This year, Ride Sheffield changed the format and venue of their Annual social a little. The venue was switched to the Showroom workstation, and as well as the usual update on news, trail work and access issues, the evening included a Shred talk/panel discussion on the future of MTB with various different folks from the local riding scene and bike industry.

The panel was made up of;

Bex Baraona - Ibis Enduro Team racer and currently ranked number 5 in the EWS World rankings

Josh Lewis - Santa Cruz Enduro Team, 50:01 world traveller and rider extraordinaire

Jordan Gould - Biketrack chief designer and digger and former 4X World cup racer

Duncan Philpott - Photographer of World Cup DH, EWS, and many other events

Jon Dallow - Sheffield city Council, instrumental in driving The Outdoor City project and mountain biking in Sheffield further

And me! Owner and Chief Guide at Endless Trails MTB and Juliana Bicycles Ambassador

The new format and venue seemed to be popular and there were roughly 130 folks who came along, from local land managers, racers, enthusiasts, trail builders, and members of the Sheffield mountain bike massive.

Topics such as the issues around unsanctioned trail building as well as how the MTB trade can support mountain bike advocacy aroused some heated discussions but it was great to see so many people engaged in what is going on in the Mountain Bike community and keen to push things forward and improve the riding scene even further in Sheffield.

Thanks to Ride Sheffield for the opportunity to be involved, and also for inviting me to be an ambassador this year!