What Bicycle Queensland Learned at the 2025 Queensland MTB Forum 

When Bicycle Queensland’s CEO Alton Twine and Director of Advocacy, Andrew Demack, travelled to Cairns for the 2025 Queensland Mountain Bike Forum, it wasn’t just another stop on the advocacy circuit, it was a powerful reminder of how much mountain biking can shape the future of cycling in Queensland. 

The forum was held between the 2025 UCI Masters World MTB Championships and Crankworx Cairns, two international events that called the Smithfield trail network home in May 2025. Cairns is a spiritual home of Australian mountain biking, with iconic trail features like the Alien Tree, Jacobs Ladder, The Croc Slide and Ronnings Ramp all in the forested hills of the mountain bike park. If you look closely, you’ll even find the Bowl of Death! A dirt bowl that featured in culture creating films like Mud Cows, and even made the 90’s show Pepsi Max Extremists. 

The Queensland Mountain Bike Forum exists to help this growth, bringing together land managers, local government, trail builders, clubs, tourism leaders, and advocacy groups to share what’s working, what needs work, and where the opportunities lie. It was a melting pot of ideas and inspiration — and Bicycle Queensland was there to listen, learn, and connect. 

Where does mountain biking fit for Bicycle Queensland? 

“Bicycle Queensland attends mountain bike forums and talks to councils and state government about mountain biking,” Andrew explained. “because Bicycle Queensland members are mountain bikers.” 

As a broad church of cycling advocacy, Bicycle Queensland has long championed rail trails, urban infrastructure, commuting routes and safety. Mountain biking has always fit within that but never truly been in the spotlight. However, with more members riding singletrack and more regional communities seeing mountain biking as a path to economic and social growth, it’s clear this part of the cycling world deserves deeper focus from Bicycle Queensland. 

Read Bicycle Queensland’s position on mountain biking in National Parks

“We cover all sorts of cycling and all sorts of cycling people who ride bikes,” said Andrew. “It’s really important that we include mountain biking in our regular advocacy activities simply because that’s one of the things our members do — they ride their mountain bikes… to work, on rail trails, and on purpose-built singletrack across all of Queensland.” 

Learning from leaders, listening to locals 

The forum showcased some of the best minds in the business — including legendary trail builder Glen Jacobs, whose work with World Trail started in Cairns and now spans the globe. World Trail’s evolution is closely matched to that of mountain biking, with a shift from building World Cup tracks to building the mountain bike trail networks that form the foundations of mountain bike destinations, including Blue Derby in Tasmania and Atherton in Far North Queensland. His presentation reinforced how trail networks, when built with vision and purpose, can turn regions into international destinations. And Queensland has quite a number of networks being reimagined or expanded. 

“There’s a real network of networks being developed across Central, North and Far North Queensland,” Andrew noted. “It is pretty exciting to see.” 

But this growing network isn’t just about attracting tourists. It’s about connecting communities, offering youth engagement, and creating healthier regional towns. 

“Mountain biking is actually great for all ages,” Andrew said. “It’s one of those things you can do as you get older that is still really good for you and builds different cycling muscles.” 

He added that mountain biking also helps make more confident, capable riders. 

“Mountain bikers are generally better riders because they’re more aware of their surroundings and what’s going on in front of them on the trail. So if you want to become a better bike rider, get on a mountain bike.” 

Risk, reality and responsibility 

One key discussion point at the forum was the perception of risk. While many councils and land managers are cautious about investing in mountain biking due to assumed danger, the data often tells a different story. 

“Mountain bike risk is often lower than anticipated,” Andrew explained after the forum. There had been some excellent insights from Glen Jacobs on this, given World Trail build trails to reduce forced risk, with how they design trail features. 

“The real challenge is helping stakeholders understand that with good design, education and maintenance, mountain biking can be a safe, sustainable and low-impact recreational option — and one that delivers significant community benefits.” 

Andrew was particularly inspired by stories from communities where trails have become platforms for youth development — with kids not just riding trails, but helping build and maintain them. 

“Young people are engaging with sport, community and responsibility through these trails,” he said. “And in some places, older teens are taking part in supervised trainee programs — working on trail crews three days a week, learning hands-on skills and being part of something bigger.” 

