Developing Mountain Biking in Scotland Conference - REGISTRATION NOW OPEN!!

Proposed Short Term Plan for Tayside & Fife Development Cluster

Off Road Networks Training Courses

Mountain Biking Research and Other Useful Insights with Tourism Intelligence Scotland

Business Opportunities at Glentress Peel

Fundraising Fundamentals - Trail building ideas into effective funding applications

Mountain Biking part of Scotland's Heartlands Tourism drive at Kingsfield Golf Course

IMBA UK Conference comes to Scotland in September

Please visit the official conference site to register for our conference.

Please click here. to find see the Proposed Short Term Plan for Tayside & Fife Development Cluster.

Cycling Scotland (CS), Paths for All (PFA), Sustrans (Sus) and Clackmannanshire Council (CC) are working in partnership to develop a demonstration project to showcase good practice in the delivery of shared-use paths for active travel. The project will provide information via training days on site, reports and data sheets with information being made available via the organisations' websites. Following on from points raised in the recently published Cycling Action Plan for Scotland (CAPS), the above group agreed to develop a demonstration site with CC and identified a suitable site on the Devon Way situated to the north east of Alloa.

Cycling Scotland delivers Making Cycling Mainstream (MCM), a range of professional development courses promoting good practice in the delivery of active travel projects. The philosophy is that active travel schemes should integrate effectively and be seen as practical and relevant by cyclists and walkers. Following on from the delivery of designing and planning for cyclists course CS and our partners are developing a course in line with the demonstration project to provide actual examples of off road active travel networks with carriageway crossings. As part of the MCM programme, Cycling Scotland is pleased to offer, free of charge, one day courses at the Devon Way Demonstration Project in Alloa on October the 6th and on October 7th this year with Sustrans aiding in the delivery of the day. Places will be assigned on a first-come, first-served basis, limited to a maximum of three places per Local Authority/National Park.

The offer has been emailed to cycling and access contacts within local authorities/national parks. If you feel there are more suitable work colleagues within your organisation then please forward the email on to your colleagues. The course will cover the following topics with an agenda for the day being circulated at the beginning of September.

Topics to be covered are:

- Introduction to the Demonstration Project
- Process of developing the project
- Active Travel design manuals
- Types of path surfacing available for active travel
- Access control on active travel networks
- Crossing of minor road and varying crossing points for shared-use paths
- Dealing with conflict on shared-use paths through design

The day will begin at 09.30am in Alloa with presentations/workshops in the morning prior to completing a site visit and workshops on the proposed demonstration site. The afternoon session will discuss the workshop outcomes with the training day finishing at 15.30pm.

To register for one of these training days, Click here and click on 'Making Cycling Mainstream Devon Way - Infrastructure Demo site' and click 'Register' on the list there, or e-mail peterleslie@cyclingscotland.org

The brand new, interactive and user-friendly Tourism Intelligence Scotland website is where you can find practical insights and inspirational ideas, hints and tips, and share information which will help you develop your business.

Register at www.tourism-intelligence.co.uk for access to the latest mountain biking research, a fantastic range of resources including TIS's 'Opportunities for Growth' guides, Ear to the Ground newsletters, case studies, presentations and practical tools, plus up to date information on all the news, trends and developments affecting cycling tourism today.

Expressions of interest are invited for three business opportunities which will operate at the all new visitor facilities in Glentress Forest, opening for business in the Tweed Valley Forest Park from April 2011.

Glentress Peel seeks to be a 5-star visitor attraction with a Green Tourism Business scheme Gold rating, which will cater for all ages and family groups as well as more specialist users - locals, day visitors and tourists, to the locality.

Glentress is part of the 7stanes world class mountain bike trails and is now the largest visitor attraction in the Scottish Borders with over 300,000 visitors per annum. Our ambition is to increase this and add further attractions to the existing walking, biking and wildlife watching opportunities.

The business opportunities available are-

-LOT 1 The operation of a catering business, café/restaurant with 200 covers.

-LOT 2 The operation of a retail business, bike/outdoor shop and bike hire facility potentially serving 200,000 mountain bikers and other outdoor enthusiasts.

