One of my favorite podcasts is Trail EAffect, hosted by Josh Blum. It’s my go-to when I ride laps at our local in-city bike park in Portland. In the podcast, Josh interviews various people involved in trail building. At the end of an interview, he often asks, “What do you look for in a trail town?” I love that question and think about it often. I have my answer, but I am curious: how would you answer it?
Often, those who’re interviewed respond to the question in a similar manner. What are they looking for in a trail town or mountain bike destination? The answer could be summarized in this: amenities. Then, when the respondents unpack amenities, they usually refer to access to trails, pubs, and eateries like wood-fired pizza, coffee shops, more pubs, more trails, and places to stay. While I agree wholeheartedly, this is where I diverge from the crowd a bit. I’ll unpack that in a moment.
Last fall, I had a great opportunity to attend a Trail Lab workshop hosted and put on by the International Mountain Bike Association (IMBA) in Cedar City, Utah. I had never been to Cedar City. It was selected as a host location because of the growing number of trails in that community. While it’s a college town, it’s quickly becoming a mountain bike destination, even though it sits just 45 minutes north of the more well-known St. George.
Cedar City has so much of what we all enjoy about trail towns or mountain bike destinations—lots of trail options, bike shops, pubs, coffee shops, and more. I rented a bike and enjoyed not only time out on the trail but also exploring new terrain so different from what I usually ride around Portland. While it has everything many people look for in a trail town, I look for something else.
I’m partial to places that are still hidden and undiscovered. These are places that are probably decades away from being found or maybe never found. That also means they tend to be a bit run down, are not hip, and have sketchy old taverns instead of trendy brew pubs. Also, the trails there are often not built or maintained. They could consist of cattle trails or old-school rough and non-flowy singletrack with plenty of hike-a-bike sections. But that’s me. Food is cheap. Lodging is cheap. Riding is tough and earned. Sometimes, you’re riding more on janky jeep roads or gravel roads.
We all like different things. I don’t believe every place needs to be a Moab, Bentonville, Sedona, or Whistler. We need more wild, unmanicured, rough, and overlooked places. It’s like that feeling when you discover a band long before they become big-time. You saw them first in a dive bar with 35 other people before they were discovered and signed with a major record label. Maybe it’s arrogance or elitism, but I like being among the first to “discover” something, like a rundown and slightly sketchy trail town and not-yet mountain bike destination.
How about you? What do you look for in a trail town or mountain bike destination?
