Want more trails to ride without the bother of building them? Then head over to CTC. The national cyclists’ organisation is running a campaign to introduce an amendment to the forthcoming Natural Environment and Rural Communities Bill with the aim of clarifying the Rights of Way legislation concerning cyclists.

As things stand, it’s only possible to claim a trail as a bridleway or byway by demonstrating historic use by horses. You might have been riding a bike on it since 1872, but that makes no difference. CTC’s proposed amendment would make it possible for cyclists to claim “restricted byways”, or trails open to non-motorised traffic.

The upshot of this would be that if you could demonstrate that a trail of uncertain status (or even one currently a footpath) had been regularly used by cyclists for many years, it may be possible to upgrade it to a legitimate right of way for bikes. Which would be nice.

The relevant vote in the House of Commons is on 11 October. You can stick your oar in via the CTC’s on-line campaigning tool at www.ctc.org.uk/campaigns – stick in your postcode and it’ll direct your comments directly to your MP…