A WILL & A WAY

At mbr, we've always sought to highlight the best places to ride in the UK and beyond. But the definition of best has evolved massively over the last 25 years

- Sim Mainey

If there's been one constant over the last 25 years, it's the trails we ride. Or so you'd think. In the last quarter of a century, trails have changed just as much as our bikes, gear and riding. Trails are, ultimately, the reason we ride. Tracing their history and development is the best way to see just how much mountain biking as a sport has evolved, while also giving us some clues as to what the future may hold.

The job for any mountain bike magazine, especially one with the tagline 'Just get out and ride', is to inspire and inform readers about where they can actually go and ride. Twenty-five years ago that was limited to whatever appeared on an Ordnance Survey map - and was legal to ride, of course.

The first mbr route guide was a selection of rides in the Midlands, mostly on towpaths. We revisited these routes 10 years later for a feature, 'Canal Knowledge', and even then the disconnect between a modern bike's ability and the trails was huge. Today, those same trails would be best enjoyed on one of the new breed of fat-tyred, drop-barred gravel bikes rather than a mountain bike.

Not all routes have aged so poorly. Bikes and riders may be more capable, but some trails continue to provide the same level of challenge and reward they always have, garnering classic status. Often these are well-established hard-wearing tracks in the mountains, like Snowdon and Helvellyn. Erosion and repair, good and bad, have sometimes changed the character of these trails, but fundamentally these trails remain the same and still offer as much fun as they did a quarter of a century ago. Other trails, usually those on more malleable terrain, have changed out of all recognition, falling from favour and disappearing into the undergrowth and obscurity.

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