Put your town's trails on the map! Whether you’re a government official, a bike-shop owner, or an enthusiastic member of a mountain bike club, there are several things you can do to make your community more appealing to mountain bikers. Provide and promote trails for all abilities. Beginners enjoy lightly traveled paved roads, dirt roads, and wide dirt paths. Intermediate and advanced riders seek twisting, forest trails, challenging singletrack, and downhill routes. Providing all of these experiences in abundance, and promoting trails through websites, tourism brochures, and mountain bike clubs, will help establish your area as a first-rate mountain biking destination. Be sure to advertise a whole system of trails instead of just one in order to avoid over-use. Develop sustainable singletrack trails. IMBA provides advice on designing and building trails that require minimal maintenance. Mountain bikers crave singletrack, and designing interconnecting singletrack trails will bring them in droves. Showcase the land's natural beauty. Design and recommend rides that visit sites with historical interest and beautiful views. Sign your trails well. Riders who get lost may have a bad experience. Design, produce, and post accurate trail signs to supplement the signs and markers that may already be in place. Make sure to coordinate this effort with other trail groups. Great maps make it easy for visitors. Create excellent maps that clearly show the best trails for mountain biking. Elevation profiles and concise ride descriptions are helpful,
as are estimates of ride difficulty, descriptions of ride features, and weather and safety considerations. Maps should include parking and facility information. Use map revenues to improve trails and mitigate tourism impacts. Help your community understand mountain biking. Some people don't know the difference between mountain bicycling and motorcycling. Help residents understand that mountain biking is a low-impact, quiet, muscle-powered, off-pavement sport. Reference one of the studies available on imbacanada.com that shows the similarities between and biking and hiking in terms of their effects on trails and wildlife. Show that with proper trail management and design, all trail-user groups can recreate in harmony. Take town leaders on a ride. Get your community involved. Build community support for bicycle tourism by emphasizing the economic benefits. Cyclists spend money on gas, food, lodging, and souvenirs, and businesses that are friendly to riders will reap the rewards. Seek support from local bike shops. Tourists don't want to work to find out where to ride, lodge, eat, and shop … they usually just ask at the local bike shop. Shops can train their staff to be area ambassadors, which makes for happy bikers and satisfied customers. Giving mountain bikers the lay of the land, telling them where to park, and posting pictures of the area trailheads in the shop
reduces travel hassle and anxiety for first-time visitors.
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Provide lodging with cyclists in mind. Cyclists look for convenient places to stay that complement their lifestyle. Campgrounds near trailheads, bed and breakfasts, and hotels that provide secure bike storage are all appealing. Hut-to-hut (or inn-to-inn) rides have become popular in places like Colorado and Utah because they allow cyclists to ride light and free. Photograph your trails professionally. A picture really is worth a thousand words. Commission a photographer to capture your trails, and send highquality digital files to magazines, newspapers, and tourism bureaus. Advertise other amenities in the area. Mountain bikers are active, adventurous people, and hiking, climbing, surfing, and other activities might appeal to them. Cyclists also love to eat and drink beer (especially following a long day in the saddle), so a list of easy restaurant or pub options is also appreciated. Woo the media. Offer all-expense-paid mountain bike trips for the media — not only to editors at cycling magazines but also to editors at general magazines and journalists at daily or local newspapers. Want your community’s trails featured in an upcoming issue? let us know at canada@imba.com
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