To understand the phenomenon of unauthorised and unofficial trail building and riding, we reached out to the UK mountain biking community. The response from both riders and builders of unauthorised trails (you can read them in the comments below) was overwhelming, providing insights into the motivations, challenges, and passions that drive this aspect of the sport.

Methodology:

This article is based on crowdsourced opinions from UK mountain bikers, gathered through an open call for comments. Riders were invited to share their thoughts anonymously or openly on off-piste, unauthorised, unsanctioned, wild, off-grid, unofficial trails and why the UK mountain bike community build and ride them. This resulted in a diverse range of perspectives from across the community. The themes presented here emerged from analyzing these responses.

Key Themes:

• Progression, and Skill Development

A recurring theme in the responses was the need for trails that allow riders to progress their skills. Official trails, particularly those at trail centers, are often perceived as too tame or sanitized for more experienced riders. Unofficial trails allow for more technical, challenging, and diverse riding experiences. As one rider put it:

"Official trails have a wide design brief. Inclusion is important but if you try to please everyone, you please no one. Some places have graded trails, but unless you're a bike park, you won't want the risk of having potentially dangerous features that people can get hurt on, so a Black is often just a shade of grey."  -Rob

Unofficial trails offer a way for riders to challenge themselves and push their limits in ways that many official trails cannot provide. 

"The quality and diversity of off piste trails is far greater than those 'sanctioned' or at trail centres. They also represent much more of a challenge than those at trail centres so are much more enjoyable for experienced riders." - Anonymous

Unnoficial trails also adapt to the needs of the community and progress technically as the skills of that community progress. As one respondent humorously put it, likening the repetitive nature of limited official trails to watching the same TV episodes:

"Take the TV series Friends. I want you to watch the same 3 episodes of the show, at least twice a week, if not three times, every week for 6 months. It gets boring, the same laughs, jokes and characters, on repeat." -Anonoymous

• Accessibility and Convenience

One of the most prevalent reasons for building and riding unofficial trails is the lack of sanctioned options close to home. Many riders expressed frustration with having to travel long distances to reach official trail centers. As one respondent noted:

"Because we can't all drive to Wales every weekend…"  -Greg

For younger riders or those without easy access to transportation, local unofficial trails provide an opportunity to ride regularly. We want our youth to be able to access the outdoors in a healthy way, and develop into the next generation of mountain bikers: 

"Teenagers who can't drive or travel miles to ride an official trail center. Hence they spend summer, evenings and weekends in the local woods and quarries digging and riding."  -Anonymous

The lockdown would have been an agent of growth for this demographic and a wider increase in the need for local access at the time, which in turn led to the rise in local trail development across the UK which has been sustained since as skills progressed and so by default did the trails.

• Cost and Affordability

The free nature of unofficial trails was highlighted as a significant advantage over paid bike parks:

"Then there's cost, I can ride local trails from my door for free or jump in the van drive an hour or so and pay to ride a bike park."  -Joe

Not only is it expensive to travel to and pay to ride a bike park but for many this cost is just not affordable compounded further by the cost of living crisis. We need MTB to be inclusive and not just a sport for the rich. 

"Not everyone can afford pay to ride bike parks or wants to drive an hour or more each way to get to one, so what do they do? Go to their local woods , find a nice looking steep hillside and dig their own trails" - Kath

• Creativity and Community 

Building unofficial trails is seen by many as an art form and a way to express creativity:

"For me and many others it's about artistic expression. We get to craft something we are truly proud of and is beautiful."  -Anonymous

Many riders prefer the more natural feel of unofficial trails compared to the often hardpacked and heavily engineered official trails:

"Riding compact hard-core is pony. Natural trails have better traction etc." - Jimbo

As well as the focus on fun, challenge, cost and convenience these trails also foster a sense of community and ownership as summed up below:

"Another added bonus I've found is the community around the local trails - especially when you start putting the work in and getting to know all the diggers etc." - Joe

In addition, related is the immense satisfaction people get from trail building and seeing others in the community enjoy them:

"Trail building is fun and riding trails you built and seeing the fun others get from them, well, that's just priceless" - Rob

• Demand Outstripping Supply

Many respondents pointed to the lack of official trails, particularly in certain regions:

"Because there are no official trails and local councils are not interested in helping to build any?" -Anonymous

Sometimes given the scale of mountain bikers in the UK the number of official trails comparatively expected to satisfy demand can seem quite absurd.

