Programme

Rise & Grind Strathearn - Meet at Pole Barn

Ride to Standing Stone Hill for brew and a blether, the perfect way to start the day. Top quality coffee will be provided by local roaster Highland Coffees

5km and 260m of climbing.

Sunrise is 07:27 that day, so you will get to see the sun rising over the Lomond Hills, if it's clear. Bring lights as will be needed to start with. Epic fast fun descent to the Croft for 08:30.

Registration & Refreshments

Networking Opportunities and Brand Exhibitions

Welcome & introduction to the Scottish Mountain Bike Gathering 2023.

Andrew Donaldson - Founder of Comrie Croft

Welcome to Perthshire and Comrie Croft from event partners, Comrie Croft. Andrew will tell the story of the evolution of Comrie Croft from a struggling farm to a unique tourism offer that has sustainability and mountain biking at its core. Andrew will also tell of how Comrie Croft have developed the trail network, including their plans for the future, and how Comrie Croft have engaged and are an integral part of the cycling community and the range of projects they are running including Trail Therapy and Trash Free Trails.

Graeme McLean - Head of Developing Mountain Biking in Scotland

Update on progress of the implementation of the 2019-2025 Scottish Mountain Bike Strategy and the key themes and action areas that collectively the community, land managers and owners, businesses, national agencies, Local Authorities, and riders will all play a part in delivering. And an update on the refresh of the Scottish Mountain Bike Strategy 2013-2025, on behalf of the members of the MTB Consortium.

Associate Professor Tom Campbell - Edinburgh Napier University

Sustainable mountain bike trails: Assoc Prof Tom Campbell willshare some interesting theoretical and philosophical arguments that considerdifferent approaches to (trail) sustainability.

Refreshments & Networking

Opportunity for Networking and Brand Exhibitions

Carolyn Robertson - Cairngorms Capercaillie Project and Emma Holgate - Badenoch and Strathspey Trails Association (BASTA)

Capercaillie Trail Feathers Project - As a community who care about recreation in the outdoor environment we have opportunities and responsibilities to protect the places we love to ride. Hear about the highs and lows of being a mountain bike group involved with a high profile conservation project – how can we learn from this project and implement in other trail areas.

Panel session - How sustainable is mountain biking in Scotland? What actions will help us collectively improve?

Panel Speakers

Doug Blease - EnviroCente

Lauren McCallum – Protect Our Winters

Stuart Chalmers – Forestry and Land Scotland

Tom Campbell - Edinburgh Napier University

Break for Lunch

Opportunity for Networking and Brand Exhibitions

Panel Session

Intro: Aneela McKenna - Diversity and inclusion in mountain biking.Why both are important for a healthy, vibrant MTB community?

Panel Speakers

Aneela McKenna - Mor Diversity

Neil Russell - Adaptive Riders Collective

Aoife Glass - The International Working Group (IWG) on Women & Sport

Nyasha Makusha - Rider and Video Creator

Anna Riddell - Ride Out Coaching & Limitlass

Following on from Aneela’s talk, we explore further why diversity and inclusion are good for the mountain biking community, for the individual mountain biker and how diversity and inclusion in our clubs and at our events is so important.

We meet some truly fantastic folk, hear their stories and look to how we can all play a part in creating an amazing, diverse community where the contributions, perspectives and the presence of many different people are embraced and why is it so important we do that.

Workshop – UK Trails Project Discussing the Brief: Right Trails, People, Place and Time Report

Hosted by: UK Trails Project Manager & Graeme McLean

The first step of the UK Trails project is to develop a UK wide ‘Right Trail, Right Place, Right People, Right Time’ report through an overview of the current number and position of trail centres, bike parks, pump tracks, alongside trail groups and associations in each country providing a deeper understanding of the opportunities to improve the management of the trail network. The report will also detail the pressures and challenges associated with supporting the trail network, particularly, for land managers/owners.

This workshop will support the development of the brief for the report ensuring that the project has a strong and robust dataset and evidence base to support the future sustainability and security of the trail network across the UK.

Workshop - The future development of the British Mountain Bike Leadership Awards

Leads: Simon Hibbert, Head of Education at British Cycling and Christine Fox, Health Programmes Manager and Leadership Development at DMBinS

This is an opportunity to influence the short, medium and long term development of our Mountain Bike Leadership Awards. How do we make our MTB Leadership Awards the best out there?

With an initial presentation by Simon Hibbert, the Head of Education at British Cycling alongside DMBinS Dr Christine Fox, we will bring together the findings of previous surveys, what our Tutor pool think and from there, with your input, look to development priorities.

Workshop – Destination Development with, and for, Communities

Leads: Ruari Watt (DMBinS - Highlands) & Will Clarke (NEAT & DMBinS - Aberdeen)

This workshop will investigate improved models of tourism development that engage and involve communities in the tourism offer to benefit locals and visitors alike.

Refreshments & Networking

Opportunity for Networking and Brand Exhibitions

UCI Cycling World Championships

Bob MacFarlane - MTB Contract Manager - UCI Cycling World Championships 2023

The 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships were a huge success with the world’s largest ever cycling event being hosted in Scotland for the first time. Over just 11 days, the event attracted 1 million spectators, awarded 220 rainbow jerseys over 13 UCI World Championship events.

