The trouble is the goals for "growing MTB" are as broad as all the sub-niches that make it up. "MTBing" means wildly different things to different people, which makes it generally quite hard to grow...
Obviously there's varying levels of gnar across all MTBerists, but the most common imagery of padded up Bro's smashing their way about the woods and high fiving is kind of the most pervasive one now. The bolting on of motors hasn't improved the wider image of the pastime.
But is it such a bad thing? I can't help thinking all sub-niches of bicycle riding inevitably reach a bit of a plateau eventually; in terms of participants, social acceptance and infrastructure. Between the churn of new-golfers, Pandemic purchases and impending economic doom even MTBing has to face the reality of "sustainable growth" at some point.
Concentrate on gravel advocacy as this is seen (and rightly so) as a more open and accessible type of riding. Mountain biking can then ride on the waves of better acces garnered from gravel.
I just don’t think that the general image of mountain biking can really be changed amongst most common folks.
TBH ^^this^^ makes sense, Gravel is the newer niche, dentists and stockbrokers are aware of it, YT hipsters are chopping their fixies in for a Gravel bike and some dry bags. Most importantly the imagery fits the profile if you're campaigning for access and long distance off-road routes, non-competitive, smiling people with a bit of mud on them, not really causing much of a fuss has a better chance. MTB can just ride it's younger brother's coat tails for a bit.
My observation of riders who cry about ‘sanitisation’ do so because said trail is within their comfort zone, and trying anything new or spicy makes them quiver; absolute screamers the lot of them.
Whereas my, and I suspect people more involved in Peak District MTB like @pook , views on and complaints about sanitisation are framed because it is SO badly done by the absolute cretins at Derbyshire CC who have a track (no pun intended) record of completely ruining trails for everyone inc walkers and horse riders.
A year after they've dumped a load of rubble on it, the rubble is all washed to the bottom and there's foot deep ruts down the entire thing.
@crazy-legs that's not sanitisation, that's just dogshit maintenance and building.
imagery of padded up Bro’s smashing their way about the woods and high fiving is kind of the most pervasive one now.
Is it?
You really don’t need a Gravel Bike to ride gravel – that cheap hybrid in Halfords will do the job just fine. That’s the message to push
This is true, but also...
You really don’t need a 5k full suss Bike to ride most MTB trails– that cheap hardtail in Halfords will do the job just fine. That’s the message to push
This is also true, and should be pushed. Every time I go to Leeds urban bike park (I hate calling it that, it's just miggy woods...) I see kids on cheap Carrera's having a great time.
This is also true, and should be pushed. Every time I go to Leeds urban bike park (I hate calling it that, it’s just miggy woods…) I see kids on cheap Carrera’s having a great time.
My standout memory from there was watching a local lad from the estate giving it beans on a proper rust bucket BMX whilst wearing wellies. 🤘
Every city needs its own version of LUBP. Jez the head honcho does great work with local kids and is trying to do more.
Ride bikes, roll eyes.
Is it?
Outside of this little internet corner of sensible moderation, yep.
It's almost entirely what made Pinkbike a success, the image of MTBing it promotes is mostly gnar focussed. And the algorithm will probably nudge newbies more towards PB than STW I reckon.
But like several of us have said 'Gravel' is a useful promotional tool if you're advocating of off-road bicycle access. Once the argument is won the bikes people actually use don't have to exactly match those shown in whatever bumph you used in the pitch...
If the idea is to get mountain biking into the media as a positive message, then which image will the picture editor use, will it be a) the bloke in the full face doing a suicide over a 35ft gap, or b) the middle aged bearded bloke riding what looks suspiciously like a road bike on a by-way?
Haven't got any time this morning so will drop this and run until later, as it is a fascinating topic.
How about another approach - 'The many elements of cycling'
Start with a tree structure with the word 'Cycling' at the top and pan down from there.
