Mountain Biking - Free Access to Trails: The Big Interview on the Citizens' Initiative
13.05.26 05:47 532026-05-13T05:47:00+02:00Text: NoMan (translated by AI)Photos: Erwin Haiden, Gerald Simon PrivatarchivGerald Simon is tired of having to mountain bike illegally in Austria most of the time. For the second time he therefore wants to push for a change in the law and — this time via a citizens' initiative — to secure legal trail access for mountain bikes. Longread for a fireside chat with a Homo politicus.13.05.26 05:47 762026-05-13T05:47:00+02:00Mountain Biking - Free Access to Trails: The Big Interview on the Citizens' Initiative
13.05.26 05:47 762026-05-13T05:47:00+02:00 NoMan (translated by AI) Erwin Haiden, Gerald Simon PrivatarchivGerald Simon is tired of having to mountain bike illegally in Austria most of the time. For the second time he therefore wants to push for a change in the law and — this time via a citizens' initiative — to secure legal trail access for mountain bikes. Longread for a fireside chat with a Homo politicus.13.05.26 05:47 762026-05-13T05:47:00+02:00
Visiting the initiator of the MTB petition for a free right of way. While outside the already-blooming forsythias bend in the pre-Easter winter storm, inside the fire in the hearth crackles comfortably. An Angora cat dozes peacefully on the warm stone floor, birds chirp cheerfully in the little quiet corner when the motion sensor allows. On the large wooden table in the open kitchen-living area, coffee and pastries are waiting — the whole house breathes calm and coziness.
You can tell at first glance: this is no hotbed of rebelliousness, let alone a centre of resistance. Come on in for a conversation with a convinced citoyen.
Note for those in a hurry and/or not keen on reading: Anyone who wants to support the petition can sign it digitally very easily via ID-Austria on www.oesterreich.gv.at (just log in, then in the list that appears scroll down to the entry “Mountainbiken Freies WEGERECHT” and click the support button, confirm) or sign in person at any municipal office in Austria (in statutory cities: Magistrat; in Vienna: Magistratisches Bezirksamt).
More information at www.volksbegehren-mountainbiken-2026.at
Gerald Simon is without doubt one of the good ones. Sentences come from his mouth like: "One should not always consider oneself the centre of the universe," or: "Both sides should have a common goal: to show understanding for each other and to experience nature with respect." Our telephone request for an interview appointment reaches the initiator of the popular initiative "Mountainbiken Freies WEGERECHT" while he is collecting trash in the forest.
The Lower Austrian also shares his local fossil finds free of charge at the Pecher Museum Hernstein, acts in his home municipality as a volunteer cultural mediator and helps as an active firefighter when there’s a fire or other urgent situation.
Plenty of big bonus points in the "Fellow Human of the Week" collection card.
But Gerald Simon is also one of the bad ones. At least from the perspective of hunters, large landowners, farmers, hikers and all the other usual bogeymen that the 61‑year‑old deliberately does not want to cultivate, but that media people like us always tend to pin on him.
Because the political scientist has done it again. He has taken the officially available channels of citizen participation in this country to push for a change in the law in his and — as he thought — all cyclists' interest. Since April 22 of last year the so‑called initiation procedure for his popular initiative with the short title "Mountainbiken Freies WEGERECHT" has been underway.
Gerald Simon is calling there for a legal re‑regulation that permits cycling on forest‑managed or sufficiently wide paths in woods and uplands — with suitable bicycles (mountain bikes), without the consent of the landowners and subordinate to pedestrians. The essential clause in detail:
"The Federal Forest Act, but also the General Civil Code (AGBG) and, where applicable, the Road Traffic Regulations (StVO) (as well as other laws) for regulating riding with mountain bikes (bicycles) should follow the principle that general cycling on suitable paths in forests and mountainous terrain is generally permitted without the consent of the owners — analogous to hiking. (…)
For riding with an appropriate bicycle (mountain bike), only already established and available paths apply, those that serve forestry use or are used as paths of sufficient width for recreational purposes. They are considered sufficiently wide when, during use, they provide enough space for the experienced cyclist and other users to pass each other safely. Cyclists' use is subordinate to that of pedestrians. Anyone who wishes to create new paths may do so only with the owner's consent."