-LOT 3 Other business, retail and service provision, commercial or otherwise, for which innovative ideas are sought which may be separate or complementary to Lots 1 and 2.

To express your interest in any of the opportunities on offer please follow the documentation procedures at www.forestry.gov.uk/glentress by Friday 20th August 2010.

This course will introduce beginners to the basics of fundraising and help those who are more experienced with further advice, support and inspiration. By the end of the course you will

- Know how and where to access information about funders.
- Have improved knowledge and understanding of project development.
- Have improved confidence and ability in completing funding applications.

Dates and Venues
- Thursday 9th September - Redhall Walled Garden, Edinburgh - free
- Saturday 9th October - BTCV Scotland, Stirling - 6 free places only
- March 2011 - Date tbc - Inverness tbc

Organised in partnership with FEVA (Forum on Environmental Volunteering Activity) and BTCV (British Trust for Conservation Volunteers), these events are FREE to community organisations and volunteers.

If you would like more information on the course and how to book a place. Please download the flyer here.

We would be grateful if you could spread the word onto any other groups or individuals you think might be interested.

A tourism group operating in Linlithgow has come up with a novel way of attracting mountain bikers to visit.

Scotland's Heartland, which is made up of businesses in in Linlithgow and Falkirk area, has launched its very own currency.

Included in a short break for two, the £75 worth of vouchers can be used in exchange for a number of activities in the area, including hiring mountain bikes. The vouchers can also be used for trips on the canal and rounds of golf.


Developing Mountain Biking in Scotland Project Manager and Administrator test out the hire bikes at Kingsfield Golf Course.

And any unused vouchers will be transformed into cash and given to the Waterways Trust Scotland, a charity that helps disadvantaged children, and the Strathcarron Hospice, near Falkirk.

To help get the project and its accompanying website up and running, Scotland's Heartlands was awarded £6,250 from VisitScotland (partner of Developing Mountain Biking in Scotland) Growth Fund, a sum that was matched by the project partners.

Ronnie Bamberry, chairman of Scotland's Heartland, said: Falkirk and Linlithgow have huge potential and we want to encourage as many people as possible to come here to enjoy the very best the area has to offer."

To read more about hiring mountain bikes and Kingsfield Mountain Bike tours which can offer Bike hire, Guided Tours with qualified Tour Guide, great countryside , canal towpaths , Country Parks, Linlithgow Loch superb views and routes, scenic viewpoints and can organise suitable accommodation, meals and refreshments plus other activities, Kingsfield Leisure

If you fancy combining a cycle with a game of Putting then Kingsfield Golf Course, in partnership with Linlithgow Climate Change, offer 50% discount on the fee to play the 18 Hole Ochils FAMILY PUTTING Green for anyone cycling to the course.

Instead of £2.50 per person this is reduced to £1.25 per cyclists.

To see the posters click here.

IMBA UK, one of the partners of Developing Mountain Biking in Scotland, is holding its 2010 annual conference "From the Roots to the Shoots" on the 10th September, in the superb Tweed Valley, south Scotland - the heartland of the world famous 7stanes and home of Scottish mountain biking.



For more information and how to book onto the conference please visit IMBA UK Conference

On a beautiful summer evening in Perth, the first consultation meeting of the pilot Development Cluster - Tayside and Fife took place. With over 40 attendees the evening was very well attended and had excellent representation from the public, private and voluntary sectors.

To read the full report click here.

Developing Mountain Biking in Scotland will have a stand at the UCI Downhill World Cup - Fort William.

Working in partnership with Forestry Commission Scotland, Cycling Scotland, SNH, sportscotland and Scottish Cycling we will be displaying all the info from the framework and more....

At the stall you will also get to test your riding skills in the Cycling Scotland and Go Mountain Bike skills area.

If you are planning on being in Fort William be sure and pop in and see us!

For more info on the event please visit fortwilliamworldcup.co.uk

Hopefully see you there!!

