Pinkbike Poll: How's the Riding Scene Where You Live?

Mar 6, 2020
by Mike Kazimer  
Photo by Trevor Lyden
What's the view look like out your window?


In many parts of the world, mountain biking is still a fringe activity, a sport with only a few die-hard participants who aren't worried about the strange looks they get when they pedal through town. In other locations, it's an integral part of the community, and you'll see everyone from small children to retirees out cruising around on the trails.

I was lucky enough to grow up in an area with a small but strong riding scene. There weren't many riders my age – I was definitely the dorky kid who got heckled for biking to high school – but those taunts didn't sting as much once I was safely inside the brick walls of my local shop, surrounded by a bunch of like-minded riders. It was like opening the door to a hidden realm, a grease-scented land where it was perfectly normal to talk for hours about spoke lacing patterns, or whether or not disc brakes would ever catch on. Local bike shops often serve as the hubs of a riding scene, a place to hang out, to get trail beta, and maybe even buy a thing or two.

Of course, it's the trails that really cause a scene to grow. Yes, there are plenty of zones out there with lots of riders and sub-par trails, but in an ideal world you'd have it all: world class trails and friendly people to ride them with. As we all know, trails don't build themselves, so if you manage to find a spot that has good people building good trails, well, count yourself lucky.

A booming mountain bike scene isn't without its downsides, though. Crowded trails, overflowing parking lots – watching a spot increase in popularity can be a tough pill to swallow for riders that prefer their rides with a healthy dose of solitude. Social media has made it easier than ever to overshare, and fresh trails can turn into rutted out messes unless some Insta-restraint is exercised.


Tippie was on hand to keep the crowd stoked.
Every riding scene needs a Tippie.


For this week's poll, take a moment to think about the mountain bike scene where you live. Have you found Valhalla, where the trails are perfect, the people are friendly, and drama is non-existent? Or on the other end of the spectrum, do you regularly find yourself wishing you had better trails to ride, and more people to ride with?


How's the riding scene where you live?



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223 Comments
  • 214 10
 Poll fail! The combination of different things lumped into each choice makes the results meaningless. To be useful at all, there should be 3 polls instead of one; trail conditions, people's attitudes and level of crowding.
  • 31 0
 Needs to be a decision tree.

Overcrowded? Yes
Good Trails? Yes
Do people know about it? Yes
Getting so overcrowded you can't even ride? Yes
Are you able to make the clowns go away? No
Do you at least have Tippie? No
  • 3 0
 @blowmyfuse: My first thought was, you must be from my town. Nope, but I share your pain.
  • 29 15
 Well, the good news is that so far it looks like most Pinkbike readers are happy with their local scene.

I could have made three separate polls, but it’s all those factors combined that determine what a riding scene is like.

More than anything, it’s meant to start a conversation, not gather statistically relevant information.
  • 13 2
 @blowmyfuse: Getting so overcrowded you can't even ride? Yes

Is that true? People might say that Squamish, one of the top MTB spots in the world, is overcrowded with mountain bikers. But realistically, if you are riding anything aside from Bobsled you literally only see a couple people every few mins max, which is very far away from "so crowded you can't even ride". Mountain biking is still a very niche sport in the grand scheme of things.

The bike park is probably the only exception for over-crowdedness. And even then, it's just the most popular flow trails that fall into that category.
  • 3 0
 Yup - trails where I am are fantastic but the amount of tourist visiting at times can be frustrating. Just got to remind myself sometimes I’m lucky to live somewhere that’s in general pretty rad which is why people want to visit
  • 6 0
 @bull-dozer: I may have deleted the pics and video from my GoPro by now, but if you'd like I'm sure I can dig up the video of me having to back out of a Bent Creek a few weeks ago on a Sunday afternoon at 3pm because the very road itself was impassable because cars had parked on both sides for almost a 1/4 mile and over filled all 4 lots to the point there was a traffic jam getting into and out of the riding area.

Just this last summer I sat in a line of cars 1 hour long just to EXIT the forest. So yes, definitively overcrowded here to the point where you miss rides.

Here's a screen grab from the least crowded part as I was exiting. The line of cars on my left is a hundreds of yards long and the tip of the car iceberg that day: gopro.com/v/OWEKRpPVQBgDP
  • 1 3
 @dfiler Well, we now know where you live the attitude isn't that great!
  • 2 0
 @blowmyfuse: We have the same.
You forgot someone from Trailforks keeps posting the trails making them more over crowded.
The plus is Tippie is here.
  • 2 0
 Too many variables for sure. Where I ride, Flagstaff AZ, there's plenty of people who complain about over-crowded trails (laughable compared to my riding in the DC area in the 2000s or Colorado Front Range), that the trails don't have enough insert a niche type of riding here>, or they say it's perfect in every way. It's all a matter of perspective, including the whimsical emotions of any individual. A bad day in the office... any trail I touch is amazing; I just got back from SW Utah... my trails suck.