Road, off road maybe the two main ones and I bet it will sprawl into something huge.
Can pick out bits as needed and expand, including a few 'This is dangerous' type boxes but, on the whole the idea is to present cycling as one entity.
If the idea is to get mountain biking into the media as a positive message, then which image will the picture editor use, will it be a) the bloke in the full face doing a suicide over a 35ft gap, or b) the middle aged bearded bloke riding what looks suspiciously like a road bike on a by-way?
BUt only one of those is MTBing.... the other, is, well, gravel biking 😀
'we' are the outgoing generation of MTBers anyway, we barely exist... I don't see why 'we' need things to change anyhow ? It's not like they're going to knock up a village at the bottom of a set of trails. The UK just isn't designed like that, doesn't work like that. Taking a MTB out even on gravel rides for 2-3 hours of long slogs up hill with some reward of a downhill later.. You know what, i'm just not seeing your average 50 year old doing it. We're the exception. The others, they're taking a stroll which ends up less than a mile away at the furthest point from the car and telling themselves they're proper nutters going out into the wild 😀 😀
Maybe we'll convert a couple here, a couple there.. we've all done it, taken a mate out who's now a MTBer.... but for every 1 we convert, there's 1000 we never could.
Outside of this little internet corner of sensible moderation, yep.
I am beginning to think this is a geographical thing because like Scotroutes I see the main part of mountainbiking is not the armored up gnarly types at all but far more folk wandering around the woods and hills. Or is it related to what an individual does?
I am beginning to think this is a geographical thing because like Scotroutes
100% correct... but you guys live where that sort of stuff is more normal, more accepted and lets face it, you're not 20 🙂
But location of course plays a massive part yes.
I am beginning to think this is a geographical thing
Yep, where you live (and what terrain you're used to) makes a massive difference to what/how you ride.
What is the purpose of rebranding mtb? Why is it necessary to 'grow our sport'?
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,
A huge amount of the marketing and videos around MTB is so focused on the bigger, harder, faster, more dangerous, as that is what drives clicks.
I do not identify with most of what Paul talks about in his video, as I do not ride in that way, nor do I put myself in situations where the peer pressure ("encouragement") gets to that point, but it is what is very visible in the media, especially US based.
From my riding. there is a huge amount of people who just do XC style, and that counts in the US too, who do not go to these extremes, but that does not drive the clicks and therefore advert money.
What is the purpose of rebranding mtb? Why is it necessary to ‘grow our sport’?
Yep, I was about to ask that. I know that those engaged in discourse with the authorities or trying to sell as much bike stuff as possible want mountain biking to be a cuddly, inoffensive thing that everyone loves, but sometimes things just are what they are.
I think people are sort of right about the gravel thing but I think the 'industry' mags or whatever... could start to show what people actually do rather than what the marketers want people to see. People aren't bike packing that much, yes I know its getting bigger but it's still pretty niche, people arent stopping to high five and brew up a coffee with the tinyist coffe maker than can be bought for £350 and finish the ride with a beer that they've been carying for 30 miles but somehow doesn't cover them when they open it. Gravel is just off road riding where a 5k gnarpoon is not needed. Drop bars, flat bars, rigid or susspension it doesn't matter, just go somewhere nice and ride your bike! ATB was definitley better than MTB. The french have it right with VTT.
Also, if there is non technical bridleways over actual mountains, is that gravel riding or mountain biking?
I think a lot of what peopl are saying is mountain biking today is actually DH mountain biking but you have to get to the top of the run first and sometimes that involves riding there....
I see there's still a few on here with their you do it different to me so you do it wrong attitude to riding bikes in the woods.
I really don't think it's framed as a dangerous activity here in the Tweed Valley.
You only have to go to GT in the week and see groups of young kids out riding as part of their school activities as proof of this.
It's just pissing about on bikes however you want to frame it.
Ride up a mountain/ride a bikepark/ride along a tow path/ ride to the pub.