Bob will give an overview of the championships with a focus on the MTB events sharing some of the successes and the lessons learned for Scotland to continue to host world level events.

Closing Remarks

Ride With the Locals - Meet at Pole Barn

Clear your head after a day of networking and talks with a ride with the locals to get the most out of the Comrie trail network. Bring lights and work up an appetite for the feast before the Scottish Mountain Bike Awards!

Ride and Dip - Meet in Pole Barn

Shake off any hint of a fuzzy head after the Scottish Mountain Bike Awards with a ride to a natural pool in the River Ruchill for a refreshing dip.

Back for 09:30 - grab a snack at the Tea Garden and get ready for the Friday sessions.

Registration & Refreshments

Opportunity for Networking & Brand Exhibitions and choose which 2 sessions you would like to attend today.

Welcome and explanation of how Day 2 will pan out.

MTB Leader CPD Rideouts - Led by our partners at Glenmore Lodge, join us as you get a taster of Transformational Leadership followed by a led ride where you can explore this and the Awards further.

Transformational Leadership is being integrated across the current award scheme, forming a Golden Thread of progressive leadership principles that simply ‘feel right’. It has been co-developed in consultation with experts from across mountain biking, the adventure sports industry and those well placed to not just talk about leadership in the outdoors but who have applied it to environment we find ourselves traveling through.

Underpinned by strong academic credentials, this Golden Thread of Leadership looks to what a great leader does through a simple model that starts with Vision, Challenge and Support for each, individual rider. Technical terrain level will be determined by the riding level of each group.

Trail Therapy Session

Trail Therapy is an innovative intervention programme that uses mountain biking to support those experiencing mental ill-health. Now in its 4th year, with over 1,500 sessions being delivered across 5 Scottish regions and with world wide interest, this is your opportunity to find out a little more about it and how you could get involved.

With chats from our small team of deliverers and taster ride sessions this is an opportunity to get a practical feel for what Trail Therapy is all about and to ask any questions you may have.

Rides will take place in the Comrie Croft area, technical grade will be the equivalent of green/blue trails.

Creating Accessible Rides

Leaders Aneela McKenna and Neil Russell

We all know the benefits of getting out into nature, being able to enjoy all that cycling has to offer. Inspired by the panel discussion yesterday, this is an opportunity to find out how to create an inclusive space for riders of all abilities and from all different communities to come together and experience off-road cycling.

Dig Session

Led by the Comrie Trails Team and DMBinS DIRTT Tutors we will head a short way up the hill and refresh a section of the trail. Using mattocks, hoes, and spades we will tackle reshaping a corner to improve the descent to the Croft. Not only is this an opportunity to dig, you can always discuss dig related topics with the leaders whilst you're at it. Please bring sturdy boots and we'll supply tools, gloves, and eye protection.

Rich from Trash Free Trails will help open and close the session by discussing how trail digging helps achieve the mission of Trash Free Trails 'to connect people with nature through the simple yet meaningful act of removing single-use pollution from wild places.'

Break for Lunch

Opportunity for networking and Brand Exhibitions

MTB Leader CPD Rideouts - Led by our partners at Glenmore Lodge, join us as you get a taster of Transformational Leadership followed by a led ride where you can explore this and the Awards further.Transformational Leadership is being integrated across the current award scheme, forming a Golden Thread of progressive leadership principles that simply ‘feel right’. It has been co-developed in consultation with experts from across mountain biking, the adventure sports industry and those well placed to not just talk about leadership in the outdoors but who have applied it to environment we find ourselves traveling through.Underpinned by strong academic credentials, this Golden Thread of Leadership looks to what a great leader does through a simple model that starts with Vision, Challenge and Support for each, individual rider. Technical terrain level will be determined by the riding level of each group.

Trail Therapy Session

Trail Therapy is an innovative intervention programme that uses mountain biking to support those experiencing mental ill-health. Now in its 4th year, with over 1,500 sessions being delivered across 5 Scottish regions and with world wide interest, this is your opportunity to find out a little more about it and how you could get involved.

Creating Accessible Rides

Leaders Aneela McKenna and Neil Russell

We all know the benefits of getting out into nature, being able to enjoy all that cycling has to offer. Inspired by the panel discussion yesterday, this is an opportunity to find out how to create an inclusive space for riders of all abilities and from all different communities to come together and experience off-road cycling.

Dig Session

Led by the Comrie Trails Team and DMBinS DIRTT Tutors - we will head a short way up the hill and refresh a section of the trail. Using mattocks, hoes and spades we will tackle reshaping a corner to improve the descent to the Croft. Not only is this an opportunity to dig, you can always discuss dig related topics with the leaders whilst your at it. Please bring sturdy boots and we'll supply tools, gloves and eye protection.

Rich from Trash Free Trails will help open and close the session by discussing how trail digging helps achieve the mission of Trash Free Trails 'to connect people with nature through the simple yet meaningful act of removing single-use pollution from wild places.'