Real World Riding

Responsible Mountain Adventuring

Heading off to the trail centre, we often don’t consciously think about the differences between riding on groomed trails, and riding on similar terrain elsewhere but there are a few considerations that are well worth bearing in mind before and during the ride.

I’ll not dwell on access particularly, other than to note that obviously there are different laws in Scotland than there are elsewhere in the UK, but choice of trail aside (and its relative legality) we should all ride responsively. In fact people can lose sight of the fact that the Scottish Access Laws provide a right of responsible access, so by definition if you don't access responsibly, you forfeit your right of access, and this extends to all mountain goers.

DMBS (Developing Mountain Biking in Scotland) have a great little interactive quiz that you can do at www.dmbins.com/riders/do-the-ride-thing  that makes the point very well regarding appropriate riding techniques wherever you are riding. It may be easier to think on these issues as categorised under either:

• The environment
• Other users

Beauty, but beauty shared with others, and they don't just walk on two legs

GREEN CAMPAIGN

So then; the environment. Hmm, well; what do you believe about the environment? Does it involve some kind of responsibility for the landscape we all enjoy so much? Leaving the trails for others to enjoy? Leaving the countryside as you found it for all other users? Maybe something even deeper? I’m not going to explore the roots of environmentalism or stewardship here; you’ll have to work through that for yourself, but I am going to take the following point of view:

If we truly love to ride through amazing landscapes, or pristine singletrack, then we should do what we can to ensure that they stay that way for us to enjoy again, and for others to enjoy and appreciate too.

Different people get different things from biking, and therefore where they ride, and what they ride on mean different things to them. For some it is about escape, or the challenge, ticking a list, grasping ‘the flow’, riding the gnarliest trail, proving something, adventure, the mental challenge, the physical challenge etc. With these differing points of view comes arange of attitudes to the environment. Is it a thing to be used and discarded, or something to be savoured for instance?

PEOPLE & OTHER ANIMALS

One element of the environment not often considered is those that inhabit it. I recently watched a you-tube film of a descent of Ben Nevis, out of morbid curiosity. It was starkly noticeable how many walkers had to step out of the way to let the riders past. We might sympathise with the riders for the lack of flow this meant for them, but do we take a moment to think about the poor walkers about to summit the UK’s largest mountain, possibly their only mountain ascent, after 4 hours of toiling up unforgiving (sometimes positively hostile) conditions underfoot as well as atmospheric, 200 metres from their conquering experience then being nearly run down by a party of nutters on bikes?

Riding on week days out of the summer season, early mornings (The Snowdon Agreement for example) evenings for instance are ways of reducing our impact on other mountain-goers. There will always be the odd determined “bar humbug, bikes on mountains, grumble grumble” who will need to be steered round with respect and care, but on the whole folks (especially in Scotland) are pretty accepting, and downright supportive of bikers that don’t run them down.

So as ambassadors for the sport, as well as lovers of banter, and of course being well up for a cheer as we whiz past, being a responsible biker can be a rewarding thing. Adopting the same attitude to the wildlife too is of course really the only way to be a responsible mountain-goer, although of course cows and sheep don’t answer back, although cows and horses do appreciate a kind word as you trickle past respectfully.

WHEN AND HOW WE RIDE

One area we’re often criticised for is erosion, usually unfounded it is however an area to remain aware of when out on the hills. One of my local hills has a great ride off the summit, which used to be a tough genuine walkers path. Successive years of bikers finding it (and being slap bang in the middle of the most populated part of Scotland) has meant that it is now slowly through passage of wheels becoming recognisably a bike track. This is unavoidable in the honey pots, but as individual riders we can help.

On then to how we ride. While locking your back wheel up may help you slide your bike around a tight turn, or hilariously shower your mates in roost, or just keep the speed up, it also has a detrimental effect on the mountain trail. From a practical point of view, it tends to pull rocks and small boulders out of the bed of the trail making the riding rougher and gnarlier for riders behind you, but from an environmental viewpoint it is accelerating erosion, which makes the experience harder for all track users (and generally less enjoyable) as well as marking the hill and mountainsides more, in turn damaging the natural beauty of a ride and the scenery, which for many will be part of the positive experience. We haven’t even touched on the impact on those who would see us restricted in access, or the land owners’ point of view.

Pulling a rock out of the base of a track by skidding can make a huge impact on a path, and will likely lead to erosion requiring repair work. It's easy to forget that although volunteers do get involved in path repair (and we should thank, not just respect them) much of upland path repair costs to provide professionals to do the work. These are also remote places and so it's not just a case of two blokes and a wheelbarrow - in a significant number of path repair works there have had to be bags of rubble transported up the mountain by helicopter, and they're really expensive. We should simply attempt to ride a day without locking up a rear wheel, and not dragging rocks out at all.

This then brings up the “it was so steep and loose, I had to lock up to retain control” argument. That of the cast of “Where the Trail Ends” - freeriders on big mountains on steep dust and gravel filled gulleys. In the UK, these conditions rarely exist naturally or are there only on old mine workings. When we’re struggling for grip on steep grass or mountainsides, we have a responsibility to not dig a groove in pristine and delicate mountain flora.

Sweet sweet single track to be found if you're prepared to go looking

As a self-taught, and poor skier, I learned about edging and traversing as a method of keeping my speed down and levels of control up. I soon realised that as a biker I can employ a similar technique on steep grassy mountainsides. Try it next time you’re on a steep open slope: rather than going straight down barely in control, try descending in a series of big zig-zags. In this way you decide how steeply you want to descend, and as long as you can ride the slightly off-camber terrain, you can now descend in control, without skidding. You now have an alternative to taking the direct descent that you might even find is more comfortable, and certainly unless you put your brain in a box at the top and go straight down with no brakes at all, the environment will thank you.

THE ENVIRONMENT BITES BACK

My first descent of Ben Lomond was in early June. A dry weekday, avoiding all the potholes listed above, so it was a quiet day on the mountain. I had just been sharing a bit of banter with some curious tourists from New Zealand, enjoying being a novelty, accepted in the group as a fellow mountain-goer, and offered cake by those around me. I said goodbye to them as they headed off and I turned to ready myself. On turning, I realised that the beautiful view in front of me was about to be obliterated by the big black cloud sneaking up on me from behind. 2 minutes later I was engulfed in a blizzard.

As noted within the article, there will be a related article on mountain safety published later, which will be announced on the facebook page.