Simon meets the usual reservations against such a broadly — or more narrowly — conceived freedom of trails for mountain bikers as follows:
- Nature conservation: Said trails are not located in the few remaining pristine (i.e., undisturbed) forest areas of Austria, but only in forests or ecosystems shaped and influenced by humans. And cyclists also have room there. Particularly sensitive areas should be closed off by protective zones to be designated (spatially or temporally limited).
- Liability issue: What has been resolved for all other user groups in forests and nature, above all hikers, cannot constitute a problem for the remaining group. The appropriate wording is a matter for the legislature.
- Expropriation: The defined and limited use does not entail any change in ownership relations. And the oft‑used comparison with one’s own garden is inadmissible, since forests are subject from the outset to forestry‑law restrictions such as the right of access or the duty to manage.
- Rowdyism: What is demanded is subordinate use of the trail network; mutual respect is the foundation, and clear rules of conduct are welcomed. Where these are not observed by some individuals, that cannot be used as justification for a general ban. Most mountain bikers are nature‑oriented and considerate.
The legal situation in Austria – status quo
In Austria's forests the monarchy lasted until 1975. Before that, only the owners were allowed to use their forests – a privilege from aristocratic times that even excluded strolling through for recreational purposes.
Currently the much-debated §33 of the Forest Act of 1975 permits entering the forest, but not riding through it without the consent of the owner or road maintainer. In other words: mountain biking is generally prohibited in the Alpine Republic. Legally, the summer sport most popular with Austrians alongside hiking can only be practiced on paths for which private-law special arrangements have been made, usually accompanied by a (sometimes hefty) usage fee.
It can be assumed that the riding ban enshrined in the Forest Act primarily applied to motorized single- and multi-track vehicles, since mountain biking only began to establish itself in Austria about ten years later. Nevertheless, those who — in the Kreisky era — had to begrudgingly at least admit pedestrians, today vehemently insist on this antiquated clause in order to continue to systematically shut out cyclists. This virtually reduces political willingness to push for a change to the law – which is, even compared with neighboring countries, extremely restrictive – to almost zero.
Bikeboard: Gerald, in 2007 you failed with a parliamentary citizens' initiative to open the nationwide network of forest and service roads to mountain biking. Although 21,000 signatures were collected, the government continually postponed the matter and never dealt with it. Back then an unpleasant encounter between you and your still small children with a hunter was the trigger. What, now almost 20 years later, prompted a new initiative – this time in the form of a popular petition?
Gerald Simon: Basically, as I was almost two decades ago, I'm fed up with mostly riding a mountain bike illegally. You are always somehow on the run and constantly ride with the unpleasant feeling that you could at any moment be drawn into an argument with a deputy sheriff or worse. That an official release is being so heavily stonewalled in Austria is completely incomprehensible to me. It works everywhere else. I was recently biking in Tuscany, and everyone was friendly! So much for my basic motivation.
To return to the question: Yes, in 2007 the red–black government did not assign the initiative to any committee until the legislative period ended. In the meantime some things have improved, for example because, due to the sheer number of mountain bikers, attractive offerings have been developed here and there as steering measures and the struggling ski resorts have discovered bikers as an alternative source of income. But the fundamental problem is and remains that mountain bikers in Austria are for the most part riding illegally in the forest. From that arise social and, because of the much more liberal regulations in neighboring countries, also economic disadvantages. And this legal imbalance, it is said, will not be changed by the MTB strategy loudly announced for 2024. However, this strategy costs almost 3 million euros of taxpayers' money. I was so annoyed about that that I became active again. And because one is only allowed to launch a citizens' initiative once in this country, I have now started a popular petition.
The MTB strategy is a complete waste of money
Simon's opinion on the nationwide MTB coordination office established in 2025BB: You mean the MTB Coordination Office decided in 2024 and set up at the start of 2025 MTB Coordination Office, which is financed by four ministries and the federal states? Official Austria celebrates this as a milestone. After all, it is the first time the government has commissioned the development of an Austria-wide MTB strategy. What exactly bothers you about it?