Anyway, fun poll even if it is too simplistic.
  • 15 0
 @bull-dozer: If you're riding Bobsled and you started in Squamish, you may be lost. At the very least, tired.
  • 2 0
 Bent creek is definitely slammed every weekend but still minimal people interaction on the actual trail in my experience, so doesn't really hamper riding.
  • 2 0
 @djyosh: haha didn't catch that typo - Half Nelson, the Squamish version of Bobsled (sorta... HN is a lot better).
  • 1 0
 @blowmyfuse: you gotta start riding in the AM around here
  • 1 0
 @blowmyfuse: That’s why I ride your beautiful trails in January and February... nobody around...too cold for you locals...cold hard dirt..EPIC
  • 3 0
 @mikekazimer: Whatever the purpose of this poll was, it makes me feel like I truly live in God's green heaven.
  • 2 0
 @mikekazimer: Conversation is good, however polls and other statistical data often correspond to a study used as an impetus for change... You could see why this is confusing.
  • 1 0
 @markz: that pic I posted IS from this February. Either 3 or 4 weeks ago. I tried to time lapse my drive through the lots looking for a spot to park and gave up after driving around for too long.
  • 1 0
 @LaXcarp: if you click my Trailforks, you'll see that is the case most or the time.
  • 2 0
 @Trail6: just you wait. This year is going to be utter madness. That pic from 3 weeks ago Sunday...I had never seen cars parked all the way down the road from Rice Pinnacle on both sides of the pavement and all the way out the gravel (again for the first time on BOTH sides of the gravel end to end) all the way up around the curve past the gate. They even lined the road up to the campground on both sides.
  • 1 0
 @blowmyfuse: ah dang. Further rationale why I don't ride bent creek. There are lonely trails to be had if you know what's up around here
  • 2 0
 @LaXcarp: agree the earlier you ride the less hickers you find, that is how myself and the crew i ride with does it here in the north east of the US. The other good thing about riding earlier you have the rest of the day for the family etc
  • 1 0
 @mikekazimer: Name and Shame - there should have been a location field, although you can mine that via the IP if you want.
  • 2 0
 @mikekazimer: true, but does it really mean anything? Sort of makes sense that the majority of pinkbike readers live in a place with good mountain biking. Have to assume that the worse the location, the less likely a person from that location is to spend a bunch of time on a mountain biking website. Although as we can see there are those who like to torture themselves!
  • 4 0
 Man, if only you had a bike you could ride in and skip the traffic and parking scene. @blowmyfuse:
  • 2 0
 @mikekazimer: as far as the user group goes mountain biking is pretty much the most pro active group there is as far as creating their own scene. I think it's awesome. Everywhere the world over the riding is made by the people for the people and those are passionate about improving and take pride in their local trails.. we're f*cking awesome... no dig no ride
  • 1 0
 Christchurch as a whole is great for riding obviously. But the riding in my immediate area/suburb in Christchurch is pretty mediocre and flat. Put it this way the signage at one entrance has photos from the late 80's/early 90's of dudes in late 80's/early 90's helmets, lycra and rigid 21 speed mtb's doing 5 cm bunnyhops over some twigs. As well as being outdated it's in a pretty sorry state of disrepair. It is very popular with boomer dudes on carbon XC 29'ers who are probably the same late 80's/early 90's bunny hopping over twigs dudes.

Then there's the trail runners and dog walkers (who don't keep their dogs on a lead), getting in your way even though the trails are sign designated for bikes only. Those same dog walkers and trail runners rage at you if you even mildly attempt to even go on their designated trails/paths.


TL/DR:

It's flat, outdated and in dire need of maintenance. Dog walkers and trail runners act like they own it.
  • 1 0
 @edrs: I also live in Flagstaff and couldn't agree more, our trail quality leaves much to be desired. FS seems to allocate virtually no funding to maintenance and with the high level of Sierra Clubbers up here, seems punching in trail requires a 600 page land management plan. Hopefully Snowbowl will do some downhill park stuff in the next couple years and perhaps when they reopen the Dry Lake hills, maybe there will be some restoration to Upper Sunset and Red Onion.
  • 1 0
 @AirBud: What is with AZ? Granted a lot of the southern desert terrain is harsh to create trails, but shouldn't the entire Tonto and Coconino green space be chock full of banger trails? Try and find a freeride, jump, flow, hell, any MTB specific-built line in AZ? Its just odd as places with much less to work with (e.g. Arkansas, Melbourne, UK etc) are getting seriously built up with loads of MTB specific trails, parks and pumptracks.
  • 1 0
 @SvenNorske: I lived in AZ and couldn’t ever figure it out but you’re right. Sedona and Prescott have some good stuff. Flag does too but not near as much as it should. And Phoenix has tons of riding but overall has been way behind in the development of MTB specific trails. I tried to get involved and help make stuff happen but had very little progress. I think even though you have the terrain and the population to have killer trails, it’s just not the kind of thing that’s important to the (majority) type of people who live there.
  • 45 1
 Seattle sucks, Bellingham sucks too, rains all the time, never see the sun, prices are through the roof, wildfires create zombie apocalypse smoke all summer, Jeff Bezos firing off space rockets everywhere and putting people in glass spheres, most of the riding is uphill both ways, Evil bikes moved out, COVID19 is the new state animal, don't move here whatever you do.
  • 3 3
 dOn'T gO tHeRe!
  • 2 0
 hahahaha
  • 1 0
 Ha ha ha but also exceedingly accurate information.
  • 40 0
 Colorado is a solid decent. It was better before Facebook. Everything was better before Facebook.
  • 20 0
 I live in the Front Range, but I have friends in Montana. I remember seeing a sticker at a bar in Bozeman that said, "we still hang backcountry bloggers." I think that policy needs to be implemented here.
  • 9 1
 Not counting injuries or mechanicals, I don't think I've ever finished a front range ride without a huge endorphin rush, completely forgetting I have a job, and at least 3 whoops. Everything is for sure worse on the internet though.
  • 2 0
 the Front Range sucks! and all the mtn towns are getting slammed! Cant even ride mid weekday anymore with out a ton of hikers visiting who cant read signs and get pissed! Enjoy!
  • 3 0
 yes yes yes yes, fucking yes yes yes. to everywhere. riding is now some kind of social media sheep herd sport, it's fucking goofy.
  • 1 0
 Everything here gets blown up on instagram quickly. The local rangers do a great job with reporting trail conditions on social media, this has the negative effect of driving traffic to certain areas. It's really hard on the weekends. I'm lucky enough with my schedule where I can have two hours in the middle of the day to ride on a random Tuesday. Trying to use Apex on a Saturday morning at 10 is just brutal these days. My favorite saying-- "YOU are traffic."
  • 20 0
 East Bay Area of California - I'd rate it as poor. All trails are hiking/equestrian only. Much anti-bike sentiment. No advocacy group can touch the horse lobby.

