UK trail groups seem to be gathering momentum at the moment, but with public funding thinner than ever these days, the amount of work they can do or action they can take is sometimes limited. Ride Sheffield are partnering with Vertebrate Publishing to try an interesting new funding model, with Vertebrate’s mountain bike trail guide for the Peak District now contributing royalties to the group.
It’s an interesting model – Vertebrate are seen to be giving something back, and Ride Sheffield members are presumably incentivised to promote their books. Ride Sheffield have had plenty of success before. While trail building, both the physical process and getting permission to use land, is never a fast process, they’ve put multiple well built trails in place around Sheffield – most recently Lady Canning’s. We’re looking forward to seeing what they do with a bit more support. Full release from Vertebrate below.
Release:
“Ride Sheffield to receive royalties from Peak District MTB guidebook sales
“29 November 2017: From 2018 onwards, mountain bike trail advocacy group Ride Sheffield will receive a royalty from the sales of Vertebrate Publishing’s Peak District Mountain Biking guidebook.
“Originally released in 2004 as Dark Peak Mountain Biking, the guide was the first book Vertebrate published and it remains the most up-to-date guide to riding in the Dark Peak – it was most recently updated in 2016.
“Ride Sheffield was formed in 2009 and has been instrumental in representing the interests of mountain bikers in the Sheffield and Peak District area by championing access issues and launching trail building initiatives, including the UK’s first crowdfunded MTB trail at Lady Canning’s Plantation.
“Ride Sheffield president Henry Norman commented: ‘It’s been great to have the support of Vertebrate Publishing right from the beginning, so it’s fantastic that they are contributing even more and in a way that guarantees us a steady bit of funds and fits in with a model of funding we are moving towards. Vertebrate have always championed our work and it’s great that they have helped us spread our message further.’
“Vertebrate Publishing’s John Coefield added: ‘We’ve long been supporters of the work Ride Sheffield has been doing and now seems a good time to more formally support their work. Ride Sheffield’s approach to MTB advocacy is groundbreaking; coming from a background in climbing we know how important it is to have an organised and coherent voice when it comes to access issues.’
“Donations to Ride Sheffield contribute towards trail repairs, trail building and supporting the volunteers as they champion access issues on behalf of Sheffield and the Peak District’s mountain bikers. Find out more at: www.ridesheffield.org.uk“
If you want to check out Vertebrate Publishing, their website is: www.v-publishing.co.uk
