Meet four mountain bikers who are living out the shared code of ethics on and off the trail.
What do a professional mountain biker, a biking coach, trail builder, and photographer have in common when they hit the trail? They ride with gratitude.
The newest video series follows four riders traversing trails and sharing why fellow mountain bikers should ride with gratitude while visiting the nine Bike Borderlands networks – and everywhere they ride.
“These episodes illustrate the principles of the Ride With Gratitude campaign and provide real-life, concrete examples of what it means to live out the movement,” said Maura Adams, the Center’s Director of Community Investment. “Our goal is to raise awareness of the campaign and encourage more people to take the pledge.”
The Bike Borderlands initiative, a collaborative of nine independent trail networks, created the Ride With Gratitude campaign to instill a strong code of ethics within the mountain biking community. The campaign calls on riders to respect the gift of mountain biking, care for others, protect nature, and hold each other accountable.
The video series emphasizes that access to trails is dependent on rider behavior, and the mountain biking community holds a unique responsibility to behave in a way that protects access for generations.
Ollie Burruss, mountain bike program director at Craftsbury Outdoor Center, shared that the Ride With Gratitude ethos is important to his organization, which maintains trails on over 100 parcels of private land.
“Expressing gratitude for the privilege of recreating on someone else’s land is the least that users can do to give back to their local trail communities,” Burruss said. “Having inspirational personalities like Ella, Brooks, Sonthy, and Tom take time to share their interpretations of what riding with gratitude means will only help to underscore this important message. I hope that the campaign inspires trail users of all stripes to take a moment to think about all the work that goes into maintaining access to their favorite trails.”
The Ride With Gratitude video series has encouraged other trail networks and bike shops to join the movement. Check out the list of partners and other networks who’ve signed on to promote the campaign at the bottom of the Ride page.
“Ride With Gratitude has become an integral part of KT’s overarching message,” said Kingdom Trails’ Education and Communications Director Lil Ide. “The branding and mantras have created a framework for our communications as we seek to encourage respectful and responsible mountain biker behavior to protect our local community and sustain our trail network.”
One immediate way for riders to practice the principles? Check a specific network’s social media channels before heading out for a ride – many Bike Borderlands network trails are closing for the fall for maintenance and to prepare for winter. Use the opportunity to find local trails or other opportunities to ride nearby.
“Ride with Gratitude is making the interactions on the trails friendlier, raising awareness of public trails on private land and giving people something to come together and agree on,” said Shanna Maziarz with PRKR MTN. “The videos are going to help drive home the individual points of ride with gratitude and deepen the message.”
For more Ride with Gratitude and Bike Borderlands updates, follow along on Facebook and Instagram.
