Stephanie Jagl-Posch leads a volunteer mountain bike association in Austria focused on building legal trails for the local community. After starting mountain biking in 2020, Stephanie saw a need for legal trails in her region and took action to make it happen. In this interview, she talks about her journey, the challenges of trail building, and the positive impact these trails have on her community.
Building Legal Trails, in Austria: An Interview with Stephanie Jagl-Posch
12 March 2025
Can you briefly introduce yourself and your way into trail building?
My name is Stephanie Jagl-Posch, and I’m the head of a volunteer mountain bike association in Austria (https://www.mtbstp.at/). Our focus lies on creating legal single trails that are free to use for the community in our region.
I started mountain biking in 2020, after contemplating picking up a MTB for years, since I used to be an avid BMX rider. I took the plunge, got myself a bike, and then noticed the lack of legal single trails in my area. In Austria, all roads and trails are illegal to ride for mountain bikers unless they are explicitly opened for this user group.
I contacted my city council and asked if they were planning on creating opportunities for mountain bikers, which they declined. However, they gave me the contact of a guy who was also interested in the same topic, suggesting that I reach out to him. I did that, and it turned out that he had another contact who was also looking to build legal trails. That was the beginning of our association. We started the planning phase, did a lot of communication with the government to get the official okay for the projects, and then started building two trails in 2022.
Before getting into mountain biking, I had already contributed to trail maintenance for hiking trails, so I was very happy to get the opportunity again to go into the forest and shape trails there, together with my buddies from the association.
What is the best and worst part of being a trail builder?
The best part is riding a trail that you’ve contributed to; the worst part is when somebody gets injured on your trail or when the trail gets damaged by extreme weather conditions.
What is the project you are most proud of – and why?
Both of our trails – they are both in non-touristic areas and I feel like mountain bikers have been kinda forgotten here. We paved the way here by building the first two legal trails in our region.
What positive impacts have you seen trail building have in your region, and what are some common challenges or negative aspects?
I love the community that we have been able to create around our trails. I feel that people are very thankful that there are now legal trails where they can have fun, and the community is very loyal. We started doing community rides last year, and it’s a great feeling to see lots of people attend our events and bike together!
A difficult point is always when people think that the government or towns subsidize us with huge amounts of money that are taken away from other important projects, such as building or maintaining streets. In fact, we are very grateful for the support, but we only receive rather small amounts of money from officials that wouldn’t even be enough to realize such huge projects. Another problem is when people feel disturbed by mountain bikers, although that is not a big issue for our projects, as they are purposely built away from hiking paths and streets to avoid such issues.
3 things that would benefit the future of trail building?
- Legalizing Mountain Biking Trails: In Austria, it would be a huge deal if mountain biking wasn’t generally forbidden outside of roads. Allowing legal trails would significantly benefit the sport and provide more opportunities for riders.
- Government Recognition of Trail Importance: We would benefit a lot if our government realized that mountain biking trails are just as important as hiking trails. Recognizing this would lead to more support and resources for trail building.
- Free Access to Trails: It’s crucial to provide the general public with these opportunities free of cost (so outside of expensive bike parks). This would not only promote people’s mental and physical health but also help them understand how important it is to keep nature intact.
Photo Credit -Georg Furtmueller