The town of Lörrach is located in Baden-Württemberg, the home of the two-metre rule, which criminalizes any trail biking outside of defined paths. However, Lörrach is also right on the border with Switzerland, more precisely the canton of Basel-Stadt. "We often go to Chrischona, Gempen, Sissach or Arlesheim to ride mountain bikes legally on good trails," explains Gerold Schmidt from the Mountainbike Lörrach association, "but we also want to be able to ride after-work laps without having to get in the car or public transport first," he continues.

As in so many places, mountain biking on single trails also thrived illegally around Lörrach. The situation was and is not satisfactory. There have always been initiatives by individuals or small groups to legalize a trail, describes Schmidt. The founding of Mountainbike Lörrach has now produced tangible results. In 2021, a handful of mountain bikers formed the association, six months later it had 200 members and now has around 450. The need is there. "Various bikers from the Basel municipality of Riehen are also actively involved with us," he reveals.

One and a half years after it was founded, the club opened its first trail. It is called "Hands of Steel", is 1.2 kilometers long and has a height difference of 65 meters. "Right from the start, we brought everyone to the table who could be affected in some way by an official mountain bike trail," explains Schmidt. In addition to the nature conservation and forestry authorities, hunting, tourism, mountain rescue services and all relevant sports and nature conservation associations were also involved.

Pond in return for trail

It is clear that a 1.2-kilometre trail is not enough for a town with almost 50,000 inhabitants. It is reducing the unauthorized trail construction for a certain period of time, but not permanently. "We made it clear from the outset that we wanted a trail network around the city. This was taken note of, but is also forgotten from time to time," explains Gerold Schmidt, who is responsible for approval procedures on the board of Mountainbike Lörrach.

Trail number two is currently making headlines. This is because it is practically finished, but is not yet allowed to be opened. This astonishing situation is due to the fact that ecological compensation measures have to be carried out for the construction of the trail. However, these were not even defined by the responsible authorities until shortly before the construction work was completed. It is now clear that the bikers from Lörrach will have to dig out several ponds in return for nature. "We had the large jumpline built professionally, so we already had excavators in the forest that we could use for this," explains Schmidt. He and his colleagues created the rest of the route by hand - just like the "Hands of Steel" trail. "There is enough know-how among our members," he reveals with a wink.

Most of the ponds have also been dug in the meantime. The almost finished trail still needs one or two days of finishing by the volunteers from Mountainbike Lörrach, then it will be ready. "Maybe we can open in October, maybe it will be a little later, but definitely this year," promises Gerold Schmidt.

The vehemence, not to say criminal energy, with which individuals have gained access to the not-yet-opened trail is impressive. Schmidt explains: "At first, we cordoned it off with flutter tape. That was gone after a short time. Then we stretched thick steel cables and marked it with tape. They cut it with an angle grinder. That shows how great the need for trails is. But it's also totally disrespectful to our trail crew, who are committed to ensuring that there are any trails at all," says Gerold Schmidt.

Lörrach trails to grow into a network

What helps the mountain bikers in Lörrach in their plan is the fact that a large part of the hills and forests around the town belong either to the municipality or the federal state. This is why the club members have excluded private woodland from the outset, saving themselves the tough negotiations that drag on for years in many other places.

However, the Lörrach trail network project is still just a concept that neither the city administration nor the government have dealt with materially. For Gerold Schmidt and Mountainbike Lörrach, the first two trails and three others for which there are concrete plans are part of the trail network they are aiming for. This should one day comprise six to eight trails. 

After one and a half approved trails, isn't it a bit brash to demand an entire network? Schmidt says no: "We have openly communicated from the outset that this is our goal." The mayor of Lörrach had already said at the opening of the first trail that more would follow, he says, "We will remind him of this soon". This is followed by the demand made by mountain bike clubs up and down the country: "Just as every district and every community has a football pitch, every district and every community should also have a mountain bike trail. Or several."

It's quite possible that the bikers from Basel will then come across the border to do a few laps.

More about the trails in Lörrach