We ride at night and poach everything, but it sucks to feel marginalized.
  • 7 0
 Same in Marin...
  • 21 0
 If only we had legislators with enough backbone to take on Big Horse.
  • 7 0
 East Bay expat. Agreed, the equestrian groups are pretty selfish. At least that asshat isn't attacking bikers with a handsaw out in the Berkeley hills anymore
  • 1 0
 @asmtb: I rated Marin as poor too, however, I wonder what I would choose if I was ignorant of all the incredible trails we CAN'T ride. The marginalized feeling overshadows what are decent opportunities - be they few and scattered - might otherwise rate Marin as "mediocre". The frequency of just pure hate I feel directed my way on LEGAL trails is probably enough to push it to poor regardless come to think of it. Sometimes I seriously can't stand riding here. Pretty much daytime.
  • 2 0
 @Trouterspace: You're right about the sentiment of equestrians and a portion of hikers in the east Bay, but that's what you get with outdated land management policies that clearly exclude us- and we're a giant user group. So the vast majority of us build and poach the goods in broad daylight. Day after day, year after year, without ever getting tickets. The stoke is high if you just live life like mtn biking is legal where it should be.
  • 1 0
 @PNW66: big horse . Perfect.
  • 2 0
 Absolutely agree. Same in the rural foothills of NorCal, where the horse lobby thinks that it owns all the trails. Constantly get talked down to, even if I am polite and use good etiquette.
  • 3 0
 @PNW66: "Some of those who ride horses, are the same who burn crosses!" Marin version of Rage.
  • 1 0
 Hahahaah Big Horse. Incredible. They seem to shit on the centerline, I swear it's on purpose.
  • 11 0
 I live in Flanders, BE. 99% of people here don't know what mountainbiking is. We have no mountains. Streets and houses are scattered everywhere. The nearest "trail" is 70km away. The only bikes people ride are xc bikes to plow through fields with. The tallest hill isn't even 100m high. I hate this place for mountainbiking. It's so wasteful to have to put a bike in a van, drive for 2 hours just to ride. We get banned out of what little forrest remains. The biggest bikepark in Flanders is about the size of a footballfield and has similar elevation.
  • 4 0
 isn't that why you're all cyclocross fanatics?
  • 5 0
 @jamesbrant: That's what 99% of the "mountainbikers" here are doing, except they're riding mountainbikes...
When there is an organised ride in the weekends, they send you through fields and meadows, thinking that's what we would like to do.
Also for most it's considered a winter sport. The moment spring comes around the corner, they jump on their road bikes and ride in groups obstructing traffic on our small, twisty roads.

So yeah, it's awesome here!
  • 1 1
 Haha awesome!!
  • 2 3
 @jamesbrant:

F**k cyclocross.
  • 2 0
 @LaurensVR

Oh man I feel ya. Same here. Terrible scene.
  • 2 1
 @NinetySixBikes:

Yep. That whole roadie & cyclocross crowd doesn’t even have a clue of what mountainbiking is..
  • 2 1
 @jamesbrant:

Sorry for the hard reply but cyclocross folks overhere are just the worst crowd ever. Zero clue of mountainbiking.-
  • 1 0
 Me too! When one person by a new mountain bike in Belgium. They use this bike basic for do road bike. It's impossible made mountain bike in Belgium.
  • 1 1
 @DutchmanPhotos: wierd how somebody who rides cross doesnt have a clue about mountain biking. Maybe its because they dont mountain bike?
  • 1 0
 @warmerdamj:

Don’t get me started. 99% of ‘em are cooks.
  • 12 0
 Vancouver Island. It's terrible here, no good trails or secret spots anywhere...
  • 12 0
 Central Illinois checking in, where you're only an 8 hour drive from good riding!
  • 11 0
 Stand by for butt hurt Ontarians.
  • 4 0
 As an Ontarian living in Toronto, there are many advantages of riding our local trails:
-The climbs are so short, I'm barely breathing hard by the top and eMTB are irrelevant.
-The other main trail user group are junkies finding a peaceful place to high, until I blast by (Toronto riding).
-I practice the same downhill trails over and over and over and over until my technique is perfect... because there's like only a handfull of 'gnarly' trails in the province.
  • 1 0
 Why would Ontarians be butthurt? Albion Hills is super fast, flowy and fun, Kelso and Hardwood are both fun days on the bike, and the Don Valley offers almost 100km of absolutely amazing trails (and one of the best DJ parks and pump tracks in existence) that are a 20 minute pedal from downtown Toronto. I've never been to the Hydrocut, but I've heard they're the best trails in the province, and also a short pedal from the downtown of the city they're situated in.
  • 4 3
 @mnorris122: where have you travelled to outside of Ontario? This answer is telling.
  • 1 0
 Toronto has lots of trails within an hours drive but they're all flowy xc stuff. Ottawa on the other hand is amazing. A few places within 20 min, and a few more withing and hour. All have awesome technical trails and some even have pretty decent elevation.
  • 1 0
 @rockyflowtbay: Riding is different everywhere. That's why "Ontario bikes" exist. If you rock up with your 160mm bike and Minions, you're not gonna have as good a time on the guy on the hardtail or 120mm bike with faster tires. And that's OK.

