New bike trails are currently springing up like mushrooms. There is hardly a region left that doesn't boast at least one mountain bike trail. However, instead of being happy about the additional offerings, many mountain bikers are left yawning in disillusionment. This is because almost everything that is conjured up for mountain bikers between Graz and Grenoble today are always the same flow trails: 1.5 meters wide, one berm after another, with the occasional jump or wooden construction in between. It seems as if someone has developed a magic formula for bike trails that is now being applied across the board.

But the magic formula is rather one-sided: it can be used to approve, finance and build mountain bike trails with as little effort as possible. However, the flow trail magic doesn't have much to do with the needs of mountain bikers. They don't want to ride down the mountain on the same old marble runs. The majority of mountain bikers are looking for freedom in nature. The closeness to nature. The thrill of variety. The technical challenge. The occasional challenge. In other words: the real mountain experience. But what do trail builders usually dig into the terrain: secured and planned trail highways. And that from Finale to Frankfurt.

Mountain biking thrives on surprises

The idea behind these bike trails is that everything should be safe and predictable on such routes. In modern parlance, this is called "convenience". Food, travel, education, the media and even our relationships are now "convenient": comfortable, controlled, predictable. With mountain biking, however, we want to break out of this comfort zone. That's why a mountain bike route can sometimes include an unrideable section, a boring flat section, an exhausting counter-climb or an unexpected hairpin bend. Mountain biking thrives on surprises. That was forgotten when building the trail.

The big thing among mountain bikers is not flow trails, but "nature trails". The term is hackneyed, but at least everyone knows what it means: solidly built trails, as they were built long before the advent of mountain bikers. They are called hiking trails, single trails, nature trails or whatever you like. These trails are what made mountain biking so popular in the first place. Trail builders are actually aware of the popularity of these "nature trails". However, the number of such routes that have been created for mountain bikers in recent years can be counted on one hand. There would be enormous potential here: a region that builds mountain bike trails and not trail highways.

But it's like the Amen in church: the next trail announcement will be another marble run. Which nobody has been waiting for.

More blog posts by Thomas Giger

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