A report on Radio SRF, Regionaljournal Ostschweiz, has drawn attention to the situation of mountain bikers in St. Gallen. There, the cantonal forester informed mountain bikers via bike stores and bike clubs that they were liable to prosecution if they rode in the forest away from paved forest roads. Although a police representative announced in the radio report that they would not be sending patrols into the forest all the time, it could well happen that they would go to check whether the bikers were obeying the law.

Adi Gerber is one of those mountain bikers who love riding trails. That's why he and like-minded people initiated the legalization of the Waldegg Trail and its expansion almost ten years ago. We want to know from him what the situation is like in St. Gallen. You can tell that he is not enthusiastic about this request. As a biker, keeping his head down is his top priority - as in so many places where trail biking is not punished rather than tolerated.

No known fines yet

"I haven't heard from anyone that anyone has actually been fined since this letter was sent," he says. He sees the initiative as a step backwards on the way to a solution that bikers and other forest users can live with. He is aware that the authorities have the law on their side with the current Forest Act. Nevertheless, he points out: "The bikers are here and they won't simply disappear from the forest again. There needs to be a legal trail in every forest if possible and the various trails should also be able to be combined into tours. Only then will the pressure on illegal trails decrease." He is not hopeful that this idea will soon become reality. His focus is on the only legal trail near St. Gallen, the Waldegg Trail. It received planning permission in 2012 and volunteers have been building the 2.5-kilometre trail ever since. "The last half kilometer is not yet finished, but we have already had to renovate the upper two kilometers for the first time."

Legal trail with an expiry date

The Funpark association, which is officially building the trail, has 80 to 90 members. There have already been 130, says Gerber, who chairs the association. Work on the Waldegg Trail continues every two weeks. "This year we were often over ten people again. That was the exception after the initial euphoria." As the association does not have permission to use machines in the forest, progress is slow despite the hard work. For the renovation of the upper half of the trail, the association was able to win over the local community of St. Gallen, to which the forestry operation belongs. This also made it possible to use machinery. Gerber has the same in mind for the completion of the trail: "There is actually a lot of goodwill, but the Ortsbürgergemeinde is waiting with its commitment until it is clear that the city will also grant the operating license in the future. However, the city only wants to grant this if it is clear that we can finish building the trail, which depends on the participation of the local community. Nevertheless, I am confident, the last signals were positive." Time is of the essence, as the building permit expires in 2021 and the operating license must be renewed. Either the bikers of St. Gallen spit in their hands or they may soon have to go somewhere else to ride trails.

More information on the route and the next construction dates: www.waldeggtrail.ch