Press release -
Two wheels good, four wheels better!
Scotland’s mountain biking hotspots – including trails in the Highlands, Dumfries & Galloway and the Borders – are attracting cyclists on four wheels as well as two, thanks to a specialised club.
Rough Riderz gravity biking club was formed in 2006 to help disabled and able-bodied mountain bikers participate in the UK's newest downhill mountain biking (MTB) scene, and promote it as an integrated sport nationwide.
Club members ride specially-designed four-wheeled mountain bikes, using gravity alone to propel themselves down purpose-built downhill MTB trails. By raising awareness, they hope to increase interest in the sport, creating a more vibrant and inclusive biking scene.
Originally designed for wheelchair users, ‘gravity’ bikes have no pedals and rely solely on the downhill gradient of trails to propel them along the off-road technical terrain associated with regular mountain bike riding.
Based in Preston, Rough Riderz club secretary Phil Hall has been travelling to Scotland to test as many trails as possible to find suitable venues for this innovative and accessible new sport. Locations at which they have ridden and tested on four wheels include Glentress and Innerleithen, Mabie Forest, Ae Forest, Laggan Wolftrax and Fort William.
Phil said:
“As a paraplegic downhill rider and huge extreme sports fan, I wanted to find a way for those with access needs to experience the thrill of downhill mountain biking. Riding on a gravity bike is such a great, fun sport, we quickly realised it should be available to all, and we have many able-bodied members now, too.
“We have always enjoyed visiting Scotland, which offers a network of the best downhill trails anywhere in the UK. We have had a really warm welcome and the chance to ride some of the best and most stunning venues in the country, with favourites including Ae, Laggan and Fort William.
“The club is currently involved in designing a practical and affordable new bike, intended to be easy to ride, service and repair. We are aiming for this to be ready to purchase by the end of the year.”
Malcolm Roughead, Chief Executive of VisitScotland, said:
“It is fantastic to hear that Scottish mountain bike trails and tracks are attracting both four wheel as well as the traditional two-wheel bikers. Mountain biking in Scotland is an incredibly popular sport, largely due to the great terrain and scenery. These amazing gravity bikes ensure this extreme sport is more accessible and inclusive, opening up the experience of riding some of the most exciting mountain bike trails in the world up to many more people in Scotland.
“Our country has a global reputation for cycling and in the UK alone it is estimated that there are 11 million people who own a mountain bike. From cycling tours around the incredible Highlands to mountain biking in the Scottish Borders and Dumfries & Galloway, there is a huge opportunity for Scottish tourism.
“This interest also boosts the visitor economy locally, as hotels, restaurants and accommodation providers are all amongst businesses who can capitalise on the back of the sport’s popularity, often outwith the traditional tourist season.”
VisitScotland research shows that domestic visitors to Scotland who take part in mountain biking or cycling stay, on average, over two million nights and spend £109 million each year.
Such visitors will often stay at more remote and rural locations, generating income for smaller villages and towns not always visited on the traditional tourist trail. This has been demonstrated in Moray, where businesses in Tomintoul and Glenlivet have benefited directly from the opening of the mountain biking trails at the Glenlivet Estate, including during the traditionally quieter winter months.
Accessible tourism is valued at £1.5bn to the Scottish economy and its contribution to domestic tourism in Scotland has increased by 20% since 2009, demonstrating the huge potential economic benefits to hundreds of businesses and services across the country in catering for this market.
Currently, of the over 11 million disabled people in Britain, only around two million take a holiday because many find it just too difficult, so this is largely an untapped market.
Earlier this year, VisitScotland announced up to £29,000 in funding for two mountain biking events in the Scottish Borders this year. The TweedLove Enduro World Series event and the British
Mountain Bike Marathon Championships secured investment from EventScotland, the events team at VisitScotland, through its National Programme.
Anyone wanting to try gravity biking for themselves can book a taster day session with the Rough Riderz club. These days are currently hosted at the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire, or Whinlatter Forest in Cumbria, with plans to extend the experience to other parts of the UK in the future. All the relevant details needed to book a session can be found at www.roughriderz.co.uk
More information on cycling in Scotland can be found here: http://www.visitscotland.com/see-do/activities/cycling/ and on mountain biking in Scotland here: http://www.visitscotland.com/see-do/activities/mountain-biking/
Topics
- Tourism
Categories
- corporate communications
- sportstourism
- eventscotland
Regions
- Scotland
Notes to Editors
-
- Follow us on twitter: @visitscotnews
- VisitScotland is Scotland’s national tourism organisation. Its core purpose is to maximise the economic benefit of tourism to Scotland.
- The organisation’s core objective is to contribute to the Tourism 2020 Strategy ambition of growing tourism revenues by £1 billion by 2020.
- This will be supported by seven overarching strategies:
- Marketing: we will market Scotland and its outstanding assets to visitors from all parts of the world, including the promotion of Scotland to people living in Scotland to visit different parts of the country
- Events: we will support the national events strategy and its delivery, and sustain, develop and promote Scotland’s international profile as one of the world’s foremost events destinations
- Internationalisation and International Engagement: we will utilise all our platforms to enable Scottish-based tourism businesses to better understand international opportunities and market to a global audience and we will work within One Scotland Partnerships to optimise the potential of Scotland’s Diaspora and our strategic partners at regional, European and global levels
- Customer Experience: we will provide information and inspiration to visitors both locally and globally via their preferred medium of choice
- Quality and Sustainability: we will provide support and advice to businesses, with the goal of improving the quality and sustainability of the tourism sector in Scotland. We will provide quality assurance to visitors through our Quality Schemes
- Inclusive Tourism: we will strive to make tourism in Scotland inclusive and available to all
- Working in Partnership: we will listen to and work with the industry, partners and communities to shape our offering and support
- VisitScotland works together with tourism businesses to make tourism a success for everyone and ensure the industry continues to grow.
- The organisation employs 700 people and has offices and VisitScotland Information Centres across Scotland.
- According to a recent Deloitte study, the tourism economy supports 270,000 jobs in Scotland in 20,000 diverse businesses. The same study calculates that the tourism economy contributes £11 billion annually (direct and indirect impact, including day visits) and supports around 10 per cent of employment in Scotland. Almost 16 million tourists take overnight trips to Scotland.
- For VisitScotland’s press releases go to http://www.visitscotland.org/media_centre.aspx, tourism statistics and frequently asked questions go to http://www.visitscotland.org/
- Where possible, a Gaelic speaker will be made available for broadcast interviews on request (Far an tèid iarraidh, agus far am bheil sin nar comas, bruidhinnidh neach le Gàidhlig aig agallamh)
- For holiday information on Scotland go to www.visitscotland.com
- For information about business tourism in Scotland go to www.conventionscotland.com
Year of Food and Drink 2015
- 2015 is the Year of Food and Drink, a celebration of Scotland’s natural larder and the role that food and drink plays in shaping our economic success.
- Scotland generates over £2.5m per day through food and drink tourism.
- A series of themed months will create an appetite for key areas of Scotland’s food and drink industries – from seafood and whisky to berries and high-quality meat
- For more information, visit www.visitscotland.com/tastescotland