Just enjoy what [b]you[/b] like and don't worry about someone doing it differently to you.
What is the purpose of rebranding mtb? Why is it necessary to ‘grow our sport’?
This. 100%
And as mountain biking seems choc a block full of wannabe alpha males with big bikes and T5s covered in stickers i doubt the many want it to be seen as anything other than "max rad to the power of gnar" How can you show off to the ladies by the works coffee machine if you've only been "riding your bike in the countryside".
Wow, some very divergent experiences!
Still a way to go in general but, personally, we’ve seen a huge amount of very positive stuff with mountain biking recently 🙂 this weekend at FOD and Cannock (not places we normally go), it was really nice to see the changes and how diverse our little activity is starting to look, lots of families from lots of backgrounds with so many different bikes. We also see lots more families and retirees out and about on the local trails.
Heading out for a ride locally, it’s often as much about socialising as it is riding. It can be big drops, jumps, bridle way bimbling and chatting with horse riders / hikers all in the same ride. It definitely seems more friendly to us out and about, and once we’ve got to know them, it’s amazing how much we have in common with horse riders and other users of the great outdoors, it’s a brill opportunity to chat to people and we get people’s life stories a lot more than we ever used to.
Bikes are just pretty cool, whatever they are. I have an enduro bike that also gets used to go to the shops and today it will be used to collect prescriptions from the Drs for some of the older local residents who have mobility issues.
There was a bit of friction between some users during lockdown but it all seems a lot more positive to us than it used to be. 🙂
riding your bike in the countryside
I like this. Its all things to all people without the connotation of bicycle storm troopers that seems increasingly to be what mainstream mtb is.
increasingly to be what mainstream mtb is.
In the specialist media and in some areas perhaps
One thing I have noticed is on TV adverts how often you see mountainbikes used now to signify something cool - and its almost always XC bimbling they use. Watch out for it.
Also I have seen in Scotland holiday cottages and the like advertising their facilities for mountainbikers. Secure parking, washing facilities and route guides
In the specialist media and in some areas perhaps
Its worse here for sure, but if you read any puff piece on niche sports in any of the mainstream media outlets, its full of words like 'protein bars, energy drink, white knuckle, thrill seeking, exhausting, drained, adrenalin, etc...'
It's certainly not exclusively that and its easy to find more mild descriptions targeted at say, the centre Parcs crowd, but the preponderance of imagery and writing is on the gnar side.
Personally, I find the relentless imagery of amazingly talented riders doing incredible things on bikes no where near the ground completely uninspiring.
These people are the gods of our sports, but I have neither the time, appetite for risk/pain, free equipment or inclination to ever get near what they do. They're so far removed from the reality of the riding I enjoy that it ceases to be relevant.
But then, I don't think I'm target demographic anymore.
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,
A huge amount of the marketing and videos around MTB is so focused on the bigger, harder, faster, more dangerous, as that is what drives clicks.
I do not identify with most of what Paul talks about in his video, as I do not ride in that way, nor do I put myself in situations where the peer pressure (“encouragement”) gets to that point, but it is what is very visible in the media, especially US based.
From my riding. there is a huge amount of people who just do XC style, and that counts in the US too, who do not go to these extremes, but that does not drive the clicks and therefore advert money.
I saw the video and did not identify with what he talked about but then I again I have never been in Whistler, Moab etc and haven't felt what the scene there is. Of course his situation was amplified due making living from Youtube videos.
Later I realized that if I would substitute the word 'riding' in video with 'climbing' it would then match very well with reasons why I have quit climbing. There is just too much risk involved in outdoor climbing (no big mountains but not much sport climbing areas either, usually somewhat remote crags on natural protection) for me now.
On the subject of re-branding.
I've got some fairly niche hobbies (I play folk music and roleplaying games) and am perfectly happy doing something that's poorly understood. So why does off-road cycling need a re-brand?
