BEING a local lad I’ve always kept an eye on the letters pages to see what matters to our readers.

There’s a great variety of musings, some of which are interesting and others not so, but there is one subject that is guaranteed to cause me much irritation – mountain biking.

As I keen biker I love nothing more than taking myself out for a spin up, down and around the natural playground that is the Malvern Hills.

This is something certain sections of the town are set against, with some correspondence suggesting things such as the placement of logs to slow or even stop their twowheeled progress.

Others simply don’t want them there at all.

However, I can understand some of their concerns about bikes hurtling about at high speeds posing a risk to walkers, their dogs or even horses but I have encountered some acts of utter stupidity while in the saddle.

On occasions I’ve had walkers place branches across paths, dog leashes stretched out in front of me, people deliberately block my route and been shouted at for not having a bell after politely saying “excuse me” while travelling at a snail’s pace.

By rights cyclists are allowed on the hills, with a network of bridleways and bike-friendly routes criss-crossing the length of the range.

Some may choose to go off the beaten track into areas not open to them, but on the whole my experience of other bikers has been a positive one and far from dangerous.

To deny bikes easy access to this stunning landscape would have no doubt hampered the progress of two of the sport’s leading athletes that we can proudly call our own.

Both Liam Killeen and Tracy Moseley have cited the hills as a crucial part of their training and love for the sport.

During her downhill career Tracy has won more or less everything, from multiple national series to bagging the world champion stripes in 2010, while Liam also has a number of national titles to his name as well as being a three-times Olympian and a Commonwealth gold medalist.

Would they have tasted such success if obstructive measures or banning orders were placed on the green hills of their home land?

These two should be an inspiration, so to nit-pick about measures to stop others following their example misses the point that the hills are there for everyone to enjoy responsibly.