“WORKING OUT WHAT WAS LEGAL TO RIDE WASN’T EASY, AND YOU MIGHT STILL GET SHOUTED AT BY RED-SOCKED RAMBLERS”
For many mountain bikers, it’s hard to imagine that long-lost and occasionally lamented time before such things as suspension and disc brakes, smartphones and social media. As the sport entered the early ’90s, things were evolving at a rapid pace. However, as we slowly started to adapt to 1in-travel forks and clipless pedals, there was still something missing from the equation – dedicated trails to ride.
The rules of the ride were a little blurry back then. Deciphering those dotted red and black lines on Ordnance Survey maps to work out what was legal and viable to ride wasn’t always easy, and even if you got it right, you might still get shouted at by red-socked ramblers. It was a deterrent to many newer riders, too, who had no interest in mastering the complex art of translating contour lines and rights of way, let alone navigating by compass. As there was no internet back then (at least not for the average shredder), prime trail info was passed on like Viking sagas – by word of mouth, then later,.
