Accommodation Providers Required
Scotland has a fantastic reputation for mountain biking and has been accredited the class of ‘Global Superstar’ by the International Mountain Biking Association (IMBA) thanks to the beautiful natural landscapes and investment in top quality built facilities. Mountain Biking in Scotland is big business and is already worth £139 million pounds to the Scottish economy with growth expected to be 30% over the next five years.
Slap bang in the middle of Scotland’s “must ride” MTB destinations (ie 7stanes, Laggan, Fort William etc) and on the doorstep of some truly epic riding is Pitmedden Forest. Straddling the Perthshire/Fife Border, it is one of Scotland’s hidden gems when it comes to natural trail riding and due to its location you’ll find more quality trails here than midges!
My name is Aaron Gray, I am a local tradesman and mountain biker based in Abernethy. I have competed in a few MTB races just for fun, and got a lot of enjoyment out of the whole experience, so I decided to look into how I could (with the help of many others) organise a race on my local trails. I thought it would be fantastic if there was a race in Pitmedden Forest to create a buzz around the place and help stimulate the local economy.
The event is called Muckmedden and will take place on Sunday the 22nd April 2012. The website has now been live for five months and during that time (and with very little marketing) the website www.muckmedden.co.uk has had over 7000 visits. Muckmedden has also featured in three of the major Mountain Bike Magazines (each with a circulation of over 30,000 per month) as an exciting new event. Muckmedden is also being marketed by Alpine Bikes (Scotland’s largest Bike Chain), Perth & Kinross Council and Visit Scotland and we have chosen to support the charity CHAS (Childrens Hospice Association Scotland).
Muckmedden will now be held annually with the potential of linking with other local events to form a regular series in future. We opened for entries on the 1st December 2011 and during this time many of our enquiries have been outwith the local area. As we have the potential to accept over 500 participants we are therefore seeking cycle friendly accommodation providers who would be interested in being listed on our Accommodation Page (currently under construction).
Some people will be at Muckmedden to race hard and others will be less competitive, but the whole vibe of the day will be relaxed, with the focus on just having fun on the trails. There will be good music and top notch local caterers on site, and it is a family friendly event with free skills training for kids and adults alike. All of the companies that will be used at Muckmedden are from the local community, from skills coaches and bike repair to waste disposal.
Muckmedden is also part of an exciting new group funded by Scottish Enterprise (Planning To Succeed Mountain Biking). The group consists of all types of MTB related businesses from bike shops to accommodation providers and events organisers and is designed to compliment the Tayside and Fife MB Development Cluster. PTSMB’s “patch” is Perthshire, Angus and Tayside and it’s members are motivated to look at ways to improve their own performance, benefit the local MB communtiy and improve the overall Mountain Biking experience for visitors to the area.
If you would like to find out more about the Muckmedden event log on to www.muckmedden.co.uk
Please email me if you would like to find out more about having a listing on the Muckmedden Accommodation page, or if you think your business and the group might benefit from being a member of PTSMB.
Best regards
Aaron