"In the Surrey Hills, renowned area for UK mountain biking, visited by thousands of riders, there is just one (1) officially sanctioned trail." - Anon

More common though there are none:

"Simply Where else can most people ride ? official trails are practically zero in my area except a flat blue in a country park there's nothing ." - Michael

• Nurturing Talent, Tomorrow's World Class Champions

Unofficial trails play a crucial role in developing the awe-inspiring world-class UK talent be it mountain bike champions or YouTube sensations. There aren't any that could have made it without the benefits of the unofficial trail network to hone their skills. The UK youth rightly so want to be like them. Where else will they get those skills? Simply put:

"UK riding talent would never be what it is without unofficial trails being built."  -beaver

It is through the variety and progression offered by unofficial trails we get that trail fairy magic that contributes to developing world-class talent:

"International talent is cultivated in the local woods - just look at how many riders have come out of wharny in Sheffield or the Surrey Hills" - Will

• Flexibility and Rapid Development vs A Lack of Official Options and Bureaucratic Hurdles

Many respondents pointed to the lack of official trails, particularly in certain regions, and the difficulties in getting new trails approved:

"You have to drive a long long way to get to anything decent and official unless you live in mid Wales, Scottish borders etc, and the local rights of way are very backward and restrictive filled with self righteous dog walkers and angry people who think they own the rights of way." - Anonymous

The bureaucracy and time involved in creating official trails was also cited as a reason for unofficial building. The ability to quickly create and modify trails without bureaucratic hurdles was seen as a significant advantage:

"Government-funded trails take years from planning to completion and are generally disappointing when finished. Much better and quicker for someone who knows what they're doing to pick up a shovel and do it themselves." - Anonymous

• The Origins and Evolution of Mountain Biking

Finally, this is not some new thing. Mountain biking in the UK has a rich history that predates official trails and modern bike technology. As one respondent captured:

"Just remember where mountain biking came from guys! You wouldn't have a sport if it weren't for 'unsanctioned trails'"  -Anonymous

This sentiment echoes throughout the community, reminding us that before official trails existed, riders were carving their own paths through the forest. Then as bikes have evolved, so too has the need for more challenging and diverse terrain.

"The whole concept of 'official' trails is a bit weird to even begin with. Riding mountain bikes started by taking a bike out and riding, then people added features and such. Baking in 'official' trails is a later construct" - Anonymous

You may ironically be hard-pushed to find an official trail that didn't start as unofficial.

"It's worth noting first that almost all trail centres once started as unofficial trails. For instance I used to ride the unofficial downhill trails in gethin woodlands before it eventually became bike park wales." - jonsr

Too often though when an unofficial trail becomes official it then becomes sanitised as the authorities tame them down and restrict the progression which as we have read is contrary to the needs of that community as their skills will have only progressed forward not backwards. This demonstrates a common and complete lack of understanding of the UK MTB community's needs from authorities.

" An example of this is Rowberrow in Somerset, where there had been unofficial trails for years. When a deal was made to sanction official trails, only the least challenging were chosen and most of the better original trails were blocked or destroyed." -Jonathan

Conclusion:

The reasons UK mountain bikers build and ride unofficial trails are complex and multifaceted. While the desire for convenient, fun, challenging, free-to-ride and creatively designed trails in a community set-up are primary drivers, issues of land access, bureaucracy, and the sport's cultural roots also play significant roles.  These trails serve a vital function in the mountain biking ecosystem in the UK.

As the popularity of the sport increases, striking a balance among the interests of riders, landowners, and environmental concerns continues to be a challenge. Currently, organisations such as Natural Resources Wales and Forestry England have an awareness of the mountain biking (MTB) community's needs. However, this awareness appears to be more on an individual hit-and-miss rather than a national policy level and there is minimal movement to develop a policy that addresses these needs. A deeper understanding of the evolving requirements of mountain bikers, beyond the basic trails, is necessary.

Hence, this article aims to provide insight into the motivations behind unofficial trail building and riding, highlighting the importance of these trails to the sport's development and the riding community. More it highlights not some niche segment but represents the needs of all mountain bikers. We all naturally progress through the sport and as we develop our skills so do our needs, but the "official trail network" today fails to satisfy this need and organisations would be blinkered and naive to think it does and is 'enough'.

This is the core framing of the learning. These needs above are the needs to satisfy across the sport for all mountain bikers if we want to continue to create world champions, get both the big kids and little kids off the sofa, out into nature, build strong cohesive communities and reap in buckets both the physical and mental health benefits delivered.

As the discussion continues, all stakeholders must work towards solutions that provide exciting riding opportunities, with progressive and challenging trails while respecting land use regulations and environmental concerns. iBikeRide believes that it's time for us to be much more assertive in describing our needs and making our voices heard.

We thank all the riders and diggers who shared their thoughts and experiences, helping to shed light on this important aspect of UK mountain biking culture. This article is a living document, and we welcome further comments and perspectives as this conversation evolves. Your input will help shape future updates and ensure that the voice of the mountain biking community continues to be heard.

Read: 2465 times Published: 21/09/2024