now it's still dusty, one day of heavy rain and the dust turns to thick black soup but this year non of the above will occur. The holes have been filled, the roots gravelled over, drainage has been built it so puddles are a thing of the past as the towpath has been repaired. I can see why, for walkers it was a definite hazard, for horses, the original users it would have been difficult and potentially dangerous if they had fallen, for us riders a great bit of trail has now become boring with no risk involved, A selfish view i know and hardly a crime, more of a misdemeanour
Ride 143
24 miles
Total 2923
commute 722