The Mackay opportunity — connecting trail and town 

Among the many points discussed at the forum, Andrew was impressed with how a rail trail project in Tumbarumba in southern NSW ended up driving a project for a mountain bike park – given the increase in tourism and demand. Andrew can see a clear opportunity to use infrastructure to connect to other infrastructure in northern Queensland – using the Pioneer Valley region west of Mackay. 

“There’s huge potential in Mackay,” Andrew said. “The Finch Hatton trails are already gaining attention, and the idea of connecting them to Mackay via the Pioneer Valley Rail Trail is really compelling.” 

Such a link would create not just a destination, but a journey — one that blends singletrack with rail trail, adventure with accessibility. It’s the kind of project that aligns with Bicycle Queensland’s broader vision for integrated active transport and tourism networks. Over $2 billion is spent in Australia on riding tourism activities, but barely 10% of that is spent in Queensland. Such projects would help shift that and move the tourism impact to Queensland’s regions. 

Andrew also noted that these kinds of multi-modal links could encourage new ways of thinking about travel — including combining rail, road trips, and trail riding. 

“Maybe the road trip up the coast is the way to go,” he mused. “There are so many developing networks between Rockhampton and Port Douglas that are all worth a visit — but aren’t destinations in themselves.  

E-bikes, maintenance, and managing growth 

 The growth of mountain bike destinations isn’t without challenges, and e-mountain bikes also had their moment at the forum — both as a growing part of the scene and as a challenge to manage. 

“With an ageing cohort of bike riders, lots of people have taken e-bikes as part of their mountain bike experience and absolutely love it,” Andrew said. “But we were hearing from folks at Finch Hatton that e-bikes can ride up hills in ways that cause trail damage — so that’s an awareness and education piece we need to get right.” 

Andrew was also candid about one of the major takeaways: trail building is only half the job. Maintenance is critical. 

“One of the big learnings of the last couple of years is about maintenance — and making sure when councils step into a project, it’s a whole-of-life project,” he said. “If the project is designed so we just build a set of trails, we’re going to have a big problem — because actually, we’re building and managing a set of trails.” 

He praised some of the newer models being trialed, where local governments and communities partner to train and support ongoing trail crews. 

“There are some good examples coming forward of how it can work — where the local owners put the time and effort into managing the trails. Where that doesn’t happen in Queensland, the trails degrade pretty quickly. We’ve seen examples of that around Southeast Queensland and elsewhere.” 

Bicycle Queensland’s role: advocate, ally, amplify 

 For Bicycle Queensland, attending the MTB Forum wasn’t just about gathering insights — it was a statement of intent. Mountain biking is continuing to grow and evolve, and BQ intends to be part of its growth. 

“We were there to learn and to listen,” Andrew said. “And to find out more about the current state of play for mountain biking in Queensland.” 

“Part of what Bicycle Queensland needs to be doing going forth is advocating for mountain biking as an activity — as part of the cycling world,” Andrew said. “It’s such a great cycling activity. A good forum like this gets a lot of smart people and passionate people in the room, and as you leave, you’re thinking, ‘Where can I ride my mountain bike tomorrow?’ and ‘What can BQ do to help the growth of mountain biking?’” 

One of the strongest takeaways from the Queensland Mountain Bike Forum was the vital role local councils play in the early stages of trail development. “Getting the local council to have the vision to be part of the development of a trail network is a key step,” said Andrew. 

“What Bicycle Queensland can do is be in the middle of those conversations — there with the local community, supporting their efforts in advocating with council for developing trail networks that are accessible to all people and link to the local communities.” By helping local groups articulate their vision and navigate the planning and funding processes, BQ can play a crucial role in turning great ideas into rideable realities. 

This support is especially important in ensuring that trails deliver long-term social value.  

“Mountain biking brings other aspects to the mix that are super helpful,” Demack added.  

“One of the aspects is getting kids on bikes, and mountain biking is brilliant for that.” Trails close to home give kids and teenagers an active way to engage with sport, community, and personal responsibility — all while having fun. As Andrew often says, it’s all about local trails for local kids. That’s why mountain biking advocacy is a growing and essential focus for Bicycle Queensland, not just in expanding the sport, but in growing cycling culture as a whole. 

As Queensland’s mountain biking culture matures — and as local governments increasingly look to trails as a way to deliver social, health, and economic benefits — BQ’s role as a connector and catalyst will only grow. 

Thank you to Outdoors QLD, FNQROC and Blue Sky Trails for facilitating this forum.