ChrisF wrote: ↑2 May 2021, 8:35pm
grid.jpg
Not quite 'on the road', but 'on the cyclepath'. Can anyone explain the purpose of these? There are several on NCN65, northwest of York. The grid spacings are (imho) too wide to cycle safely across, especially if wet. I can see no evidence of any animals that may want to cross.
It's to stop horse riders using the path.
Usually has a warning sign forbidding horses.
There's a few on Drake's Trail route 27 south of Tavistock.
Mike Sales wrote: ↑3 May 2021, 9:54am
The nasty, sloping one I mentioned earlier has the round tubes.
I seem to remember hearing that some sheep had developed the trick of rolling over a grid. (Why are they always called cattle grids ?).
There's a particularly nasty cattle grid when dropping from Wassenden Head towards Meltham(West Yorks).It's quite steep and just after a bend.If not familiar with the area you could easily hit the grid at speed.Not on a cycle path but the road is very popular in both directions with cyclists.I think it's worse when climbing!Cattle grids are a necessary evil
*Edit*
I've just checked out of curiosity and the grid is marked on OS maps.
The one I am going on about is on the old road up the Ogwen Valley in Gwynedd.
It used to be a regular evening run for me.
It has three steep pitches to climb, followed by a long, gradual descent down the main road, a glorious run most of the way home.
It's the same the whole world over
It's the poor what gets the blame
It's the rich what gets the pleasure
Isn't it a blooming shame?
I have to cross two of them each way on my commute, both the round bar variety on a hilly section. In the wet no problem going downhill at a sensible speed. Going up I have to be careful not to pedal hard otherwise the rear wheel can slip. Technique is to give a good push just before the grid to have the momentum to coast over.
We have them around here on cycle tracks as well.
Animals grazing. Often animals only graze some fields for a few months a year, so the cattle grids are there for when the animals are in attendance.
When the ones on a cycle track near me were installed, a neighbour thought they looked bad. I think they are much the same a road cattle grids in terms of gaps between the bars, but often the bars are much thinner/narrower (less weight to support I suppose), so as a proportion, the empty space looks a lot more.
I find it easier to walk over the cattle grid than use the gate, I have noticed a lt of other pedestrians do the same. If I know I bike is coming, I let them go first or use the gate.
Hopefully yours are like ours, they have a shallow concrete ramp undeneath to allow any small animals that fall in to get out.
Not really a problem when they can be taken head on at a decent speed but negotiating them when travelling slowly uphill can be interesting. This one always unnerves me, it's on the climb up from Grinton village to Grinton Lodge YH.
So off I plodded, up a 1 in 4 or so, and over a cattle grid. That grid was nearly the end of me and my tour. The grid was on a steep slope, and as I rode over the wet slippy steel, my back wheel lost all traction and it slipped. I came to an abrupt stop and nearly fell right off. Luckily, my front wheel had made it to the other side, and where my foot went down to stop me falling, landing only just on the tarmac. Had I been just a few inches further back, my foot would’ve gone right through between the rails. Broken ankle? Ambulance? Damaged Bike? I even don’t want to think about it!
Hello, OP here again.
I've ridden over hundreds (perhaps thousands) of grids in my time and the ones on this path just didn't seem safe. Gaps too wide, irons not wide enough.
I get the reason: to stop horseriders. Makes sense.
I've now found the photo of the ones near Carlisle.
These aren't too bad, the irons are closer although (they're round; flat is clearly safer). But there's no sign of a gate or there ever having been one!
Norman H wrote: ↑3 May 2021, 2:34pm
Not really a problem when they can be taken head on at a decent speed but negotiating them when travelling slowly uphill can be interesting. This one always unnerves me, it's on the climb up from Grinton village to Grinton Lodge YH.
I've never had any problems on that one. One the other hand I've only ever done it going down!
ChrisF wrote: ↑3 May 2021, 2:57pm
Hello, OP here again.
I've ridden over hundreds (perhaps thousands) of grids in my time and the ones on this path just didn't seem safe. Gaps too wide, irons not wide enough.
I get the reason: to stop horseriders. Makes sense.
I've now found the photo of the ones near Carlisle.
gridpic.png
These aren't too bad, the irons are closer although (they're round; flat is clearly safer). But there's no sign of a gate or there ever having been one!
Is that the bit by the Caldew before Dalston?
If so then I think there was some traditional seasonal grazing along there. Just need to tie a hurdle across the gap and you’ve stock control. Probably due to the increased use of the route it’s no longer viable on this small areas to put up with the hassles.
Whatever I am, wherever I am, this is me. This is my life
Cyril Haearn wrote: ↑2 May 2021, 9:15pm
Best to slow down always, they can be very 'hazardous'
No: not always. Sometimes speed enables you to get over them safely.
Almost always that's the case, going slow increases your chances of not making it.
Of course ideally you want to fly over the bgrs, i did manage to clear one airborne in Austria, it was on a slight bend, deep, a good 4m and i came upon it rather, er, fast (well i was in a 'super fondo event'!). The options were ram the brakes on and hope or get airborne and hope, i cleared the iron work by a good metre and continued the descent, moments later i topped out just shy of 100kph, yup the jump was at about 75kph!
Last edited by foxyrider on 3 May 2021, 9:52pm, edited 1 time in total.
Convention? what's that then? Airnimal Chameleon touring, Orbit Pro hack, Orbit Photon audax, Focus Mares AX tour, Peugeot Carbon sportive, Owen Blower vintage race - all running Tulio's finest!
Bmblbzzz wrote: ↑3 May 2021, 10:07am
There are some on the Festival Way just south of Bristol but those are at points where there is field access. Restricting equestrian use is another possibility, as someone suggested above.
As for technique, I agree the round bars are nastier than the flat ones, but in both cases you need a little bit of speed to avoid it being too bumpy. About 15mph is right, I reckon.
On the Bristol/Bath there are a pair bracketing Siston 'hill' which seem to now be redundant for stock control on the common, the biggest hazzard with those examples (flat bar, quite narrow spacing) is actually inexperienced bike riders slowing to a crawl to cross, a laugh really as both have footways without obstruction at the side so you don't have to cross the grids!
Convention? what's that then? Airnimal Chameleon touring, Orbit Pro hack, Orbit Photon audax, Focus Mares AX tour, Peugeot Carbon sportive, Owen Blower vintage race - all running Tulio's finest!
The cycle path in the original post does indeed have cattle grazing in summer.
Surprisingly close to York city centre - I assume some ancient grazing privilege. I think the grassland - Clifton Ings (??) is an SSSI/nature reserve. In my experience the animals are quite laid back but fairly stubborn about where they want to lie down.
I agree those particular cattle grids are placed very poorly - several on corners with poor visibility.
But I’m always nervous of cattle grids generally - I’m the annoying cyclist who always has to get off and push!
