Mountain biking is not only popular where there are mountains. In Cologne, for example. The highest elevation is an embankment from open-cast lignite mining, the Glessener Höhe, which rises around 180 meters above the Rhine. Mountain bikers have been riding in the area for decades, says Dennis Müller from the local DIMB IG Erft. Coexistence is the rule on the existing trails and it works. However, as in so many places, a few informal trails have sprung up around the Glessener Höhe, some of them in the nature reserve. So a channeling solution had to be found.  
 
Here you can see how the German Mountain Bike Initiative DIMB helps groups to achieve their goals in a short space of time. It starts with the founding of the association: "By joining the DIMB, we can fall back on established association structures and don't have to deal with basic issues such as association law, membership administration and so on ourselves," says Dennis, explaining why he and his sports friends didn't found their own association but instead set up a local DIMB group. In addition, the DIMB helps with trail building expertise, tools and also supports the IG financially. An attractive package. In autumn 2024, the DIMB IG Erft received permission from the responsible authority, Wald & Holz NRW, to build two trails, each around 400 meters long and around 30 Elevation losses, as well as a skill area outside the nature reserve. The facility is called Himmelsleiter Trails, named after the wooden staircase right next to it.

The bikers have been shoveling since November. And while the steep slope seems very suitable for fun trails, the trail crew is struggling with another geographical challenge: the backfilled soil is very sandy and difficult to compact into trails that don't turn into deep trenches after a short time. "That's why parts of our trails have to be reinforced by hand with specially delivered clayey soil. So far, we have moved around 50 tons of it by hand, about half of which has already been used on our trails."  

Lots of hard work and responsibility 

In a report from WDR, you can see the volunteers tipping out wheelbarrow loads of soil at the desired location and others tamping it down with shovels. They invested over 500 hours of hard work in the trail construction alone. Dennis estimates that another 5 hours a week are easily added for the development of the project, permit applications, contacts with the authorities and support for the IG.

In the meantime, the blue trail is almost finished and the red trail is under construction. The IG members and their helpers want to set up a skills area on the hill above the start of the two trails. "We can only open the trails once everything is finished and signposted. As things stand at the moment, we hope that it will be possible to ride there by the summer," says Dennis, giving the time frame. 
 
The construction and future maintenance of the trails will be financed by donations, grants and support from the DIMB, with these amounts being used solely for materials. There is no paid work at the DIMB IG Erft. But there is still a lot to do. Three trail admins have been appointed and are still being introduced to their tasks, says Dennis. In future, they will ensure that the trails remain in good condition and they will organize volunteers to reshape them in good time. One of them is himself.

Are the two Himmelsleiter trails enough?

The question remains as to how much mountain bike traffic two built trails need to accommodate. Around half a million people live in the Rhine-Erft district - too many for two community-maintained trails just a few hundred meters long. "Some would like to have as many dedicated, designated bike trails as possible. Others fear that this could lead to crowding out and limit mountain biking to just such spots."
 
It would be a bitter loss if the coexistence that works in North Rhine-Westphalia were to be weakened by built routes, according to Dennis Müller. "The one must not call the other into question," he emphasizes, "The DIMB has been committed to the right of access and coexistence in the forest since its foundation. But additional offers such as the Himmelsleiter trails are also important."

DIMB IG Erft