Markdorf - Once again, a stranger tried to prevent people from using the mountain bike trail between the Gehrenberg tower and Möggenweiler. These days he has laid out a self-made nail board above Möggenweiler. This obstacle almost proved fatal for a 43-year-old mountain biker on Saturday evening at around 7 p.m. when he rolled over it. Fortunately, only his two tyres were destroyed in the process, and when checking the section of the route, the man discovered a wooden board anchored in the ground with two long nails, from which around 80 nails protruded around 30 millimetres. "Based on the situation, the police assume that the nail board was deliberately placed at this location, where numerous mountain bikers are known to be travelling," reported Wolfgang Hoffmann, press spokesman for the Friedrichshafen police department. This is not the first time that attempts have been made to cause mountain bikers to fall on this route, apparently without any regard for the health and lives of the cyclists. Several times in recent years, fallen tree trunks have simply been placed on the path, but this has not had much effect, reports Hoffmann, as the mountain bikers simply ride around the obstacle. There were also reports of an unknown person who stretched wire ropes across the lane on the so-called "Leimbach Trail". Two years ago, a cyclist was slightly injured as a result, Hoffmann said, but the investigation came to nothing. "There was no evidence of anyone", said the police spokesperson yesterday. Nail boards are also nothing new on this stretch of road. Adrian Hänfling from the MTB Club Gehrenberg reported this to the SÜDKURIER two years ago, but it is also clear that using the "Leimbach Trail", which is now well-known in the scene far beyond Markdorf, by bike is an offence under the State Forest Act. Riding on such a trail would only be permitted if it was more than two metres wide, explained Hoffmann. This is not the case on the Gehrenberg. The forest owners would actually have to remove the illegal conditions. Apparently, however, there is a kind of tolerance, said the police spokesman, adding that the offences committed by mountain bikers on the trail do not justify vigilante justice. If a cyclist is injured, the charges can range from damage to property, as in the case of the destroyed tyres, to manslaughter and murder if a cyclist is killed in a fall, explained Hoffmann.People who can provide information about the unknown perpetrator are asked to contact the Markdorf police station on 0 75 44/9 62 00.SOURCE:Photos and text from the SÜDKURIER of 10.08.2010
