Meet The Editor Of Managing Mountain Biking: IMBA's Guide To Providing Great Riding

IMBA Trail News
Volume 20, Number 1
Spring 2007

Pete Webber is IMBA's director of special projects and has filled a variety of IMBA roles since 1998, including work in the membership, communications, consulting, and international departments. Webber also led the creation of IMBA's first major book, Trail Solutions, IMBA's Guide to Building Sweet Singletrack. His 20 years of mountain biking experience include a stint as a professional racer. Originally from Sugarloaf, Maine, Webber now lives in Boulder with his wife Sally and daughter Ella.

Q: Why does IMBA publish books - shouldn't the organization concentrate on trail access?

A: Education is one of IMBA's most effective tactics for preserving and enhancing trail access. A well-organized book can provide the technical information volunteers and recreation providers need to manage existing trails and build new ones. The truth is, when trails are well built and properly managed, everyone will have a better experience and the social and environmental impacts of mountain biking are minimized. The success of our 2004 book Trail Solutions demonstrates a strong demand for this type of information. Nearly 10,000 copies have been distributed to over 40 countries, and the guidelines have been adopted as official policy by hundreds of land agencies and recreation providers around the globe.

Q: How is the new book Managing Mountain Biking different from Trail Solutions?

Trail Solutions covers the nuts and bolts of trail construction and maintenance, while Managing Mountain Biking focuses on solving mountain biking issues through innovative trail design, effective partnerships and visitor management strategies. The two books are designed to work as a team, and together they provide a fairly complete resource for better trail recreation.

Q: How did you organize the information in Managing Mountain Biking?

The book is broken into 10 chapters that provide clear-cut answers to the most common questions asked by land managers and volunteer trail stewards. The heart of the book is the chapters on environmental impact, user conflict, and risk management. The final chapter is about providing technically challenging riding. There are also 25 success stories from around the world.

Q: What was the most challenging section of the book to put together?

The chapter on environmental impacts was a challenge to create because there were so many factors to consider. Fortunately, we had the assistance of Jeff Marion and Jeremy Wimpey, recreation ecologists who wrote a review of scientific studies and provided a collection best practices for minimizing impacts. I think readers will find the chapter highly informative and it should help advocates overcome some of the common objections to mountain biking.