IT has been with great interest I have read several articles on the damage to the Ridgeway in the Advertiser. I am a motorcyclist who has been riding and racing in organised meetings for a number of years, also with a group of friends we trail ride the Ridgeway.

I am not naive or green enough to think that some limited amount of damage may have been caused by the motorcyclists, but I know that to cause the amount of deep ruts and other damage that has been caused would take hundreds of motorbikes in a row following one another over the same piece of track.

Have all the so called save the Ridgeway groups and our MPs and the others who have jumped on the bandwagon done everything to try to come to an outcome that will suit all parties? Somehow I don't think so!

Yes, there have been meetings but how funny it seems that not all the interested parties get invited, or know about these meetings until afterwards.

Then they can only read about it in the paper when it is too late to put forward any joint proposals that might be helpful in coming to some middle ground where everybody might be happy.

Maybe closing the Ridgeway from November to March when its wettest would be an idea to help stop the severe damage being done.

We keep being told that the people of today and the youngsters of tomorrow are spend too much time in the house watching TV and playing computer games, and yet these same people, especially MPs, seem to want to take away all our outdoor activities.

One more thought when they have succeeded in stopping everybody from following their pursuits I just wonder if the same people will be writing and having meetings on how to stop the increase on crime in the area because of the youth (and older people) have had all their rights and past times taken away from them.

Mark Keylock

Sandpiper Bridge