For the record I live in Halifax now, but still only have my Ontario bike...turns out longer travel and tough, sticky tires could be a nice change.
  • 6 0
 I’m very lucky to have Surrey hills on my doorstep, ridings great, most people great, some issues with landowners, some issue with people, sometimes it’s a wee bit busy, Most other groups are friendly especially if you say hi... it’s not hard to be civil and it goes along way. 3% of people are dicks, smile sweetly and don’t let it drag you down. Best thing is to have fun and treat others as you want to be treated.
  • 1 0
 We’re very lucky to have such a beautiful area to ride, in such close proximity to the vast urban sprawl of London. We may not have any big hills or mountains but there is enough elevation to climb and descend 1000m in any 40km loop, with almost all of it on woodland singletrack. Yes it can get busy around the most popular area of Peaslake village, but you you explore further a field there are great trails with much less traffic to be enjoyed.
  • 5 0
 I'm back in north van currently but I wanna give a MASSIVE shoutout to the ottawa/gatineau region specifically camp fortune. Such a friendly and cool community, you can show up to skyline bike park alone and finish the day with a big crew doing party laps down some of the most fun DH trails in canada. north van has the trails but I miss the people back at fortune!
  • 2 0
 Camp Fortune is a hugely underrated riding area - if I still lived in Ottawa, I'd be there all the time.
  • 7 0
 Santa Cruz sucks, don't come here! Please delete all the STRAVA and Trail Forks data on our trails, specially at UCSC area please! Big Grin
  • 2 0
 It’s gotten so crowded. I hate riding weekends, Rincon lot is a joke.
  • 5 0
 The North Shore is great! In saying that... I have had to tell some man child fuck heads who are in a yelling match with eachother in the middle of the fromme parking lot about who took who's spot to shut the fuck up and either park or ride their bike up the fucking hill like we all did only a couple years ago. If you you are reading this and you know you are one of the turd for brains who shows up all cock hard and full of piss n vinegar hoping to intimidate people to give up their spot... You're getting a water bottle to the face a knee to the balls and a slap on the top of the head next time.... That parking lot can be nastier than this websites comments section at times...
  • 2 0
 I miss the days before the parking lot
  • 1 0
 I don't even bother with the parking lot, there can be a line up of like 10 cars just waiting for people to leave....wtf! There's always parking at the climbing trail, and you see hardly anyone
  • 1 0
 @theconorcons: Agree. I only use the lot if I'm starting earlier than 9am and I have friends who want to start there or my old dog, because the climb from Coleman just adds too much for her.
  • 5 0
 trail closure to bikes threat level very high in Laguna beach.
(city side). socials(YouTube/strava/ig) major culprits.
they're already collecting data from you if your phone is on.
(electronic fencing)
  • 4 0
 Well. I live in Whistler and know the area well enough and explore enough that I can ride alone a fair bit. I ride with others at times too. And it seems when I run into others conversations always take place. We discuss trails secret and known. The European visitors it seems often ask about bears.
  • 3 0
 I recently moved from Austin to Dallas. I'm not one to complain about culture and social differences as I tend to get along with just about every type of person, but man did I drop down a few pegs in terms of trail quality. I really miss places like the greenbelt, flat creek and reveille.
  • 1 0
 I rode Spider Mountain last December when I was in Austin for work. I stoped making fun of Texas mountain biking after that.
  • 3 0
 @hamncheez: People love to shit on that place, but the builders killed it with what they had to work with. Personally, I'm way to impatient to sit on that lift so if I'm not too tired I'll just pedal up. For how quick of a pedal it is to the top, I can't think of a more ideal place to rent out e-bikes.
  • 1 0
 @azogas413: haha my coworker in the Austin office who shreds is buying an ebike for that very reason.
  • 1 0
 Yeah Walnut, Emma Long, Flat Creek Reveille and now Spider Mountain are what make Austin great. Brushy Creek up north has a great system as well.
  • 1 0
 @grantx19: Emma Long! Mann it's been ages since I've ridden those chunky ledges. 2 laps and ya done!
  • 2 0
 my favorite local mountain over the last few years hasn't changed much, not many new trails pop up without being taken down. but it's blown up for some reason.. it used to be an empty parking lot now it's a fight to park your car. you almost get run over by ebikers going uphill then on downhill trails you're almost running over the hikers! it's getting bad for sure, it's really unfortunate because it was an awesome place for riding.
  • 4 0
 Instagram and industry "growing the sport"...
  • 2 0
 Great. 200ish miles worth of accessible trails with pretty good elevation start right at the base of town. McCall is 2 hours north with a lot more technical riding. Sun Valley is 2.5 hours NE. Plus some additional desert riding to the South. Feeling pretty lucky. The only problem here is droves of people are moving here so it's going to probably move to decent in a few years.
  • 2 0
 I've spent my entire adult life in one promised land or the other, Crested Butte, Marin County and Santa Fe. I prefer SF to the others these days, zero crowds on the best trails, short winters, and unlike Marin mountain biking is actually legal here. Easy drive to CB, Durango, or Sedona taboot.
  • 2 0
 Fairfield country Connecticut.... where everyone has 10k bikes. Can barley ride them, nemba version of a jump line is a downed log with a rock on it, and then they post articles on their Facebook page about how “mountain biking isn’t all about fun!” Yeah. Great job guys
  • 1 0
 "Mountain biking isn't all about fun"

I haven't heard this one. What the hell is it supposed to mean?

Of course mountain biking is all about fun. Nobody has to do it and nobody would if it wasn't fun.
  • 1 0
 Some stupid article they posted. @DidNotSendIt:
  • 2 0
 So Cal has great trails but is getting too congested and always on the verge of being shut down. Fire damage and liability for “too crazy” of trails seem to be the main culprits. I hope that things get better but it’s not looking favorable. It’s nice to see so many people getting into mountain biking but with growth there will always be growing pains.
  • 6 0
 I ride to get away from it all, including people.
  • 2 0
 Washington has so many great diverse trails to ride. I live smack in the middle and enjoy the shit out of our local stuff. The destination rides here are incredible. Oregon is close too. I can't ride from my house, but 15-30 minutes in every direction there is an easily accessed trail head with fun single track. Kittitas County is !!!!
  • 6 0
 I've not ridden with another person for 20 years. Is that not normal?
  • 1 0
 I love this.....so great!
  • 2 0
 Honestly, after spending most of my adult life on the East Coast of the US, I'm ready to go West. The Western US has a lot more to offer than the crowds and small hills of the East. After many visits, I'm ready to move West.
  • 2 0
 I don't know. With what everyone is saying here, I'm happy I live on the east coast. I live in the Worcester MA area. I'm fifteen minutes from awesome trails. Like multiple awesome trails. I'm half an hour from epic trails. We don't have a lot of elevation, sure dude, but what they call "technical" out west is what we call access roads. Things aren't crowded in the state parks, and we got so many d@mn microbreweries. And dude, come on, their Italian food...
  • 1 0
 Perth, Western Australia. There's plenty of potential here if the Government was able to see the benefits. The riding is good although no where near what's available on the east coast, in particular Tasmania. All in all I think everyone here still has fun on the bike and with the limited elevation we have there's still decent trails.
  • 1 0
 The Perth scene is pretty good considering the lack of elevation, the unsanctioned "secret" stuff is the best stuff to ride on IMO. Same can be said for Pemberton, Collie and Margaret River. The government seems to be avoiding the topic of new trails for fear of upsetting a small but very vocal group of environmental activists, pity because they could really get benefit from expanding the network. Cool thing happening at the moment though is all the local councils building pump tracks.
  • 1 0
 I grew up in Cedar Mountain, NC, right next to Dupont State Forest (before they called it that, and it was the actual Dupont chemical plant that we used to go poach rides from after dark). The original trail network there was maintenance and access roads with some cuts up and down for ease.

Asheville/Brevard has changed a WHOLE lot, but I think it's for the better. You'll find that many of the natives fall into two groups. The ones born in the 20s/30s, when that place was just starting to get discovered, and born in the 50s/60s, where they've been here their whole life but they probably don't make a living in the industry there, unless it's telecom, tourism, or automotive (south of the border in SC).

I've seen the trails change from a "just cut enough" sort of maintenance to an honestly beautiful trail network with signage, safety, and enough rowdiness for anyone. Of course the crowds are bigger in the parking lots now. Of course the hotels around town (although the number of rooms has gone up, so has the pricing) are busy, of course there are people making this their vacation spot. Is that bad? My family's land in the area has gone up in value, there are new restaurants, bars, stores, There's a whole new outlook for the town. There used to be a massive paper plant here called Ecusta. They recently made all that land the factory used to sit on a Superfund cleanup site, and it's being returned to the national forest around it once it's healthy again.

There's a focus for the future of the area as a tourism hub rather than just a retirement town now, and I personally love it. "you can never go home again", right? I'm on board with growth.

I'll add that I'm typing this from the Front Range of Colorado, and I totally understand what happens when a massive amount of people travel somewhere, even temporarily, without the infrastructure to support it.
  • 2 0
 Immediately local to me isn't the best, but there's plenty of great trails within a half hour drive of my place, and even more within 2 hours driving, which will put me right into Squamish/ Whistler
  • 2 0
 I'd say "good". We could deal with a little more elevation but there are a number of trail systems around that are a lot of fun without being crowded and i have a good bike park just over an hour away.
  • 1 0
 It's mediocre.
The trails aren't crowded, the nearest bike park is 50km away, there are no conflicts with anything nor anybody, the mountains range in altitude from anything between 100m to 1500m high, you have a lot of primitive trails all around the place and I mean really primitive, old roman roads kind of primitive and century old goat paths, and long as you don't destroy anything no one cares if you create small sections connecting different trails, BUT there aren't that many riders to share the fun :/...
  • 3 0
 There's a huge cross-country scene in South Dakota Black Hills and actually plenty of great terrain and elevation for more gravity stuff, but no development
  • 2 0
 i live in asheville NC, great riding here. bent creek is crowded, but there's other stuff. trouble is, i've been here 16 years and i've already done 400 laps of kitsuma. and numerous laps of everything else around here.
  • 2 0
 I live here and don't think the riding is as great as the reputation it has. Great to visit,ok to live here is my opinion.
  • 1 0
 I live in the piedmont and the riding here is actually pretty fun. It’s not too crowded yet- nothing like Asheville/Brevard, although there’s been a steady increase over the past several years. Strong XC scene. We have lots of parks with trails including some really fun ones that get hardly any traffic. The downside is it’s all kind of spread out. Lots of well-meaning people who want to take out logs and build berms in every corner though.
  • 2 0
 Canberra: XC paradise, and still plenty of fireroads, DH, skateparks and BMX tracks. One year I raced DH or XC once a month and BMX every fortnight. Lots of world class riders come from here the scene is so good.
  • 2 0
 Dude shutup!! Right now Canberra is perfect - enough riders that there's govt support, but trails aren't too crowded. Most people are super friendly too. I had a guy drive me to hospital when I broke my wrist and back, and today I pulled a girl out of a tree at Stromlo near Echidna Gap to pay it forward. But let's keep it bit of a secret! lol
  • 4 0
 Kamloops! Great local riding and not far from Sun Peaks, Revelstoke, Valemount, Whistler... you get the picture!
  • 3 0
 Hard no on Revelstoke! The only trail in town runs through the city dump, needle junkies and drunks everywhere! Just a marketing scam... nothing here... move along!
  • 1 0
 I live in Cincinnati, Ohio and there are no poll options for me or this city.
We have about 12 systems to ride ranging from 1-20 miles in length within 45 minutes of the city. Hope you like XC. 2-300 up, 2-300 down and repeat endlessly in and out of river valleys. Trails are 90% old school hand cut and overgrown with honeysuckle. Public land is scarce. It took 15 years of effort to get the first MTB designated trail in a city park for which ground was broken last year. For the Midwest we are doing pretty well overall.
  • 1 0
 i live in cincinnati as well! i completely agree with that! devou is pretty good though
  • 1 0
 @ajaypate1: Everyone loves Devou. Tower is my sleeper favorite though.
  • 1 0
 That sounds really nice. I dislike the 1 hour up, 10 min down type mountain trails.
  • 1 0
 @mrpfp: does tower have any jumps? I will have to go check it out if it does.
  • 1 0
 @ajaypate1: Not nearly as many as Devou. Tower is steep and rocky. Novice riders hate it. It’s very segmented and can be confusing until you get the lay of the land. I think Tower has the best techy descents in the area. The dudes I usually ride with call riding at Tower “MTB Practice”.
  • 1 0
 @mrpfp: i will have to check it out! i ride places that are steep as shit like windrock so it must be a blast!
  • 1 0
 @ajaypate1: Well I wouldn’t compare it to Windrock but they are the steepest in the Cincy area for sure.
  • 1 0
 @mrpfp: that makes sense
  • 1 0
 i live in burnaby, bc, about 20 minute drive from the north shore. too far for my liking to do too much riding so i just go once every 2 months or so when its sunny which works out to be about 3 times a year. if i lived closer id probably ride 6 times a week
  • 1 0
 20 minute drive to far?
  • 1 0
 @Monsterman156: yeah, i just wish i lived closer to the mountains
  • 1 0
 Pretty limited in the immediate area where I live. Decent trails shared with multiple use groups in a densely populated area. Good trails further out, but not always easy to find the time to get there. Good mix of friendly expats and locals maintain the trails. Ride scene in my hometown during the summer visits is on point though.
  • 2 0
 Moab, UT. Some love it, some don't. Sometimes the trails are packed, other times they are empty. Short drive to the San Juans or other parts of CO if desired, Park City as well. I personally love it!
  • 1 0
 NE Florida here. It's easy to feel disgruntled when you've ridden the same root-festooned route for the 743rd lap. But, given the terrain, things could be worse. So I'm thankful for what we have. The trails aren't epic, but they aren't overcrowded, either. We're gaining trails, too, and the volunteer scene is improving. The state park system seems to be very mtb friendly, as some of the best trails in the state are within park boundaries. Also on the plus side, some trails get better the more it rains, which it's prone to do here.
  • 1 0
 I run into mt biking nobility constantly in town and on the trails, but our trails have been absolutely overrun thanks to social media, e-bikes, STRAVA etc. Weekend mornings are ridiculous. We all have the sense that trail access is hanging by a thread. Too many riders don't give a shit about anyone but themselves and their bros.
  • 1 0
 Leipzig, coolest town I ever lived , but it's perfectly flat. There are three hills 30meters high in the town, and a lot of mud on boring trails when it rains. Luckily it almost never rains (except now).
Everything that is interesting (bikepark, higher mountains, airport to fly to LaPalma) is at least 2hrs by car. But some folks even ride eMTBs...
  • 1 0
 Bern, Switzerland, trails are amazing, mountains are endless and lift access is everywhere, but mostly not purpose built and trails need to be shared with hikers. On peak summer days this can be horrible. Mountainbikers are very clicky, lots of riders around but actually its very hard to meet people.
  • 1 0
 Colorado front range. Colorado springs specifically. We have lots of riding and shared trails which is usually fine people are friendly when you say hi. But put your dog on a leash and pick up the poop. Now get off my lawn and have a nice day Smile
  • 1 0
 Hard to complain in NJ. Loads of good stuff within 2 hour drive. But I guess that's not really local. 75 or more cars in the parking lot on a 30 degree day at the local trails, but enough trails that I see maybe 10 people max.
  • 1 0
 To all you North Shore and Squamish whiners: however crowded it may be, you still live in paradise!
Try Lueneburg, Germany and you will see. Here, it is flat, few trails and lots of sandy soil that grinds your drivetrain down...next decent MTB trails 2.5h away!
  • 1 0
 Yep. Same here in the sh*t Netherlands.-
  • 1 0
 Perugia, Italy. Central Apennines here. Hills as far as you can see. Fun starts within a 10min drive. Mountain biking is steadily growing; we ride many centuries-old trails, once used by firewood harvesters, hunters and the like, but you begin to see also purpose-built stuff. Trails are never overcrowded, and it's nice to meet randomly some friends in the middle of nowhere.
  • 1 0
 Wales is nadgers-deep in hills and mountains. You could look in any direction in almost any place and see a spot that would be ripe for an epic trail.

Although we do have a good amount of trail-centres and some sweet bike parks... if MTB received some serious funding and developement, i reckon it wouldn't be too long before every world cup medal (or whatever you get on the podium) is accepted with the phrase "Tidy, cheers butt".

We'd be unstoppable.
  • 1 0
 Hong Kong, but its surprisingly OK, I mean you wouldn't travel here to ride but we have an good choice of trails (both legal and not) and they are sketchy enough that when we do travel somewhere decent we are not completely ill prepared. Our riding season is also winter, so when summer comes, along with rainy season, we can then go off somewhere else.
  • 1 0
 I came form Reno, a mountainous area, but live in So Fla, a flatland. I'm so very grateful for the (limited) riding we have, less than an hour drive are few parks with sweet variety of trail. No long climb/descent, but lots of fill/tailing piles that offer opportunity. Thanks to a lot of creative building we have stuff to ride and grow the skills.
  • 4 0
 Donate to your local trail advocacy group!
  • 2 0
 Roaring Fork Valley in Colorado just down the road from Aspen. We just got Imba Gold status which should be great for continued development. Come on up!! Everyone's welcome!
  • 1 0
 Shhhhhh
  • 1 0
 @yourrealdad: Well not Everybody......
  • 2 0
 Need a wider variety of lower elevation trails here. In summer though the possibilities are endless but a lot of the standout trails get hit hard.
  • 4 0
 Being from Washington and going to college in the Midwest was a mistake...
  • 1 0
 We have elevatin, I build trails, public land management is so-so, but we have the right-to-roam and do some guerilla tactic trail clearing, «This was just a deer trail Mr. Outdoor consultant»
  • 2 0
 Sheffield, England. We ride everything with everyone and our advocacy group is awesome. Plus nature puts us next to the Peak District, we’re very lucky #benicesayhi
  • 2 0
 Used to be good but the local built trails are ruined over winter and the crap that gets left behind in the parking area is ridiculous.
  • 3 0
 Christchurch / South Island of New Zealand. Riding is so good here!
  • 1 0
 Went to Galbraith last week and was amazed. Rode this afternoon on local trail in MT. not a soul out, just critters. Very different places but both great. Perspective man.
  • 1 0
 Can you ride a nationals DH course on your way to work? Yes. But my workmates do not appreciate my filthy bike in our shoebox sized shared office.
  • 3 0
 It's terrible - don't come here.
  • 3 0
 Should be a “No bike specific trails in my area” option.
  • 3 0
 Western Montana sucks, would not recommend
  • 1 0
 Um, no one in MT is driving to Missoula to go riding. I would pick many other towns in MT before the zoo.
  • 2 0
 So... Here's my alternative option:
Good, but the trails are really far apart and require a lot of driving to get to.
  • 2 0
 Moab is too hot, too crowded, and there are too many rocks. Don't bother coming here.
  • 3 0
 Tweed Valley, Scotland ... best riding in the world ????
  • 2 0
 It's not that good. The golfie in particular is terrible.

(wink wink)
  • 3 0
 Invermere BC Freeride mecca. This place is so overlooked it's ridiculous
  • 1 0
 "Have you found the promised land, or is it time to relocate?" I moved to North Van one year ago and now everything is allllllrrriiiight.
  • 2 0
 Sea to Sky is totally overrated. Please stay away. Some of us are forced to suffer it.....
  • 1 0
 Everyone I've ridden with in Kelowna BC are all Endurbros and like roosting and showing off with ChickswithSticks whenever we meet the girls on the trails, ugh shralp bro
  • 1 0
 Seattle and surrounding area is getting very busy. Parking is a major issue to ride and with local home owners making us look bad. We need more parking!
  • 2 0
 I miss them map days or earn your secret spots days or simply stumble upon some gems
  • 1 0
 Our trails in Salmon, Idaho are insanely epic. There just aren't enough of us to keep them beat in. Shame too as the riding here is huge and primitive.
  • 1 0
 Should have an option.. ,"I live in the PNW. I have zero room to complain or bitch about anything. Regardless of the summer crowds." At least that's what I was looking for.
  • 2 0
 I live on the North Shore currently. It's pretty incredible.
  • 1 0
 Local rides are not that amazing, but an eight hour drive gets me into the middle of the alps.
  • 1 0
 Central Oregon, no complaints gets busy during the summer and weekends. Plenty of local spots to get away from the crowds.
  • 1 0
 Same. Even in the summer, it’s not too bad assuming you put a little work into route selection.
  • 2 0
 You should ask your mother.
  • 3 2
 I live near Park City, so it's a lot of plum smugglers and nothing steep. Plenty of dirt sidewalks to ride your hardtail on.
  • 1 1
 What are you talking about, Carpet Canyon has insane trails.
  • 1 0
 mine is poor but not because of fighting good number of riders just no real trails or elevation I need to move
  • 1 0
 Where do you travel to around there. Any parks?
  • 1 0
 @rockyflowtbay: nearest bike park is 2 hours away but not open every day just select weekends other than that it's 4 to 8 hours for anything not xc.... but we do have a fair amount of xc trails in the area to keep the legs moving but nothing to be too stoked about
  • 2 0
 Sheep and cheap (free) trails for days and months
  • 1 0
 I can't answer the poll because my trails are great, there are tons of riders, but they are also crowded.
  • 1 0
 Vancouver Island is sinking don’t come! Haha just kidding, bring all your bikes, pick up your dogs shit!
  • 1 0
 I live in the birthplace of mountain biking, and the riding here couldn't be worse.
  • 1 0
 Come on, that's not true. You could live in Nebraska. Or Manitoba.

