Until now, mountain bikers in Bavaria had a free ride. But when the new administrative regulation was published in December 2020, there was an outcry from the MTB community. Trail closures and bans especially in the Alpine region. In response, the DIMB, cycling associations and the DAV expressed their displeasure - and announced a joint approach to the ministry. On 28 January, the time had come. The DIMB and the cycling associations BDR, BRV and ADFC contacted the Ministry with a joint letter to the four Bavarian ministries involved. The tourism associations Upper Bavaria Munich, Eastern Bavaria, Franconia and Allgäu/Bavarian Swabia have signed the appeal to politicians. Only the DAV has not signed. And this despite the fact that the organisation representing the interests of mountain sports enthusiasts was involved in drafting the letter right up to the end. But why the withdrawal? We have been Hanspeter Mair, the Head of Alpine Spatial Planning at the DAV enquired:
"The DAV has established itself as a point of contact for outdoor sports for the Ministry of the Environment over the last few decades. We were in dialogue with the other associations until shortly before the letter was sent to the Ministry, but ultimately decided to take a different route. We would like to use our contacts in the ministry and ask them for a dialogue in which we can express the concerns, fears and wishes of our mountain biking members. In addition, we would like to offer our help to the local sections and district offices in order to be active at all levels."
According to insiders, legal subtleties in the wording of the suitability of the route are said to have been the deciding factor as to why the DAV ultimately did not sign the letter. At the request of some of those involved, the letter is also not public. For outsiders, it now looks as if the MTB representatives do not even agree among themselves on what to do about the new administrative regulation. And the question also arises: is the DAV going its own way so as not to jeopardise its good relations with the Ministry of the Environment? At the same time, however, it was precisely this ministry that Amendments proposed by the DAV to the draft regulation had not been taken into account.
"It's time to make a clear statement for bikers" - Commentary by Stefan Loibl
Whether in the members' magazine Panorama, with campaigns or the touring and training programme: To the outside world, mountain biking enjoys the same status in the German Alpine Club as ski touring, climbing or mountaineering. And rightly so, because half of the approximately 1.4 million members are bikers. But when it comes to fighting for the basic needs - riding on single trails - and equal rights for bikers, the largest mountain sports association in the world hesitates. Instead of showing solidarity with other cycling clubs and taking a clear stance, it is suddenly going its own way. This raises questions, also within the club, among the voluntary specialist trainers, large mountain bike groups and biking members. Of course, unlike cycling associations or the DIMB, the DAV has to represent a much broader and sometimes conflicting range of interests. From hiking to nature conservation: both topics that have been anchored in the organisation's structures for much longer than mountain biking. Bikers are also underrepresented in the DAV leadership. It would therefore have been a clear sign if the DAV had supported the other associations instead of cooking its own soup.
After all, the DAV lighthouse project "Mountain biking - sustainable into the future" shows where this can lead. Despite a whopping 250,000 euros in funding from the Bavarian government, even after two and a half years there are still no concrete results, let alone positive practical solutions for mountain bikers. This is certainly not the fault of the two dedicated project managers Benjamin Trotter and Nicolas Gareis. Now in their third year, the two are still battling against long-disproved prejudices and resistance in the Tölzer Land and Allgäu regions. 'Model mountain bike concepts', as hoped for by the ministry and which could then be transferred to other Alpine regions in Bavaria, seem miles away.
What happens next?
There are currently no specific trail closures for mountain bikers due to the new administrative regulation, as the DAV and DIMB have confirmed to us. However, this could change as soon as the mountain sports and MTB season really gets going in spring. In their joint appeal to politicians, the DIMB, cycling and tourism associations are calling for a round table to put forward their arguments. It remains to be seen whether the ministries will respond to the demand and, if so, how long it will take for this exchange to materialise. The DAV, on the other hand, intends to express its concerns in a letter to the Bavarian Minister for the Environment and Consumer Protection. The German Alpine Association intends to contribute the findings it has gained in the Project "Mountain biking - sustainable into the future" has won. The DAV also wants to offer its support to the district authorities in Bavaria, which have to implement the new regulation. "We also want to involve the MTB instructors in the sections when it comes to the question of trail suitability," Benjamin Trotter told us.
In the end, we can only hope that the resistance - whether collective or individual - to the contradictory administrative regulation will be enough to prompt the ministry to amend it. It can only be an advantage that now the equestrian community also took to the barricades and shows solidarity with the DIMB's criticism.
We'll be keeping an eye on this topic, more on this in the next issue of BIKE 4/21 - in stores from 2 March.