GS: Its objective is laudable, because of course a common strategy regarding tourism, the economy, recreation and peaceful coexistence would be desirable and sensible. And at least the foundational paper acknowledges the economic importance of cycling in addition to, for example, health and social aspects. According to a study from 2022 quoted there, the direct gross value added of the cycling industry is around 1.8 billion euros – putting the sector above road construction and roughly on a par with the insurance industry. But this MTB strategy cements the legal status quo. It favors contractual models, as is also stated in the ministerial document. Only: those simply don’t work where municipalities or tourism associations have no budget for trail compensation, where not enough people commit to a network of routes, or where landowners simply don’t want anyone in their forest!
BB: So your fear is essentially ‘all cost and nothing to show for it’?
GS: The coordination office is defined as a neutral body that, based on applicable law and practice — keyword contractual model — should, together with all stakeholders, identify possibilities for MTB routes and recreational offerings. Outside tourist centres I see little potential. One in eight people in Austria rides a mountain bike. But since most of them don’t live in sports destinations à la Sölden, because of regional differences they will still have to do it illegally in the future. Or paradoxically continue to get into their cars and drive long distances to be able to pursue their otherwise environmentally friendly sport. Except …
BB: … they sign the citizens’ petition?
GS: Exactly (laughs). Compared with the coordination office, that costs the state or taxpayers next to nothing (grins). Besides, it doesn’t contradict the aim of developing an Austria-wide MTB strategy — on the contrary: if the petition elicits a broad response, it only underscores the need for action regarding attractive routes and offerings. And steering measures or, for example, the signposting of protected zones remain possible nonetheless.
Contract models only work in specific cases
Where there is no money from the municipalities, no engagement from the tourism sector, or no willingness on the part of landowners, there are no legal trails, Simon notes.
Another important point: Gerald Simon is one of those willing to engage in dialogue. "If we approach each other politely and openly, we can learn a lot from one another," is his credo. The family man lives by and promotes it in his civilian profession as an insurance and financial advisor as well as in his free time, often lived out in woodland and countryside. For he has loved nature for as long as he can remember, and as such is outdoors whenever and however he can: hiking, ski touring, mountaineering, cycling.
At one time the biosphere attracted and fascinated him so strongly that he devoted himself in particular to one ecosystem — the forest. He completed five years of forestry school and the necessary practical years including the examination to act as a forestry official responsible for an entire district; in other words, the early mountain biker (MTB debut 1984 - back then with an oval chainring!) has that experience under his belt: Gerald Simon is not only formally trained but was also an active forester. And he therefore knows quite precisely what he's talking about when he talks about natural (now only 2.9% across Austria) vs. more or less human-influenced (the large remainder) forest, soil compaction by harvesters ("I can't possibly ride as much as the harvester compacts the soil"), or general conflicts over use in woods and fields.
"Nature can tolerate a fairly diverse range of uses. The problem, besides the lack of a legal framework, is above all the lack of willingness to communicate among all parties," he already told Mountainbike Revue in 2007.
His enjoyment of exchange, his willingness to debate and his desire to broaden horizons were originally also intended by the Hernstein resident to serve the citizens' initiative. On the YouTube channel, which he set up in 2025 to publish and promote his demand, he wanted to hold constructive discussions and give space to a critical public. So far, however, it has remained suspiciously quiet on the platform.
BB: What became of the plan to invite opponents of the freedom to use paths to talks, to look at the issue from different perspectives and to report about it via the news segment on your YouTube channel?
GS: Unfortunately there is no interest at all in taking up this offer. In 2007 the reactions were completely different. Large landowners really came at me, sent me personal messages. Various professional associations publicly protested, which generated quite a bit of media attention.
BB: And now?
GS: Now nothing happens at all. They just shrug it off. From their point of view that's of course very clever, because the issue gets hardly any publicity that way. This complete refusal, however, leaves me somewhat puzzled.
BB: Outside the cycling bubble the coverage has indeed been very limited so far. Have you actively contacted media outlets?
GS: Yes, of course, and some have already written something. I was very pleased about that. Others did want to publish pieces, but then pulled back. I suspect they were told to back off.