Here's why it will help. Off-road cycling usually happens in shared spaces such as rights-of-way and forest parks. It only happens conflict-free because of the consent of other users* and landowners. In the same way as walkers, equestrians and dog-walkers rely on our consent to go about their activities in peace. Like it or not, many other users & landowners feel threatened by people cycling off-road. Other users having a better understanding of what we do (and why) means they are much more likely to consent and support our activity.
Why does growing the hobby help? Because the more people who do it, the more normal it is, the more people will consent to cycling happening as part of the normal trail mix.
For the record, I like "wild cycling" I think it's a nice catch-all for quite a variety of activities.
*they can't stop people cycling, it's a right of way, but they can make it really unpleasant to the point of making it unappealing.
@stwhannah anyway you could get your articles into the main stream press? The average London based journalist will have been skiing but probably not touched a bike since they were a kid.
I agree with you that urban local 'trails' help access and diversity in cycling. Just come off a 3 day 'dig' with Ride Bristol updating a very popular trail in a park next to the city.The feedback we got from passing riders and the volunteers really made it worth all the effort. Also had backing from one of those large bike companies (Santa Cruz via Stiff Mountain Bikes sponsored the work), so they are putting something back and promoting riding.
Why the hell mountain biking is labelled an extreme sport, God only knows.
Megavalanche looks pretty damn extreme.
I think I'd prefer the term 'Adventurous cycling' if we'll all getting out sixpence worth in.
I really don’t think it’s framed as a dangerous activity here in the Tweed Valley.
Things might have changed but the #1 cause of long-term absence in the Lothians and Border Fire Service certainly used to be biking injuries sustained at Glentress 🤪
More people would get into 'Wild Biking' (brilliant, btw) if the media reviewed and promoted cheaper bikes.
Not just once a year, but all the time.
MBUK used to do it when I was looking for my first proper MTB, after years of bodging road bikes and old tourers.
Nowadays, if someone curious Googles Mountain Biking, they'll come across a place like this, which has made a conscious decision not to represent those without large amounts of cash.
The analogy between skiing and mtbiking is interesting. Most of the people I ski with are mtbikers and quite a few of the mtbikers I ride with either ski or snowboard too.
Getting women into mtbiking has always been a tough one. Women in general don't like getting muddy, wet and cold. They see it as hard work and let's face it one does have to have a pretty high level of fitness to ride up some rocky trails (some continuously for some way). Also it's an expensive sport, I've only managed to enjoy this sport because my bikes have been second hand, as are all the components. Also, yes it does come across as slightly dangerous. Even paying for a skills course can be an expensive day (worth the money).
As mentioned above it depends on where your local trails are as to how you are perceived as an mtber. The locals around here (Marple) are used to seeing mtbers on the many bridleways and trails and in the main everyone gets on, we're a friendly bunch and always say hello. There are a higher proportion of women and families that enjoy the 'off road cycling' routes too, maybe because we are fairly close to the large urban population of Stockport.
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,
/blockquote>
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
MTB is a broad church, maybe it's less about 'branding' and more about promoting the multitude of opportunities? I think that wild cycling/bimbling may have some legs. I suspect there are many more people who ride on dirt but don't consider themselves a mountain biker.
We talk a lot about diversity and accessibility and judge all the types of filthy wheels by what we see overall, maybe if we were to be a little more curious about the data it might show us that some 'disciplines' are better than others and where to focus efforts rather than it be a comment often accompanied with a wave of the hand and little else.
Wild Biking’ (brilliant, btw)
Well, Fin and Rob will chuffed as **** if this pans out their website will get stacks of hits.
@thegeneralist, I think I watched one of his videos way back and was instantly put off. Fella is generally dull.
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.
Just come off a 3 day ‘dig’ with Ride Bristol updating a very popular trail in a park next to the city.
I was there with my son yesterday.
So, if it wasn't you I was speaking to - thanks!
