Watch out for small animals while biking at Turahalli

[Prashanth Chengi]

Hello all, 

I have a few friends who are working to spread awareness on environment conservation, and they noted with alarm the number of small animals and plants which seem to end up as roadkill or destroyed flora, after MTB events at the Turahalli forest. Even as we are reading this, efforts are underway to see if solutions can be worked out to ensure safety to small animals which might want to cross across the path which is used by bikers, but there are a few additional suggestions, which can hopefully be taken up by us bicyclists (and organizers of biking events at Turahalli forest), to ensure a more eco-friendly event.

1. Start events/rides later in the day, instead of early in the day, as insects and animals venture out in greater numbers, earlier in the day.  

2. Try and keep an eye out for critters; this may be really hard, particularly when one is trying to go as fast as possible, but do spare them a thought, and if you spot them, and can avoid them safely, do make an attempt. 

Photo credits: M.B. Krishna and Deepa Mohan
Idea and text overlay: M.B. Krishna

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/Prashanth

[Chidambaran Subramanian]

I think there have been no events in Turahalli for 3+ years now.

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[Prashanth Chengi]

Might not be any organized events, but there are apparently plenty of people who go there to hone their MTB/downhill skills. Krishna has reportedly spotted a few even last week.  It'd be good to try and spread the word across our circles.

/Prashanth

[Yateesh Kumar]

There was a ride organized giant bikes last week(of that's what mbk is pointing at) That's the most recent. 
Of late,  turahalli is seeing a lot of mobikes gangs riding till top and howling around....  NOT sure who was responsible for this one.
However,  one needs to be and can be mindful and sensitive out in the wild

[RT]

A worthy cause but just a quick note. 

I've been at Turahalli a lot over the last 6 months (albeit for climbing rather than riding).

There has been no downhilling whatsoever at Turahalli, to my knowledge for many months, perhaps more than a year now. The downhill track has been pretty much unrideable due to deep ruts. I haven't seen any downhillers and I know none of the local DH gang have headed there anywhere in the recent past. Any hardtail riders who are taking on the track in the current condition are very unlikely to be going fast enough to do the damage you describe. The main peacock trail does have regulars riding along with groups from BOTS and so on but the real danger arises from the increased motorcycle traffic on the trail stemming from local crowds and the nearby college. All-in-all, weekends have become a free-for-all!

I respect the objective of this thread, but for what its worth, I genuinely think mountain bikers here on this group are among the more sensitive to the local flora and fauna. Although reinforcing the message doesn't hurt, if you really want this to have an impact, methinks it needs to be targeted at a different, wider audience. These days the associations of the apartment complexes around Turahalli would be a good place to start. The people at Sobha and Brigade are very interested in preserving and protecting Turahalli and frankly have quite a lot of skin in the game considering its their backyard. 

Also, I'd be more keen to stop the periodic burning of the forest which wipes out far more of the local fauna than any tyres by far. Its pretty horrible to watch the hordes of insects and critters running for it as the fire spreads. Particularly as there's nowhere to go but the road! Now THAT really infuriates me. 

I'll keep an eye out for any little critters the next time I'm there. Seen a couple of hares = recently :) 

Cheers,

Rahul