This year's ReframingMTB event was held in Bristol, and co-hosted by Ride Bristol and Ride Sheffield (the orginators of the event). It is such a vibrant city and yet has a huge MTB community. I have now had the pleasure of visiting Bristol 3 times in the last year as part of Project FIAS. Dr Fiona Spotswood who is one of the driving force behind this is also a huge part of Ride Bristol.
Jo and I got the memo wearing our Project FIAS tee-shirts it was great to see others in theirs also!
Despite only having met in real life a handful of times it feels like meeting old friends.
On arrival we were told which table we were at, very strategically and intentional to have a wide range and spread of views to share. Each table had a Ride Bristol volunteer taking notes to report back and for all the conversations and answers to be able to be reported centrally. This really helped as meant no one took over each sharing views from different perspectives, we had 3 representatives of bike brands (Trek and Marin), as well as Hannah creator and force behind Burlish Bike park, a volunteer from Oxford Trail Association and local councillor and someone setting up a new mtb business. It was clear that everyone viewed the questions put to us through their own perspectives so it was really insightful to hear others share their views.
Firstly Manon Carpenter opened the day setting the scene and introducing the format. It was split into 3 sections with 3 questions posed to us to answer each time. We listened to 3 speakers and then broke off to our tables for discussions and then back to the room to share these. Each time 3 groups reported back one sharing each question. This format was different to last years morning of talks and then after lunch workshops and this felt more bitesize, more managable, less daunting.
Section 1 was opened by Aneela Mckenna of Mor Diversity, I have gotten to know Aneela during our time on Project FIAS and sharing a long train journey back to London in October from the launch. She is a force to be reckoned with and speaks from the heart. Her report and research will be published shortly but she shared some of it with us.
Then we heard from Bex and Chloe - Gowaan girls about creating a community event. I actually attended this last year with my daughter Mai. They shared their journey into creating it and how it has evolved over the last few years and how special it can be to hold that space and why this year they have opened it up to all rather than being women only. It is realising the everyone benefits from these sorts of spaces where the bravado and willy waving doesn't happen. Support without judgement. The Gowaan attitude!
And we heard from Lyndsey about the Limitless programme from British Cycling which is their inclusive cycling programme providing cycling opportunities for disabled people, regardless of age, impairment and ability.
Then we went back to the table to ponder the following:
Q1 - What is MTB doing well to diversify and expand participation?
Q2 - What is stopping progress?
Q3 - What can we do more to make MTB culture appeal to more people?
Section 2 - more amazing speakers, such as Dom from Trashfree trails, British Cyling Limitless successes, and FOD Forestry England manager Katy.
Q1 - What does a strong grassroots MTB sector look like?
Q2 - How healthy is the grassroots MTB sector currently?
Q3 - How can we build positive partnerships to support grassroots MTB organisations (eg. Trail groups, clubs, initiatives)
And Section 3 speakers were Benjamin Billet - European Network of Outdoor Sports, Harry - Patagonia and Manon - ReframingMTB
Q1 - What does a responsible MTB sector look like?
Q2 - What is holding us back?
Q3 - What can we encourage ourselves and others to do to foster a responsible, engaged MTB community.
When the Ride Bristol volunteers were reporting back to the room much of the responses were similar. With some differences occasionally, depending on the perspective of the individuals we all experience and see things differently and everyone was open to listening and hearing those - this environment made that easy to do, to feel at ease to question the mainstream narrative and sometimes that isn't the case. It was that way because of the people involved and the passion they have for MTB, for the speakers they invited and the structure of the day.
By breaking it down this way, very intentionall,y this lead to great discussions and meaningful steps towards action. Sometimes when hearing from so many amazing speakers it can feel quite daunting to come back to but what can I do? It can all feel a bit much. By simplifying it section by section with a coherent thread all the way through it really made me feel excited for change rather than it be the same old conversations in a room that in reality leads to very little changing. You can ask yourself these questions as a personal mtb individual but also as part of a wider community or group or brand.
With theProject FIAS launch in October and video release just days after reframing event and this work on the day it feels like there are tangible things people can do, questions to ask and steps we can all take - is so important for the industry to come together like this to work together on a common shared goal of - at it's heart - a love for MTB and for others to feel that too. We all want the same thing at the end of the day - more people experiencing and enjoying the vast benefits of MTB; from community, to being out in nature, to being fitter and healthier - both mentally and physically, to be able to play, to have adventures, to experience the freedom it can bring.
