Tannzapfenland - that sounds romantic at first, not to say fairytale-like. The region, which is officially called Hinterthurgau, is also a paradise for biking, explains Dani Schoch, who rides there with friends and family: "It's a pre-alpine hilly landscape with a great network of trails. We have endless trails and are happy with them."

Why do you need another trail project? The Thurgau native has to explain. Fischingen has a ski lift, the Oberwangen ski lift. To celebrate its anniversary, bikers were allowed to ride up the slope in summer 2018. The operators also placed some wooden elements on the meadow. "We were really overwhelmed and received a lot of positive feedback," recalls Schoch, who helped organize the event. The group wanted to build a permanent course with jumps and berms for the region and young people.

In the beginning, they planned a circuit that also included technical uphill elements. In collaboration with the professionals from Vast Trails, this became the Toptrail Tannzapfenland project. The whole thing can still be ridden as a loop, if it is built that way. However, there are very different sections that are connected via existing trail sections: two new single trails to be built, two flow trail sections, an enduro trail and three uphills. A map can be seen on the website. However, it says in bold red that nothing has been built yet. Nothing has been approved yet either.

Three years from the inquiry to the planning application

This is where the project comes down to Swiss and especially Thurgau reality. The bikers submitted an initial proposal in 2020 as a building application, i.e. not yet as a planning application, to check its feasibility. In response, they received a 20-page assessment full of paragraphs from the Forestry Office and the Office for Spatial Development. "Most people would probably have given up," says Schoch. But because they had already invested so much time and their own money and had also received a contribution from the federal government's New Regional Policy (a funding pot for regional development), they kept going.

In the last two years, the canton of Thurgau has made headlines for, among other things, giving forestry employees a license to hand out fines. The canton also wants to find out what the needs of mountain bikers are and how they can be managed. Allegra Tourism is managing this project. Ride has reported on both

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Dani Schoch does not experience any situations in his everyday mountain biking life that require him to put bikers in their place. "But we are on the edge of the canton and are just as often out and about in neighboring cantons. Around towns like Weinfelden, Frauenfeld and the St. Gallen conurbations, the pressure to use the trails is naturally much greater," he admits.

From the outside, mountain bikers in the canton of Thurgau seem to be facing a rough wind. If the result is actually a tightening of the rules with more bans, this will take some time. Dani Schoch explains why: "Instead of the canton setting the rules and making it clear what kind of trail is allowed to be ridden on, it wants to define a bike trail network itself as part of the MTB concept, i.e. mark every single trail on which biking is allowed. That is a Herculean task." Schoch also regrets that he and many other bikers who were able to take part in the initial discussions are now no longer part of the process. At least that's how it seems to him.

Must the route wait for the concept?

The Toptrail Tannzapfenland has the pioneering role of a newly built trail. This has only been done once before in an urban environment in the canton. Approving a trail built in the forest is uncharted territory, says Schoch. The process is correspondingly lengthy. The opinions of the authorities and associations were incorporated into the planning application, as were the findings from inspections with various affected parties.

Not everyone is in agreement yet. Pro Natura Thurgau and the hunters who lease the area where the Toptrail Tannzapfenland will one day run do not yet have the bikers on their side. Dani Schoch remains optimistic that he and his group will receive planning permission. He does not dare to predict how long this will take: "Our goal is to be able to start construction in 2024."The routes are expected to cost around 200,000 francs. "We assume that we will have to raise the money ourselves," says Schoch, looking ahead. After all, the local municipality of Fischingen is backing the project and has pledged a contribution. The surrounding municipalities are also still being approached. Funding is complicated by the fact that although the trail is located in one municipality, its catchment area is spread across three cantons. The nearest larger town is Wil SG, which is not only closer than the Thurgau capital Frauenfeld, but also has a larger population.

The Toptrail Tannzapfenland project is professionally organized, as becomes clear when talking to Dani Schoch. However, the fact that the canton of Thurgau is working on a mountain bike concept at the same time is not an advantage, as some of those involved do not want to make any clear statements until the canton's concept is available. Actually, the route in Hinterthurgau and the cantonal basic paper have nothing to do with each other. Nevertheless, it currently appears that the mountain bike concept is holding back the trail project. Schoch hopes that the canton of Thurgau will use the project as a pilot project to gain experience and create clarity for future projects.