We’ve made a clear effort at Peak District MTB to do a bit more than just group rides and dig days.
As one of the UK’s largest mountain biking campaign groups, we have a bit of a voice in reframing what mountain biking is and how it’s perceived by others. And we make sure we do that with a hefty dose of evidence behind what we’re saying.
And so it was our great pleasure to introduce Peak District MTB committee member Dr Jim Cherrington at the launch of his book, Mountain Biking, Culture and Society. The book brings together a range of fascinating and insightful papers exploring the relationship between mountain biking and the communities in which we ride – and the evening saw a number of the contributors sharing their insights and taking questions.
Following Jim, we were treated to truly inspirational talks from Napier University’s Dr Tom Campbell on the role we as mountain bikers should aspire to and lead on in the outdoors (regenerative is my new favourite word); Dr Lesley Ingram-Sills on the growth of eMTB, and Tavis Smith on the the relations between mountain bikers and indigenous communities of British-Columbia. It really was a fascinating evening; rounded off with lively, ongoing discussion in the pub afterwards. And with some leading voices from the ever growing world of mountain biking development in the UK there too, including Dave Evans and Graeme Mclean, it was an enjoyable and important session, looking at an enjoyable and important topic.
As you know, we truly believe mountain biking has a hugely positive role to play in the outdoors world, and the talks and discussions at the event galvanised that further. What a privilege to be involved.
And that belief in the role mountain biking can play was simply compounded when talking to a young trail builder while riding over the weekend who’d described his litter picking, (exquisite) trail building, and responsibility for looking after the places he rides: “If it weren’t for this, I’d be a bad lad. Probably drugs and crime and that, like them I went to school with. But I’m up here four, five times a week. This saved me from that.”
You can’t say much better than that.
The book’s out soon and we’ll let you know how you can get hold of a copy (or at least a read).