Peak District MTB has submitted a bold call for legal reform to the UK Government’s inquiry on outdoor access—backing national efforts to secure fairer rights for cyclists and mountain bikers. As proud supporters of the British Mountaineering Council’s campaign to the APPG Inquiry on Access to Nature, Peak District MTB is demanding urgent action to […]
Moorland Fire Risk in the Peak District
Fast, dusty trails and almost guaranteed warm sunny days – the last few weeks have made for some great riding conditions in the Peak District. But this recent dry spell has also brought a significant risk of wildfire. While the trails and hills are this dry it’s important to be conscious of the potential for […]
Be nice, say MOOO – Farms, Cows & Night Riding
Building better relationships forms a big part of what we do at Peak District MTB. Normally, we’re doing this with utility companies and major landowners, but it’s just as important for us to do it at the local level. In the White Peak, the Pennine Bridleway passes a busy working dairy farm farm east of […]
Shared aims of mountain bikers and horse riders for off-road access
As mountain bikers we’ve made a hobby out of riding rights of way of varying difficulty and surface. We also enjoy man-made trails, purpose-built for mountain bikers. Whilst what we want for off-road access can sometimes conflict with what other user groups want, there are more shared aims than I think we give credit to. […]
We went to the Biggest MTB Summit in the World (IMBA Summit 2023). But What Did We Learn? – Part 1
In part 1 of 2, Peak District MTB committee member Jim Cherrington reports on the IMBA Summit 2023. (Also see Part 2.) Earlier this month I had the privilege of attending the International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA) Annual Summit in Valpashiavo (Switzerland), which was based around the dual themes of sustainability and diversity. I had […]
Life Begins at 40 – Future pressures and opportunities for Mountain Biking in the Peak District
Mountain biking as a sport is now entering its middle age and depending on where you ask Google to look, you will discover mountain bikes first became available in the UK as a mainstream product from the mid 1980s onwards with some of our committee members riding their first MTBs in the late 1980s. In […]
The Trail Pot – A Blueprint to change the fortunes of Mountain Biking in the UK
A national investment fund Thousands of pounds available for advocacy All for the tiniest of forgettable outlay by riders You can make it work Money talks. In any business. In any arena. In any situation anywhere, money talks. The trouble is, mountain bikers aren’t that good at raising it. Yes, there are sporadic highlights where […]
The Importance (and Challenges) of Working Together to Look After Mountain Bike Trails
In the third and final part of the recent interview, Dr Tom Campbell chats with Jim from Peak District MTB about the importance (and challenges) of working together to look after mountain bike trails. Dr Tom Campbell BSc (Hons), PhD, FHEA, is a lecturer in sport and exercise science and academic at the Mountain Bike […]