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Hi all, I have made a MTB documentary film coming out in October where I tried to find out who are the unseen people behind many of the trails found in Scotland. I connected with the Tayside Trail Association in central Scotland. After 15 months, it is now ready will be released in October online and at a few film festivals.
Synopsis
The documentary offers an insight into the often unseen volunteers behind Scotland’s mountain bike trail maintenance crews. I followed the Tayside Trail Association for 15 months and saw some unexpected things. Known for its open land access, Scotland is one of the world’s top mountain biking destinations. Many trails began as rogue creations on private land, where the stakes were high for both builders and landowners - hard-earned trails built by rogue trail builders would not be kept secret for long and the legitimate concerns of landowners who were being put at risk of liability.
During COVID, the surge in mountain biking placed unprecedented pressure on existing trails, many of which fell into decay. Riders with time on their hands built new trails, prompting further frustration from landowners. A critical point was looming: a major conflict between mountain bikers and landowners seemed inevitable.
Out of this tension, some trail builders recognised the need for change and formed the first trail association. Their success inspired the emergence of more associations, each earning difficult and hard-won trust from landowners to maintain previously unsanctioned trails. The documentary follows the Tayside Trail Association, whose volunteers - when not riding - use only basic hand tools to craft sustainable trails in often remote terrain, always mindful of the environment, the landowners, and best practices for navigating storms that now frequently devastate forests.
Through their journey, we witness the passion, perseverance, and collaboration that is keeping Scotland’s trails alive, showing how volunteers are shaping the future of mountain biking while balancing thrill, safety, and sustainability.
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The link that was removed from the original post:
MTB documentary 'Trails' promotion reel 2025
Might give it a watch, but....
Only watched the trail on my phone, but I'd say you may need to do another edit and tweak the volume/turn up the treble on your vocal overlay. It was quite difficult to hear what you were saying, especially when music was playing
I'll be giving that a watch but agree, the audio isn't levelled or normalised (no idea what the right term is) - difficult to hear your voice and others are quite loud.
Should be a good watch.
As above but please give us the heads up when it’s released so we can watch
@gooner666 @dickbarton
Hi, I am releasing my documentary film Trails on the 23rd of October. Here is a warm up trailer for it: