The lochs and glens, the harsh big bens, you'll surely need the shelter.
We love this place and the space, it's only just the weather.
We all love our land, especially us Mountain Bikers, for us this place is really special, our forests and land are something the Scottish people are very proud of, and so they should, it's stunning. Therefore it is imperative we look after it all, sustainably and conservatively. With the increasing onus of land management being hinged more on smaller organisations in Scotland there has been an upsurge in newly formed Trail Associations.
Volunteer forces for good, with the rise of Trail associations throughout Scotland and further afield, it only became time before the West Coast needed its very own. The newly Established Lochaber Trail Association (LTA) have formed on the basis of this new call to tools. Their aim is to work closely with land owners and be a reasonable voice for the Mountain Bike community and to sustain responsible access, protection and longevity of our trails here in the Highlands.
For the Mountain Bike community to really appreciate the benefits and love for our environment in the way we all do, it really needs to come down to people taking responsibility for their local trails. This is something the LTA are working towards, campaigning for custodianship of our local hills where we all ride, organising dig days and passing on knowledge of sustainable trail maintenance so we can all work effortlessly towards a common interest.
Alba Mountainbike are advocates of this shared responsibility in looking after our local trail network, it's essential for our business to ensure we have a thriving trail network at our doorstep, especially for all our riders. For Cycle tourism to thrive in the Highlands it's necessary that the Mountain Bike community have comprehensive trail networks allowing for the expansion of our tourism market. This is why Alba Mountainbike will be working closely with the LTA to deliver maintenance sessions in the future, not because we feel we must, because it's simply the ride thing to do.