I’m not sure if anyone follows Paul the Punter on YouTube, but he just posted a video explaining why he quit mountain biking completely, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwSHV7xuQd4&ab_channel=PaulThePunter

Oh my days. That is the most boring video I have [ not really] seen in a long time. Does he actually get to the point and tell us why he quit,?
I kept jumping forwards but just kept getting ” so this video is about why I quit” over and over again without actually telling us

Wild Biking’ (brilliant, btw)

Well, Fin and Rob will chuffed as **** if this pans out their website will get stacks of hits.

There’s a bit of a disconnect here which is hard to reconcile…

On the one hand, danger is sexy and sex sells; the reason the majority of media coverage is of the more extreme (and talented) end of the sport is because it’s exceptional; it stands out as a spectacle of human achievement, driving not only the sport forward, but a wider understanding of the abilities of our species, as opposed to the somewhat less sexy image of bimblers doddering through the wilderness.

At the other end of the scale, we have a maturing sport, which has earned it’s place in society and now wants to give back… much like a Jehovah’s Witness who seeks to enlighten others, and whilst we can offer spiritual growth and salvation, there are also more tangible physical benefits.

Now the physical realm is where the disconnect begins; on the one hand, regular indulgence in MTB offers improved fitness, along with a wealth of feel good gubbins bundled in for free… however, it does also present the problem of injury, which is a very real risk (as I write this, though I personally relish the more dangerous side of the sport, I am currently more of a bimbler due to an injury sustained the best part of 4 months ago… however, I’ll keep plugging away at my daily exercises so that I can once again enjoy the sweet taste of danger), no doubt borne out by data held by the health services surrounding popular MTB destinations.

The real problem here is that in order to truly give back to the community, MTB needs to work with authorities so as to secure grants and funding, which in turn, means that sexy danger goes out the window and it’s time to delve deep into policy documents and find the keywords reflecting tangible benefits to society.

Seems that the drive towards trail associations and legitimacy is a good thing in terms of creating a more significant presence in terms of leveraging access laws and the like, but at this stage, it is still fraught with many obstacles; I have personally put a substantial amount of time and effort into bringing a trail association into being, but am now having 2nd thoughts due to my neighboring trail association’s experiences with NRW… whilst training and qualifications for guiding and coaching are already well established, there is a perceived skills gap in terms of trail building and monitoring… in terms of off piste trails, we’re still very much at the stage where forgiveness is easier that permission.

Overall though, I’d say there’s been huge advances in the sport over the last 10 years; there is far more facilities, be that trail centres, bike parks, pump tracks or unofficial trails than ever before and that trend looks set to continue; one of the main obstacles which we face is a geographic one; all too often the best terrain is some way from population centres, which reduces the number of people likely to take an interest.

spot on

edit this was a reply to ” Another simile would be to think of bridleway bimblers like me see their bikes like a landrover – a tool for getting into the countryside and the gnarly nutters its more like a rally car – a tool to enjoy going as fast as you can on rough track”.

My view is that a better co-ordinated national promotion of all non-competitive cycling is where the most impact will be felt. British Cycling has proved itself inadequate at doing this and Cycling UK suffers an image problem (and lack of funding) to really make the difference that it wants. Asking the manufacturers is laudable but they will only join if there is a serious strategy that they can see the benefit of. Once we (co-ordinated cyclists) have made a case and have achieved a good understanding of the benefits and enjoyment that cycling brings amongst the majority of non-cyclists (including central-Government departments who filter it down to local government), the appreciation of the various ‘sub-sections’ of cycling will improve.

Boring, I know, but I think this is the only way to meet Hannah’s wish.

Inter-nicene fighting between those who consider themselves the real mountain bikers doesn’t help and neither does the demonisation of other countryside access groups.

I’m not really sure I get the ‘wild cycling’ thing. Wild camping is camping with no facilities. Off road cycling is just that, cycling not on a road, but a bridleway or trail cenetre is the facilities, so it’s not wild….

I think, if we want to get more open access, we need more general acceptance, so having every picture associated with MTBing as some stormtrooper pulling a 10ft high tailwhip or schralping the brown pow doesn’t really do us any favours although it might sell bikes. Showing people of different ages, backgrounds, ethnicities and gender having fun on bikes beautiful countryside might help.

I just did an image search for mountainbiking. I don’t use google so your results might vary but its interesting that its mainly open face helmets wheels on the ground and beautiful scenery not stormtroupers doing difficult things

Bit of a mix on google, Lots of radness but some other bits in there as well, including a young girl, which is great.

The things that I don’t think have been discussed in this thread the ecosystem and mountain biking. We used to drive somewhere to ride most weekends, but now we have drastically reduced the amount of driving we do to ride a bike. Most of out riding now is straight from the door and either road or making the best of what the local area has to offer. I don’t think for us this will change as we don’t want to contribute more than we have to polution and climate change.
Maybe for city dwellers someone could run coach trips with bike trailers (like they do to Europe) or trains could be provided with decent bike facilities. The Ramblers seem to manage to organise coach trips and I know people who don’t drive but would like to mountain bike.
The other elephant in the room is EBikes I don’t ride one but when we were shopping in Bike Treks they said that The majority of bikes they sold were e bikes. Hire e bikes seem very popular in the Lakes and it would appear to be a good way of getting more people out. I don’t think your average non cyclist even thinks about Gnar but they do think about hills.