They just shrug it off
The Silence of the Rivals
BB: When you read the statement of the Austrian Alpine Club on the MTB petition, the opponents of path-access rights don't seem to be confined to the predictable ranks such as hunters or forest owners. Why did you not, as the ÖAV put it, 'coordinate your demand with any interest group' and why did you not enter into any alliance beforehand?
GS: Who was I supposed to do that with? Everyone, including the alpine clubs, depends on the goodwill of landowners and therefore doesn't dare. Anyone who has built a functioning, legal offering on a contractual basis will not want to upset their partners by campaigning for a general freedom of access to paths. Anyone who organizes an event depends on having a good relationship with potential sponsors and landowners. And anyone who runs a paid park or something similar will not want to jeopardize their business model.
BB: With the Austrian Friends of Nature you would at least have had an ally when it comes to opening up forest roads. Wouldn't it have been the much easier route to limit yourself to that aspect?
GS: The easier one: yes. But not the honest one. I did that in 2007. In reality, however, I very much enjoy riding trails as well. Besides, extending it to paths is indispensable to establish the necessary parity with our neighboring countries.
Why not just the - more likely to gain majority support - opening of forest roads?
To correct the imbalance compared to neighboring countries.
And because Gerald Simon, after all, also really likes riding trails ...Why not just the - more likely to gain majority support - opening of forest roads?
To correct the imbalance compared to neighboring countries.
And because Gerald Simon, after all, also really likes riding trails ...
So Gerald Simon is certainly one of the sincere ones. He neither chooses the path of least resistance to make his cause more likely to gain majority support. Nor does he indulge in evasive sugar-coating when it comes to the current level of support and his further course of action.
Anything is better than being left untreated
The goal would be to finally have the issue broadly discussed in the National Council.BB: How many signatures have been collected so far?
GS: We are currently at just under 22,000 declarations of support. That's already more than back when we ran the citizens' initiative, but of course still nowhere near enough to actually make it into the National Council. Only from 100,000 signatures is the National Council obliged to deal with the issue. Below that there is no obligation to handle it in parliament, i.e. to debate it in a National Council session, for example.
BB: So 100,000 is your goal?
GS: The goal would be to secure the minimum required to guarantee a discussion in parliament. Because anything is better than not being dealt with, and an ÖVP private motion to green‑light it won't happen (he smiles). In our experience another 10–30,000 signatures usually come in during the registration week. Therefore I want to have 80–90,000 declarations of support together by the end of the initiation phase on 2 October 2026. Otherwise I'll let the popular initiative lapse, because I don't want to willfully throw my money away either.
Citizens' initiative: Procedure, Costs, Deadlines
In Austria, holding a citizens' initiative (Volksbegehren) is a multi-stage process: After submitting the application, which involves administrative fees of €630, the initiation phase begins. During these 1.5 years there is time to reach the first threshold: at least 8,969 declarations of support – which corresponds to one per mille of the total Austrian population. If this succeeds, the initiators can then decide themselves on the actual timing of the initiation application, which costs a further €2,500. If it does not succeed, there will be no citizens' initiative.
If the initiation application is formally approved, the Federal Ministry then sets the eight-day registration period during which the citizens' initiative can be signed. And here again: if at least 100,000 signatures are collected, the issue must be dealt with in the National Council – both beforehand in special committees and publicly in the plenary session no later than five months afterwards.
Important: Because the declarations of support already submitted during the initiation phase are included in the final count of signatures, as much participation as possible from the start is more than just helpful.
Ongoing digitalisation makes it possible for signatures nowadays to be given online via oesterreich.gv.at using ID-Austria. Alternatively, supporters can still go, as before, to any local municipal office in Austria (in statutory cities: Magistrat; in Vienna: Magistratisches Bezirksamt) to sign in person there – even during the initiation phase, which runs until 2 October 2026.
All information at www.volksbegehren-mountainbiken-2026.at.
Besides, Gerald Simon is one of the optimists. That at present no party is calling for a change to the Forestry Act — fair enough! Nevertheless he believes it is possible, with many signatures, to get some politicians to rethink and thus, in the long run, to achieve a democratic change in the law. "The chance of anything world-shaking is small, but it's still alive."
