I must have been ten years ago when I was out on a signposted mountain bike route on a summer Sunday in eastern Switzerland. A steep gravel road led up through the forest. The highest point was reached at an inconspicuous crossroads, followed by the descent - also on a small road. This was repeated several times. The authorities were convinced that this signposted tour would appeal to mountain bikers. I was certainly not one of them. Disappointed, I returned from the tour and began to seriously consider the question of what actually makes an attractive mountain bike tour. Since then, this question has become the central element of my job as a tour author at Ride Magazine.

After ten years, I'm a bit smarter about this. I've come up with a little set of rules for when a mountain bike tour is of great interest. Rule 1 on this list: For a bike tour to be successful, it has to be unique in some way, it needs a character. The tour in Eastern Switzerland had none, it was a sequence of banal sections. The character of a tour can be made up of many elements: a summit, a circuit, a special descent, an unusual inn or even just a good story.

But character alone is not enough. Here comes rule 2: A key ingredient for an attractive mountain bike tour is the experience. No mountain biker gets on their bike just for the sake of it. What counts at the end of the day is the experience. The experience of nature. The trail experience. The culinary experience. Preferably in combination.

This brings us to rule 3: A decent proportion of singletrack is key. Without them, a tour will never be relevant, as experience has shown. A tour without single trails is irrelevant for the majority of mountain bikers. The days are long gone when you could send bikers up to an alp and then let them ride back down the same gravel road. Today, mountain bikers can no longer be fobbed off with half-hearted tours.

For a tour to be featured in Ride, it has to fulfill all these rules. Nobody subscribes to a mountain bike magazine that presents tours that don't suit them. That's why you'll never find a gravel road tour in Ride. The readership figures confirm that we are not entirely wrong with this strategy. Many authorities and tourism organizations still see things differently. They do what is possible and not what is in demand. From hunters and farmers to representatives of environmental associations, everyone has to be satisfied with mountain bike offers until the compromise makes the product irrelevant. Everyone is satisfied - except the user in question. The question of what makes a good mountain bike tour is not asked. This is why routes like the one in eastern Switzerland are created, from which I returned disillusioned. The route still exists today as an official and signposted mountain bike tour. Probably hardly ever noticed, let alone ridden by mountain bikers. What a pity. There were only three rules to follow.

The three ingredients for a good mountain bike tour

1. Character: The tour needs character (summit, circumnavigation, descent, story,...)
2. Experience: You have to experience something (nature, trail, culinary delights,...).
3. Single trail: The more single trails, the more interesting.

The secret to the success of the most popular tours on Ride.ch

Alps Epic Trail Davos

The "Alps Epic Trail Davos" has developed into a brand in its own right. However, the strong marketing would not be so successful if the product were not coherent. The focus here is on the trail experience. The tour consists of a very long, well-maintained trail that is easy to ride.
www.ride.ch/touren/alps-epic-trail-davos

Stockalper Trail

History can also be attractive. The Stockalperweg is good "storytelling" combined with plenty of variety: a postbus ride, different single trails, bunkers and gorges make the tour unique. The tour consists exclusively of single trails.
www.ride.ch/touren/stockalperweg

Albula Haute Route

Mountain bikers are increasingly looking for remote and little-known regions. The Albula Valley is almost predestined for this. Here too: It doesn't work without a high proportion of single trails. However, they don't always have to have a sandal-suitable flow, but can also be a little crisper - like on the Albula Haute Route.
www.ride.ch/touren/albula-haute-route

Rhine Gorge Supertour

The Rhine Gorge near Flims is one of the most impressive natural spectacles in Switzerland and is also known as the Grand Canyon of Switzerland. The experience of nature is the main focus of this tour. But here too: Without a high proportion of singletrails, the route would not make it into the best list. In this case, the good public transport connections for the return journey by train or post bus are relevant.
www.ride.ch/touren/rheinschlucht-supertour

Pischa

The Pischa tour in Davos consists of 100 percent single trails, which are very well maintained and have been specially prepared for mountain bikers. The route is a prime example of how an inconspicuous route with an average natural experience can be turned into a highlight through trail maintenance alone.
www.ride.ch/touren/pischa