Fun has to be the key.

All the people we’ve turned on to riding off road have purely been into it for fun.

They didn’t feel the need to aspire to anything:

Not to buy a posh bike.
Not to be a part of a scene.
Not as an alternative to golf, or sailing, or climbing.
Just fun.

I used to organise MTB meets a few times a year for members of our Mountaineering Club.
By far, the most positive feedback and largest attendances were non tech rides rediscovering areas people already knew. Llanberis Quarry, Snowdonia cheek, London Road above Hebden etc.

If you want a perfect example of how to turn people on to riding off road, look at Hit The North – especially the pre race introductory rides.
Experienced, seasoned MTBers like Terrahawk, Harry The Spider and Mr Sparkle taking the time to be nice to newbies.
Inclusivity.
Mrs Spanner, previously a roadie was treated so well, never belittled, always looked after.
The trails were all rideable by those with a bit of experience, but beginners were never, ever made to feel like they didn’t belong, needed a posh bike or weren’t welcome.
I’ll never forget Terrahawk showing her some of the easier options, or pretending to need a pee and waiting just to make sure no one ever felt excluded.
And my god, it was fun.

I’ll never forget the buzz from those rides. The feeling of not being judged by wealth or ability.

Perhaps that’s what we should be striving for?

Support the businesses that support mountain biking…  and once people can make money out of presenting sensible mountain biking, they will have marketing and PR budgets and present it in that way. If they can sell a family a 1 week holiday in a chalet next to the bike trails, they will present the sport in the same style as a skiing holiday.

Just call it “Wild cycling” and everyone will jump on the bandwagon! It worked for swimming and camping 😉

Absolutely. For example I used to find picnics boring, but now I’m totally into wild eating!!!

Weeksy

Surrey hills has 1 shop, 1 pub and a post office, again not exactly embraced

I think you must be confusing Surrey Hills with a single village in Surrey Hills…
I usually try to manage at least 2-3 pubs on a ride… 😉 The Plough is good for Redlands/Leith Hill – Kings Head has been built at the bottom of Crackpipe /Wet and Wild so you can get a pint in between runs… and the Royal Oak is good if you want to get straight to Logans Run without the boring misery of Telegraph. (and that’s really just Peaslake/Holmbury/Leith Hill area .. lots and lots more riding in the wider SH)

the UK simply hasn’t embraced MTB in terms of destinations. There’s no bars, cafes, bike shops all at the bottom

Inners has four bike shops, four cafes and a few pubs all in between the golfie and the uplift side.

The number of visitors here would suggest it is very much a “destination” for MTBers.

What stu said, but I’d add Aviemore to that short list. The major difference here is that the MTBers are generally of the more bimbly type (Burnside aside) and the number can be hidden by the folk also doing walking, running, paddling, swimming, skiing etc. Local businesses are installing secure bike storage, bike washes and so on too.

I’ve a feeling Fort William should be a third but I’m not sure it’s quite there (local knowledge please?). The new carriages on the train should certainly make it more accessible to those without a car/van option but I don’t think it has quite the variety of accessible trails (yet?)

Maybe encouraging folk to be outdoors and active would create a fitter, healthier population with fewer mental health issues? If you want a bottom line, think of the cost of the NHS and of lost working days due to illness and then how much those could be reduced.

The whole point is trying to get away from the “dangerous activity” vibe which puts off the majority.

If you’re looking for UK MTB destinations in Berkshire you’re looking in the wrong place…

you need to go to surrey for that.

my sons school has a mountain biking club, they go all over to ride, they do day trips to the welsh trail centres that are probably 1-2 hours from here, weekends to inners/glentress etc, and week long trips abroad.

I dont think most people are put off because “its dangerous” (although some certainly are), they’re probably put off because its hard work – not just in terms of pedalling up a hill, but loading the bike into the car , driving to somewhere worth riding etc. If you’re in it for the exercise, its usually far easier to go for a run, or go out on a road bike, why bother with the faff of a mountain bike and finding somewhere off road to ride it. its just more all round effort to go wild cycling that it is to run or ride on the road – for most people. or if you are in it for the views, the wildlife ,the fresh air etc, just go for a walk in the hills, why bother with a bike?

If you live near a decent selection of trails then there probably are already a higher percentage of people riding mountain bikes than normal.

Why is it a good thing to get them to do MTB instead?

My take on this is it makes things better for us folks that already ride.

As an example riding MTB’s round here is pretty mainstream and almost everyone knows someone who rides or sees people out riding.
This leads to it being seen as more normal. Which in turn stops most but not all people complaining about you riding a bike.
It’s pretty normal for me to stop and chat with walkers/ dog walkers/horse riders/forestry guys/farmer workers and they couldn’t care less as to my mode of transport.
That hardly ever used to happen riding in an area where bikes were a lot less common.

Its when they drive home to their non-honeypot house that their mum/wife/neighbour thinks they are nuts

That’s the point of getting more people in to riding.
Their mum/wife/neighbour will see it as a pretty normal thing to do because it’s more common.

And what is called “gravel riding” these days was mountainbiking years ago.  IMO its due to MTBs becoming so much more capable that bridleway bimbling becomes no challenge / fun on a modern MTB