It's okay if we don't bike everywhere
Last summer, I was sitting in the Postbus heading towards Safiental when I heard a passenger say that he no longer rode to Davos to go hiking. He said there were too many mountain bikers there. "What a chatterbox", I thought to myself. But his words stuck in my subconscious, only to flash back at the right moment. When reconnoitring tours.
Reconnoitering new tours is great work. But sometimes the routes are not good enough for the ride tour database, let alone rideable at all. For example, I remember some tours that Danny MacAskill might enjoy, but even the majority of technically experienced mountain bikers would be annoyed by. Other Reko rides degenerated almost entirely into hikes with the bike on the back, always driven by the hope that it would surely get better soon.
The words of the hiker
Mostly in the middle of such sobering tours, the words of the hiker come back into my mind. I'm not judging his statement on its accuracy, but in my interpretation it clearly poses the question: "Do you have to bike everywhere?" No, even if we often want to, we don't have to rattle along every path. Whether we ride or not very often depends on the quality of the trail. If you know in advance that a trail is difficult to ride on, you're unlikely to head for it.
Even if today's mountain bikes allow us to ride on much more difficult and poorer trails, I now believe that we don't have to bike everywhere. That's why it's good that these bad trails exist. Cow steps, scree the size of a soccer ball, trails that are as deep as an axle - perfect. They are not suitable for mountain biking, but perfect for hiking. But if you want to tackle such trails on a mountain bike, you should be allowed to do so.Every trail counts, for both sides!
With the rapid development of our sport, we can be happy about every additional hiking trail that is also prepared for mountain bikers. However, we are not the only trail users and can also understand that some people prefer not to encounter off-road cyclists on the narrow paths. There should therefore still be plenty of hiking trails that are only fun on foot and remain so. This leaves more space for pedestrians - a natural separation is created, without any prohibition signs. After all, in addition to the much-praised coexistence, both sides need their "own" paths.
If, like last year, a few bike-unfriendly tours and trails don't end up in the ride tour database, it's no tragedy. There are still plenty of small or large trail gems among them, so there will still be enough room for both sides in the future.More blog posts by Balz Weber
Note: This content has been automatically translated from German. Please report any incorrect translations.