I already pay to ride at certain places and don't mind. If the facilities are good, riding is awesome and varied, help on hand, food etc etc etc I would pay no problem.

I used to pay to go to the gym (recently cancelled my membership as I've not been for a year) I pay to go swimming so don't see if being any different.

It's certainly not free, as a regular at my local trail centre I think I already pay through my contributions to income tax, car park charges, and the on site café. However I realise that they could always do with more money and the best way in my opinion is through secondary sources of income. Policing a pay-to-ride scheme would be more trouble than it's worth in my opinion but like many museums in New York a donation based model can work by strongly encouraging riders to donate as much as they can afford.

Leregent
I think, from reading posts above, that's what already happens at Penmachno, they have an honesty box. I think the sign above the box specifies that all donations go back into the trail upkeep, yet not very many people donate.

Personally, I think car parking fees are the best way to raise cash for trail upkeep, it seems that fewer people conveniently forget. However, putting a parking meter in cost alot of money.

Epicyclo, I don't think pigeonholing people into trail centre n00bs and rugged outdoorsmen is very helpful. When I started mountain biking trail centres were a big encouragement to me as they meant I could go and have an enjoyable experience regardless of weather, overgrown bridleways, or rain-sodden maps. Now I'm a bit more of a confident cyclist I'm riding more on natural terrain and using the RoW network. I suspect that most people go through a similar development and very few riders end up ridng exclusively on RoW or at purpose-built trails.

I also think that the trail centres = mountain bike ghettos argument is unfounded. My experience of unofficial, "natural" trail closures is that they tend to take place where mountain bikers aren't welcome in the first place – there are a few places where an inferior "official" facility is provided instead but it's very dubious that this prompted the unofficial trails' closure.

penmachno –

most people who ride the trail dont spend any time let alone money in the village.

The two times I have ridden there I stayed at the The Eagles 4* bunkhouse above the pub. It's probably the only way to spend money in the village ATM.

I thoroughly recommend The Eagles BTW: convenient for Snowdon, Coed, Marin and Pen; friendly, snug, clean, well equipped, bike shed, good beer etc.

We also stayed at the campsite at the end of the road and ate/drank in The Eagles.

If you're asking if I pay when there is a fee, then yes I do (e.g. Swinley). If you're asking if more trail centres should move to a payment model, then no, no they shouldn't.

If the Forestry Commission have effectively been gifted large tracts of the country, then they should invest to allow others to enjoy the resource as well.

If the FC can't make as much money as needed then it needs to either make more money – perhaps charge for trail use or sell off the forest to large PLCs who may not even think of doing anything MTB related…

To be honest – from reading the posts here there seem to be a lot of people who expect something for nothing. Who is going to put the hardwork in to build and maintain the trails?? Ummpa lumpas??? I'm not sure what Mr Wonka pays them but he does pay them!

I know trail building does help keep the forest under FC control as they are fulfilling the social access part of their remit. Forests without the trails are more likely to be sold to private concerns.

Now here's the rub, it cost to put trails in so money has to come from somewhere, not likely to be the FC as they will already considering whether the forest is commercially viable. If the forests do get sold we'll lose all access to them.

To get better quality, more saleable timber, why don't they plant slower growing trees?

Mr Wonka saved them from having their natural habitat destroyed…he moved them and their natural habitat to the factory and as a thanks they work for him…

That's beautiful

surely a decent ride is worth at least 3 quid. You'd struggle to get into most tourist attractions for less than a tenner and given how much the average bike costs I'd have thought most of us can afford to pay when we go to a trail centre. if you go to five trailbuilding sessions at Glentress you get a free parking pass and I think they get extra funding for the work done by volounteers so the more there are the more money they get. most cafes are franchised out so the money spent there doesn't go into the trails.

Just got back from Llandegla. I'd pay not to ride at trail centres. Jeesuz, a McDonalds-style, Scalextracks ghetto for mountain bikers. Quite horrible 🙂

The only trail centre I often ride is Grizedale, and they can't charge for that as it's criss-crossed by numerous excellent bridleways 🙂

The FC not charging for trail centres is certainly not getting sometihng for nothing! They're getting the collective permission of the country to cover large swathes of it with pine forests and then cut it down and flog.

As I mentioned earlier – I still can't see why it's any different from a municipal park
They supply & maintain lots of different areas for various activities, playgrounds, Bowling greens, skateparks etc. all for no direct cost to the user

I don't associate a parking charge with using the facilities so don't have a problem paying that.
I suspect that the FC get quite a good return from the leases of on-site bike shops & I also suspect none of it goes to maintaining the bike trails even though the only customers to use them are there to use the trails.

Look at Golf courses… now they can range form cheap municipal to extortionate private clubs… if you wanted to ride the best then I'm sure you'd happily pay (more bang for your buck as the yanks would say). BTW – you'd still have bridleways for free

Personally, if I had Rotorua on my doorstep and I had to buy a permit I would – no questions asked, but if I had llandegla on my doorstep I'd have to seriously question buying a day pass. Its a question of quality – I'm not sure we've quite reached critical mass here yet.

LOL @ DickBarton

I apologised to my bike after riding at Llandegla today.

Like stevenmenmuir at Glentress, you can also get a free dalby pass if you do a few dig days For SingletrAction