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".
Yes, the spectrum of MTB use.
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.
Another +1 for "wild cycling", obviously it's a bit tongue-in-cheek but that's fine. It reckon it could be on every other middle-aged women's dating profile by this time next year.
To the main point, Cycling UK have been busy trying to put their own mellower spin on MTB for a few years now. Mainly focusing on long-distance off-road routes, but they are certainly on board with the "rambling with a bike" ethos mentioned above. And very inclusive in their comms.
There were two common complaints when I was involved in advocacy that the industry. Actually there were a lot more than two, but these are the relevant ones).
1. That the industry was always marketing MTB as an extreme sport, with skids and stunts in promo videos.
2. More importantly, that the industry did sweet FA to understand or assist advocacy efforts. It wasn't even on their radar.
It seems these things might be gradually changing now, which is nice. I do hope Manon and her pals stay involved anyway.
But why is it necessary? One of the best articulations I've seen was in a Ride Sheffield blog post ages ago, where John H bemoaned MTBers being treated as "second class citizens of the outdoors". Changing that perception/treatment could bring positive developments on both a local and national level.
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.
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.
I'm not sure it even fulfills the latter requirements. Is it not the point that presenting that image actually deters the majority of potential customers? Those adverts are chasing upspend from a small niche of enthusiasts. As I said, compare the number of <£600 hardtails bought with the number of enduro or all-mountain bikes already, and then ponder where any new buyer is going to get involved
Oh - does anyone remember that "History of UK Mountain Biking" film? How much of it was about racing and how much about just riding in the hills?
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
Things might have changed but the #1 cause of long-term absence in the Lothians and Border Fire Service certainly used to be biking injuries sustained at Glentress
I believe in the Borders General, Glentress is known as ‘that awful place’
Bit of a mix on google, Lots of radness but some other bits in there as well, including a young girl, which is great.
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I just did the Google image search on my phone and one of the pics was of some trails I recognised (well ladybower in the background). So clicked on it to find a German Komoot page trying to sell “the outdoor city” to German mtb’ers as a destination. Fly to Manchester, take the train to Sheffield (remember to pre book your bike) and then you can ride straight to lady cannings plantation… or any of the other routes they’d taken from the venerable vg guide book we all love.
Which is interesting as it shows how one little bit of the industry is indeed trying to sell an area as a destination to tourists from abroad like we have with skiing here… it was talking up trail centres as a great British invention, which is kind of odd as the peak is precisely not a trail centre, but I’ll leave that to the marketing people.
Made me wonder though if the comparison to snow sports is a little unfair as the advertising of skiing and boarding in the uk is aimed at people who are by definition looking at expensive foreign holidays, whereas advertising of off road cycling in the uk to uk consumers is looking for a very different spend level. Would Austrian papers carry ads and editorial supplements advertising all the different resorts when domestic skiers would generally just drive to their local ski centre at the weekend…?
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.
Its worse here for sure, but if you read any puff piece on niche sports in any of the mainstream media outlets, its full of words like ‘protein bars, energy drink, white knuckle, thrill seeking, exhausting, drained, adrenalin, etc…’It’s certainly not exclusively that and its easy to find more mild descriptions targeted at say, the centre Parcs crowd, but the preponderance of imagery and writing is on the gnar side.
A lot of cycling (in the media) is either this ^^ or the shatteringly dull technical stuff of rebound rates and gear inches and carbon grade and aero...
When I do ride-leading, it's noticeable how the men graduate to talking about the latter - Strava and power and aero and tech bollocks and fitness and "smashing it" - and the women talk about normal stuff!
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?
That all goes back to the article from Hannah a few months ago where she took a bunch of lasses out in the hills who were very inexperienced... I wonder if Hannah could do a follow up article from them all and see if any have ridden again since and if not, why not.. They all seemed to have a blast and enjoy it.. So i'd hope they have gone on and tried it again.
