The Rundschau article was triggered by the situation in Realp, where biking on the trail through the Bannwald forest is to be banned, while the Urschner Höhenweg above it is being developed as a bike route. Talamann Beat Schmid has his say in the article with the fear that the increasing number of mountain bikers would damage the Bannwald near Realp. The fact that the forest must be protected has been enshrined since the first Bannbrief, a kind of first ordinance, from 1397. The path would be washed out by mountain bikers in the long term, which could lead to erosion. That's why people don't want mountain bikers in the forest.

Understanding for bikers, but not for the black sheep

The Rundschau shows an example of the situation in Lucerne's Allmend. Bruno Röösli, Lucerne cantonal forester, complains in the report about illegally built bike trails, but acknowledges the mountain bikers' need for adequate infrastructure. There was a great deal of commitment and willingness on the part of mountain bikers to find good solutions. However, he does not include the illegally built bike trails. These are the construction activities of a few, the notorious "black sheep". This, in turn, is also reflected in the article during a visit to a farmer in Allenwinden on the Zugerberg. Farmer Richard Andermatt shows his meadow, where a supposed trail of a single mountain biker rides through the meadow. This raises the question for the viewer: how much clan liability is expected of mountain bikers? Thousands of mountain bikers are out and about on the Zugerberg, and a single trail through an unmown meadow is supposed to make them all pay for it?

All in all, the Rundschau report shows that the fronts are becoming increasingly blurred when it comes to mountain biking. The coronavirus summer of 2020, with its huge increase in mountain bikers, has not exacerbated the problem, but rather has led to the search for tangible solutions. "Mountain biking is a part of the population that cannot simply be removed from the forest," summarizes Ride editor Thomas Giger at the end of the article.

Rundschau, June 9, 2021, SRF