Summary: IMBA’s newest 256 page book hits every aspect of building and managing mountain bike trails. Managing Mountain Biking: IMBA’s Guide to Providing Great Riding covers topics that range from planning and designing trails to dealing with the people involved to making it a safe and fun time for everyone. This book is now the defacto source for mountain bike management.

Not only is the book full of useful information, but it is also a fun read. What stood out to me was the large number (270 to be exact) of beautiful photographs. Almost every page has a picture or two illustrating the topic on hand. Along with this, at the end of each chapter are “Success Stories” that give great examples of people that used the advice given in the previous pages.

From there the book offers loads of easy tips and ideas on what to do in almost any situation you will face. If you have the slightest desire to start or get involved in building and maintaining trails, this book is a must.

Chapter Breakdown: Each of the ten chapters covers a new aspect of mountain bike management and are logically grouped together.

Chapter 1: What Do Mountain Bikers Want? - Covers the basics of what makes “good trails” and discusses several commonalities and differences between trail riders. Also touches on the popularity of mountain biking and the different types of riders.

Chapter 2: Planning and Designing Trails - Steps you through several of the decisions that need to be made before the first bit of dirt is moved. They make a strong case for designing a systemwide trail plan and trail proposal that includes decisions of who will use the trails and how difficult they will be. Also, advice is given on working to open current trails to mountain bikers and what to do with unauthorized trails. The chapter concludes with 11 steps for designing great trails.

Chapter 3: Partnerships - No one can do it alone and IMBA agrees. They break down who you should be getting involved with for your project and how to approach political figures. Their 10 partnership principles is a must.

Chapter 4: Managing Volunteers - Since there’s very little money in managing mountain bike trails (ok… none), volunteers are the lifeblood of a good trail system. This chapter walks you through how to get volunteers involved and how to keep them motivated. It covers several pitfalls that are often encountered in managing volunteers and offers great advice on how to have successful volunteer work days.

Chapter 5: Mountain Biking and the Environment - Several scientific studies are covered to illustrate the impact mountain bikes can and do have on the environment. Some great principles and ideas for building sustainable trails are given as well.

Chapter 6: Managing User Conflict - With any good trail system animosity between trail users is sure to arise. This chapter covers some of the psychological aspects of conflict and discusses different types and causes. From there they offer a lot of “Practical Solutions” for user conflict.

Chapter 7: Safety and Risk Management - In my opinion, this is one of the most important chapters of the book. It discusses different things that are needed to make sure you build a safe and predictable environment for mountain biking. Also, a good bit of this chapter is spent discussing the law side of things. What is expected for each trail in terms of safety and also how to defend yourself against a lawsuit.

Chapter 8: Mountain Bike Patrols - Although I have never encountered one on a mountain bike, I have dealt a few times with Snow Patrols while skiing and it’s always been a pleasant experience. This chapter discusses the benefits of having mountain bike patrols and also some examples and traits of good patrols.

Chapter 9: Signs - Signs can be a huge part of building a safe mountain bike trails system. The chapter discusses the different things signs should be used for and also material choices in building them.

Chapter 10: Providing Challenging Trails: This chapter is spent mostly discussing aspects of mountain bike trails other than cross country. Freeriding, dirt jumping, pump tracks, etc. Some great advice is given on how to build challenging and technical features into trails.

Take Aways: If you’re like me, there were some aspects covered that you may have never thought of. IMBA did a great job pooling their large amount of resources to touch on all areas of trail building and maintenance.

Personally, I really enjoyed the first few chapters that talked about what goes into a trail before it is ever built. What to plan for, who to partner with and how to organize volunteers.

This was a great read and I highly recommended it to anyone that’s looking to get involved in managing mountain biking.

Check out IMBA’s site to read more. MSRP $35.