We’d like to get your opinion on the state of mountain biking in the Peak District.
In this article, industry veteran Guy Kesteven – who has been writing and testing for bike magazines since 1996 – made a number of statements about the UK mountain biking scene. Do Guy’s opinions on UK mountain biking resonate with you? Is mountain biking in the Peak District in a similar state?
We’d love your thoughts, so please take a couple of minutes to take our survey. Your responses are anonymous.
Here are some of the statements Guy made about UK mountain biking:
“…it’s no use building new trails unless you commit to ongoing maintenance”
…a lot of legally useable bike routes are far from useable in a practical sense”
“…a lot of us are riding footpaths, deer tracks, or whatever ‘cheeky trails’ we can find/build to keep things interesting and keep the sport progressing”
“(Cheeky riding) does a lot of reputational damage for our sport with landowners and other countryside users”
“…local authorities and national stakeholders like parks and forestry (are) often being fundamentally hostile to bikers”
“…when you see how well-organized, professional, and determined the hiking and horse riding reps are when it comes to getting their (right of) way it’s no wonder we’re struggling.”
“…the issues facing mountain biking is that too many of us are expecting too much for ‘free’.”
(You can read Guy’s article in full here: https://www.bikeperfect.com/features/from-trail-centers-to-racing-uk-mountain-biking-is-in-a-real-crisis-right-now-should-you-care-and-what-can-you-do-about-it )