What is City MTB? - A mission statement.

What is City MTB all about?  What will you see here on this site?

To understand what City MTB is about, you need to understand something called urban mountain biking.  While the idea of mountain biking in an urban setting seems like a contradiction, the fact is that urban mountain biking has been going on for the last 25 years in the United States.

Some may think urban mountain biking as using a mountain bike to traverse the urban landscape, over steps, concrete and pavement as if it was a mountain trail.  But that isn’t what City MTB is about.  It’s about riding on dirt trails and paths in parks, greenspaces, natural areas and urban wildernesses across the county.  In other words, the same type of riding you might find in a more rural setting, but inside the boundaries of a city.

These types of experiences are not rare in the United States, with nearly 300 separate trail systems currently.  They can range in length from a mile to systems comprising nearly a 100 miles.

So why haven’t you heard about them?  And how does one create this type of experience in his or her village, town or city?

That is what City MTB will be about.

The fact is that urban mountain biking is not uniformly spread across the United States.  In some areas, urban mountain biking is so normal it’s just what citizens expect in a public land space.  In other areas, the idea is foreign and may be treated with hostility.  The knowledge to advocate, push, and design these experiences can be tribal, a dark art known to a few, making it a mystery to those just starting out.

City MTB seeks to change this.  It won’t just be advocacy, it will be teaching you the steps to take.  The last 25 years have created a wealth of knowledge on the process, methods, solutions and results that you can learn from.

Here are some upcoming topics that you might find of interest:

• What are adventure courses?
• How can you have safe and serene experiences with hikers and mountain bikes on narrow singletrack trails in steep terrain?
• What is “ride to your ride” and how can it function in your town?

Along the way, we will talk about lessons real locations across the country are teaching.  We will dispel myths using real examples.  We will take lessons from attempts to create urban mountain biking, positive and negative, to teach you how to advocate for urban mountain biking and to be successful.

But most of all, we hope to visit your city and ride your trails.