Brazilian - publish or conceal?

With the publication of attractive tours, Ride is constantly moving in the field of tension between needs, conflicts and prohibitions. No other route illustrates this better than the Brazilian Trail in Valais.

For years, the mountain bike scene has been buzzing about the Brazilian. It was said to be the best trail in Valais, perhaps even in the entire Alpine region. Everyone had heard of it, but no one knew where it was. The trail had curves like a Brazilian. The sexist name further fueled the hype surrounding the route.

The trail was not listed anywhere, no one was forthcoming with details. Until Ride revealed the secret in 2011 with a major report and published the GPS track of the tour. As a result, more and more mountain bikers dragged their bikes up the Col de Cou and tackled the long descent to Granges. Due to the increasing frequency, the trail lost its virgin flow over time. Many, especially local mountain bikers, criticized Ride for having badly damaged the Brazilian Trail with its publication. Ride therefore later developed an alternative route with the descent from the Cabane des Becs de Bosson into the Val d'Hérens. This was given the name "Argentinian Trail" because it lies slightly south of the Brazilian.

The Brazilian Trail symbolizes the dilemma facing Ride. On the one hand, the readers expect Ride to put out the good routes. That's why they subscribe to the magazine, that's why they register in the tour database. For them, good mountain bike routes belong to everyone. The other side: local mountain bikers are asked to keep the route under wraps to avoid damage and conflicts of use.

However, the Brazilian Trail is emblematic of another of Ride's dilemmas: how to deal with bike bans. Five years after its publication, the entire Val de Réchy was subject to a bike ban. This only applies to the ascent, where bikes are carried anyway. However, the local rangers take the view that this is also prohibited and block the path for mountain bikers. Should Ride now take this tour off the network to spare its readers negative experiences? Or should the tour remain active because the rangers are interpreting the legal text in a somewhat idiosyncratic way? Is it up to the media or each individual mountain biker to comply with bike bans? How much opposition is necessary, how much humility is appropriate? Ride finds itself in this field of tension between conflict and need and no other route illustrates this better than the Brazilian.