The Trailnet association has now been in existence for 15 years and is committed to the development of mountain biking in the Bern, Biel and Basel regions. The Biel Trail - the downhill route from Magglingen to Biel - is also in the care of the Biel section of the association.

This has been offering the Swiss downhill scene a lot of fun and almost year-round training opportunities for eleven years, but it is getting a bit long in the tooth. "As it was time for a general overhaul, the request from Civil Protection was a blessing for us," says Serge Rau, Head of Trailnet Region Biel. He continues: "The Civil Defense is always on the lookout for charitable projects for their refresher courses. But first I had to think about how we could manage construction work efficiently with so many people. We had no experience in this area. The civil defense manager liked the idea of training a small team of specialists for trail construction in a pilot project and only carrying out a large-scale construction project in a second step."

In 2018, the pilot project to train civil defense workers in trail construction was launched on the Biel Trail. Together with a representative from the trail construction company Velosolutions, Trailnet Region Biel trained nine civil defense leaders in the construction and maintenance of bike trails.

From pilot to large-scale project

The pilot course last year was very well received by the nine participants, Rau continues. It turned into a major project. Under the direction of Trailnet, the civil defense group leaders trained last year and two Velosolutions construction supervisors, around 60 civil defense workers picked up shovels in the second week of May and took the Biel Trail for a spin. To name just the most important examples: Drainage systems were installed so that less maintenance would be required in future, a new jump line was built and the chicken lines were extended to make the trail accessible to a wider audience. However, the characteristics of the course have been retained.

The funicular from Biel to Magglingen is also undergoing a complete overhaul. However, this will take a little longer than the trail maintenance and will only resume operation at the end of August. The downhill section will be open again before then, but Trailnet is not planning to celebrate the official reopening of the renovated trail until after the funicular has resumed operations.
The success of the renovation will probably only really be measurable once the funicular once again brings mountain bikers to the start of the Biel Trail every day. However, Rau is very confident that this project will produce a positive result. "As far as Trailnet is concerned, we would very much welcome further operations, but certainly at a later date."

Andreas Walter, Head of Support and responsible for the planning and implementation of refresher courses for the rescue units of the Biel/Bienne Regio civil defence organization, is also positive about the mission: "After a week of trail building, it became clear that the civil defence team of the Biel/Bienne Regio civil defence organization lived up to its name. 60 pioneers rebuilt the entire Biel downhill trail. Despite three days of rain and full physical exertion, the week was a complete success. It certainly won't be the last time!"

A conceivable model at certain points

One of the reasons why the canton approved this large-scale deployment was the learning success of the WK participants. "The training benefit was our top priority. We were able to use our equipment and knowledge at a number of workstations, during which we were also able to apply all the command structures," says Walter.

It is therefore not only conceivable that the Civil Defense will also take on mountain bike infrastructure renovation and construction projects elsewhere in the future, where money and manpower are lacking. Especially for regions where there is no commercial interest in mountain biking, but where there are intensively used trails, such assignments would make sense.

Support from the wheel gurus

Maintaining the Biel Trail is not just in the interests of its private users, however. The Biel-based company DT Swiss is also an avowed user of the trail. "Our headquarters are in Biel and we ride, develop and test all of our products here. We are therefore delighted to have such test tracks in the immediate vicinity. Projects like those on the Biel Trail or the pump track in Biel are close to our hearts. It is our customers who drive such projects and thus pass on the passion of mountain biking to more people," says Friso Lorscheider, Marketing Specialist at DT Swiss.


For the wheel and suspension specialist, it is therefore a matter of honor to continue supporting the Trailnet Region Biel association for future construction and renovation measures. Their commitment has now been in place for three years.

www.trailnet.ch