Cyclists put in danger as horse riders damage Rye - Camber cycle path
Cyclists are being forced out onto the dangerous Camber road because their cycle path is being ruined by horse riders.
The Rye to Camber cycle path was installed some years ago by the Sustrans organisation as part of a the national cycle network.
It allows cyclists to avoid dangerous hair-pin bends on the busy Camber road, which attracts thousands of visitors, heading to the beach, during the summer months.
But the surface of the path is being broken up by horse's hooves, making it unusable in places.
Steve Maxted, a member of Rye Wheelers Cycle Club, has now written to Sustrans asking it to take action.
Steve said: "This is a designated cycle path and the horse-riders are breaking the law.
"It not a bridleway and this is causing untold damage to the surface. The hooves have broken up the surface along the whole length and caused rapid deterioration.
"For riders of bikes with thin road tyres it has become impossible. It means you have to go on that busy road where you take your life into your hands.
"Recently I saw a horsewoman riding the whole length of the path towards Rye, which ends near the watersports lake. She was actually trotting in parts.
"As I cycled by, I said 'this path is for cyclists', and she shouted something back which sounded rude, but I did not catch the wording.
"We cyclists find the disregard for local cyclists, and the law, to be most disappointing and arrogant.
"Some of our bikes are no longer suitable to ride on the path, so we have to risk ourselves on the dangerous, bendy road."
Sustrans have said they are investigating the situation.
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Weather for Bexhill-on-Sea
Monday 28 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 12 C to 22 C
Wind Speed: 22 mph
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