We are pleased to announce that the first Developing Mountain Biking in Scotland conference will be held at Perth Concert Hall on Thursday 28th October 2010


The conference will provide a platform to allow discussion about Developing Mountain Biking in Scotland. The event will be planned to allow a two-way flow - of information on progress from the Project; and of opinions and ideas from the delegates.

We are pleased to announce that Mark Beaumont (The Man Who Cycled the World - But has he Ridden the 7Stanes?) will be a guest speaker at the conference.

For more information and regular updates on the conference please visit www.developingmountainbikinginscotland.com

- The delivery of the project will have 4 main areas of focus in 2010 - Increasing Participation with Recreational & Sporting Pathways - Communication & Marketing - Standards & Grading - Development Clusters.

- Each of the areas has projects to be accomplished. Each project has clear objectives, timescales and KPI's for success to be measured.

Increasing Participation

Key Objective: Identify barriers to participation in mountain biking and clarify how we create opportunities for people to participate and develop in the activity at any level and at any stage in life, including where a clear coaching and leadership structure fits within these pathways.
Projects
Working in partnership the key project is to develop a 'how to...' good practice guide. The aim of this guide will be to aid anyone currently delivering or considering delivering mountain biking to advise on best practice and demonstrate the potential mountain biking has to make a considerable difference to the health and well-being of Scotland.

Communication & Marketing

Key Objective: It is important that the project has a strong, proactive communications strategy to promote the role of the project and its objectives and to highlight its successes.
Projects
Projects include organising a conference which informs, inspires and energises the mountain bike community to drive the project forward and updating the existing 'Off-Road Cycling Guide' to a more user friendly and modern version and to ensure it is distributed effectively to users.

Standards and Grading

Key Objective: It is important that Scottish Mountain Biking has clear and definitive standards and grading practices that are shared across the country.
Projects
Projects include nationally agreeing standards and grading for facilities including information on trail management, design, construction, maintenance and grading of trails.
Develop mountain bike specific trail building and trail management courses. Co-ordinate the development of a trail building and management training structure.

Development Clusters

Key Objective: To pilot a development cluster, audit the current levels of mountain biking activity within each Development Cluster and aid community groups who wish to develop mountain biking facilities.
Projects
Projects include an initial audit of current Mountain biking activity within Scotland, piloting the setting up and running of a development cluster and developing a good practice guide and training structure to aid community groups who wish to develop mountain bike facilities.

- The Framework was successfully launched with Shona Robison, Scottish Minister for Sport, and Steve Peat, UCI Downhill World Champion, at Bannerman High School. (see photo below)

- The launch was covered by the National press in The Scotsman and The Metro, by regional press from Evening Times and by online magazines Bike Radar, singletrack online, The Scotsman online and Bike Magic and the new SMBDC chair, Brian Porteous, had a starring role on Sports Weekly on BBC Radio Scotland

- The total 'opportunities to see' reached a potential audience of 4.15 million people.

- A website was developed by the Project Manager for the launch to enable the download of the Framework. To view the website click here

- Thanks should go to Bannerman High School, in particular, Ms Purdie - Bannerman High School Head Teacher, Rob Ross & Andy Ogilvie - Teachers who run the Mtn Bike club and Craig Borthwick - Campus cop for Bannerman High School and all the young people on their bikes at Bannerman. For more info on the school please visit their website.

- The launch would not have been a success without Smarts, Cycling Scotland, Shona Robison, Steve Peat, all the staff at Scottish cycling and members of the SMBDC who attended. Thank you.

- Brain Porteous is the new and first SMBDC chair. Brian brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to the role.

- Brian has broke his first rule of consultancy and volunteered to work on a project he was formerly paid for. However such is his belief in the project and its ability to make a considerable difference to increasing participation leading to improved health and well-being, tourism and economic development and sporting development and success he has volunteered his time to help drive the project forward.

- Jennifer (Jay) Pearson has been appointed as the new administrator for the delivery of the Framework.

- Jay gave an excellent interview and after a successful induction has began auditing current Mountain Biking activity within each Development Cluster and will be taking a lead role in organising the conference.