I'd call Bay Area riding (including Marin, SF peninsula, Santa Cruz, Sonoma County) "good" but not "great". Some pretty good trails, a lot of natural beauty/views, and a long riding season, but nothing world-class like many places in BC and a few places in the US southwest.

I love living here (Sonoma County for me), and put up with the fact that it's a 20-30 min drive to good trails (the road riding from my front door is superb, however). I make up for it by spending a few months each year in BC, Arizona and Utah, where the really good stuff is.
  • 2 0
 Go get a cx/gravel bike and change your whole outlook. My bro lives in the Bay area and getting a gravel bike changed everything for him. World class multi surface epics throughout Marin.
  • 1 0
 @MtbSince84: I agree, when I moved to LA I was super stoked about the possibilities. But haven’t found many, or any really, that are awesome/amazing, like top 10 I’ve ever hit. I’ve been all over the country though and to all the big lift spots. A lot of super beautiful, fun, and great trails, but nothing mind blowing. I’m thankful to have so many so close and am still discovering though. Sad to hear that heading your way North doesn’t change that much :/ what about North if you? Anything that is amazing?
  • 1 0
 @Rasterman: There's some excellent riding on the north coast (near Mendocino, for example), but again, none that I'd call world-class. Up in the Sierra Nevada mountains there is riding that is at least close to world class; check out the Lake Tahoe and Downieville areas. Summer-only, of course.

I don't mean to talk down Bay Area riding that much. There are some excellent places to ride here: UC and Soquel Demo near Santa Cruz; El Corte de Madera and Pacifica on the SF Peninsula; bits of goodness in Marin like Tamarancho and Dominican (and various other things that can't be mentioned on the internet); Annadel in Sonoma. These all provide fine riding experiences, more or less year-round and with beautiful views and great post-ride eating and drinking opportunities. It's just that these are small pockets of good/great riding within a large region. It's nothing like the concentrations of mind-blowing trails they have in say Squamish or Whistler (or Nelson or Sedona or Hurricane or ...).
  • 1 0
 @MtbSince84: cool thanks for the info. Yeah I’ve ridden Tahoe rim trail (I would include that on my top 10 for the views), downieville, and Northstar.
  • 2 0
 Bentonville Arkansas - trails in my backyard, can’t complain
  • 1 0
 that’s the dream! what is your favorite trail?
  • 2 0
 @ajaypate1: Coler, has everything.
  • 1 0
 Whistler - so bit crowded if you chose to go where everyone is, great trails, occassional Tippie.
  • 1 0
 Sometimes I wish I had more company. But for an island in the middle of the Pacific it’s not2bad
  • 1 0
 I live in Penticton...................................... I just hit the perfect button
  • 1 0
 I live and ride on the island...... How do think the riding scene is where I live?
  • 1 0
 How's the Detroit riding scene? I just picked up a house there for really cheap. It's a vintage manor house.
  • 1 0
 Reşiţa, good mountain biking in this area.
  • 1 0
 Nanaimo, BC..... mike drop.....
  • 2 0
 Nanaimo Bars (food, not beer halls) make any ride great.
  • 1 0
 Besides the proximity to the Coronavirus, the riding is great!
  • 1 0
 warsaw, its flat all around me
  • 2 1
 All of NYS is utter trash It's pathetic
  • 1 0
 I have great trails, the problem is they go uphill both ways
  • 1 0
 as if it was so easy to just relocate ... . .. . .
  • 1 0
 #itsuckshere Don’t come to the Okanagan!
  • 1 0
 Cumberland baby! couldnt be better
  • 1 1
 We frequently drive 8-9 hours to ride bike park. The riding here is poor at best.
  • 1 0
 don’t go to whistler it is so horrible
  • 1 0
 Anyone here from San Diego and put poor? haha!
  • 1 0
 NJ mtb slogan- When we say it sucks we mean it.
  • 1 0
 Pretty happy here. Ever hear of Retallack?
  • 1 0
 You can't fail more with this pool.
  • 1 0
 Fernie sucks. Tell your friends.
  • 1 0
 It sucks don't go.
  • 1 0
 Sounds like Squamish
  • 1 0
 Norway u see
  • 1 0
 Where in particular? I've been mulling over the idea of a biking trip over there
  • 1 0
 Nelson BC!
  • 1 0
 F$&k yeah!!! We tripped through all of BC last summer and Nelson was a definite top 2 stop, tied only with Pemberton? Love the town, loved the fall-line tech trails with old-school vibe, just loved it all! Very nice locals and it seemed like everyone rips on a bike.
  • 1 0
 @babymorox: yeah I 100% love living here. So many different kinds of trails!
  • 1 0
 Visited 15 years ago and it still is top 5 on my list of good riding towns.







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