That his petition, a year after its launch, has reached only a quarter of the targeted signatures — no reason to celebrate. "But there's still time," he hopes for rekindled support, now that the bike season has properly started again.
Many people don't even realize that they're riding their mountain bike illegally
Simon identifies a lack of awareness of the need to take action as one reason for the - measured against the total number of mountain bikers in Austria - (still) relatively hesitant reception.BB: What do you have planned for the remaining half-year to put the citizens' initiative even more in the spotlight?
GS: A few weeks ago I set up a website together with a friend. It presents the key messages briefly and concisely and also includes a link that forwards to signing via ID-Austria as well as instructions, because that procedure isn't entirely self-explanatory.
BB: And otherwise? For example, are there any prominent advocates among the professionals, like Christoph Soukup in 2007? Will you hand out flyers at events? Do you have support from the marketing side to push the website or generally promote your demand?
No, not really. I don't want to throw myself completely into it or declare this cause my life's mission before I end up selling my bike (laughs). To be honest, I had assumed the citizens' initiative would be discussed much more broadly in the media and would thus, similar to the 2007 citizens' initiative, take on a life of its own.
Perhaps Gerald Simon is also one of the naive ones. He believed that digitization would play into his hands: no more paper shuffling like in the past, no downloading, printing, checking off, filling out and mailing signature lists. Just click, type in your name, confirm the code, done – never has it been quicker and simpler to put your signature on a form than in the era of ID-Austria.
But the digital transformation is both a blessing and a curse – think information overload, social behavior, lack of commitment. What doesn’t go viral stays below the radar, and what isn’t, unlike in 2007, accompanied argumentatively by a bike buddy, bike-shop owner or the colleague holding a signature sheet in her hand, remains dry material with a high need for explanation and potential for rejection. After all, everyone knows the stories about hooligans racing cross-country on two wheels who endanger hikers, insult farmers, startle deer and damage the ground.
“Legislation shouldn’t be made dependent on a few bad apples, otherwise we wouldn’t be allowed to do anything at all — neither drive, nor hunt, nor marry,” Gerald Simon says with a smile. “I consider cyclists to be approachable, nature-oriented people. And it works everywhere else, too.”
BB: The mountain-bike scene is more fragmented than ever. You ride in the bike park or on the forest road, take the enduro or the gravel bike, love the high-alpine solitude or the family-friendly flow trail – and all of that with or without electric assist. Could it be that this splintered group can no longer be brought to a common denominator and is therefore so hard to mobilize?
GS: Possibly, yes. It used to be simple: a few people rode downhill, and the vast majority rode mountain bikes (laughs). And so almost everyone was in the same boat. Bike-park fans might be rather indifferent to the legal situation, because they depend on specific infrastructure for their form of sport. With a gravel bike you can also have a lot of fun on bike paths and side roads, and so on and so forth. Also, cyclists, completely unlike, for example, the hunting community, have never been well or cohesively organized outwardly. But I think the real problem is a lack of awareness of the need to act.
BB: What do you mean by that?
GS: I think the prevailing legal situation is not known at all to the vast majority. Accordingly, they are not aware of their fundamental illegality. So it’s an issue that could affect many – but only theoretically. In practice they know nothing about it and are therefore hard to reach.
If you do nothing, all you can do is complain. You have to at least give it a try
Gerald Simon, not a brooding knight of the sorrowful countenance, but a committed man of actionBB: Forgive the slightly mocking tone when I invoke this image now, but Don Quixote is just appearing before my mind’s eye …
GS: (laughs) Yes, but that’s precisely not who I want to be! I’m not a knight of the woeful countenance. I don’t want to get obsessed and romanticize the opening of trails as my life’s purpose. If it works, great. If it doesn’t work and the estimated 800,000 mountain bikers in Austria aren’t enough to give this project the necessary momentum, then so be it. Fact is: If you do nothing, you can only complain. I think you have to at least try.
The final takeaway is: Gerald Simon is many things. But certainly not one of the idle. And how does that apply to you?
Here’s the website of the citizens' initiative with further information, arguments and a link to sign via ID Austria.
