Peak District MTB has published a call for an ambitious national investment fund to support the development of off-road biking.
The fund, which would be filled by microdonations and other sources, would be directly reinvested in projects and groups striving to improve mountain access and provision across the UK. Chris Maloney, Chair of Peak District MTB said; “Raising cash for mountain biking is always a challenge. Even more so in a tough climate. But there’s no way of hiding that money talks. It pays for materials and tools, it pays for our web domains and posters, it makes stuff happen. But we’ve never been organised as a community in raising it.
“The Trail Pot proposal is an idea to raise money more effectively, consistently and at scale – but not with a heavy financial ask of the community. It’s simple: lots and lots of tiny donations, donations so small you don’t even notice them. Pennies. Pounds if you feel like it. But at huge scale. Fill the pot, then reinvest it directly back to the trails.”
Peak District MTB has published a full plan on its website and invites comments and feedback from anyone wishing to get involved. The team would like to find companies and people willing to trial the approach and help develop the idea.
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“This can work,” adds Chris. “Simple ideas are the best. The execution of it may be tricky, but that won’t be felt by the riders at the end of the day. And they’ll see the benefits down the line as we together push to improve the possibilities for mountain bikers around the country.”
The proposal envisages many small donations from riders, through initiatives like ’round the pound’, where you round up the cost of your purchase and those extra few pence goes to the fund. It also hopes that brands would donate larger sums as part of corporate social responsibility programs. The fund, it is proposed, would then be distributed to three types of project, all selected on the basis of a single objective of ‘increased access’:
- ‘Big’ project: significant, large, collectively supported access projects. Trails for Wales is a good example. Could be wholly or part funded.
- Professional investment: Less obvious needs; maybe a national MTB access champion? A Definitive Map Modification Order admin?
- Pitched investment: the grassroots. What does our community need? This is the core of the fund: reinvestment in our advocacy community – the very people who are fighting for better access, one path at a time.
Past collective efforts – like Open MTB, which eventually disbanded – have not always been successful. Ride Sheffield states that only 70 riders pay the ‘Rad Tax’ suggested donation to support their work. And riders looking for free places to park is a source of conflict in many ride hotspots. Are we too reluctant to put our hands in our pockets for this ‘Trail Pot’ to work? Or do something else stand in our way?
What do you think? Would this be the sort of initiative you’d be happy to contribute to? Head to the comments – we know Chris will be watching!
