Tom Cole, CRC Trails’ Lead Trail Designer and Project Manager, has dedicated his career to creating some of Scotland’s most beloved mountain biking trails. From grassroots beginnings in rural Scotland to designing iconic routes, Tom’s passion for sustainable, rider-focused trails shines through every project. In this interview, Tom shares his journey into professional trail building, the challenges of creating with nature in mind, and how innovations like adaptive bike trails and e-bike networks are shaping the future of the sport. Whether it’s hand-cut paths or machine-built flow lines, Tom’s work embodies a commitment to creating unforgettable riding experiences.

Lars: Can you briefly introduce yourself, the organization you’re affiliated with, and your role within the company?

Tom: I’m Tom Cole, CRC Trails Lead Trail Designer and project manager. I design and manage CRC’s trail projects and work with the team to deliver the build. I try to get on the tools as much as time allows.

Lars: Could you share your path to becoming a professional trail builder? Were there any significant obstacles you encountered along the way?

Tom: I got into mountain biking in a rural area of Scotland in the early 2000s where we had no trails so the only option was to build our own. After quite a few years of being involved in unofficial building I started looking at how I could be involved in sanctioned projects. There were very few opportunities at that time to even volunteer and most of these were in upland path building rather than trails.

Developing Mountain Biking in Scotland’s support for the region led to the creation of the Aberdeenshire Trail Association and I was part of the committee from the start and worked to develop it. This, in turn, led to approaching local professional companies with ideas for collaboration on ATA projects. This introduction resulted in applying for a position with CRC to develop the trail building side of their business. Fast forward to now, 4 years later, many kms of trail designed and built across Scotland!

The biggest hurdle in this journey was finding opportunities to work on trails in any capacity with permission. There were very few sanctioned trails and no organizations supporting volunteer or professional opportunities. This has thankfully improved for volunteers to work on trails. Sadly, there are still very few professional roles available.

Lars: You’ve been instrumental in creating some of the most beloved and iconic trails in Scotland, including Relish in Aboyne, Heartbreak Ridge, and the Tarland Trails trail centre, to name a few. That’s quite an impressive portfolio! What’s your secret to designing trails that resonate so well with riders? How important is rider feedback in your design and construction process?

Tom: I always try to work with what the landscape and terrain offer and focus the trail design on harnessing that. Looking at it from a trail network perspective – the goal is to create an experience that allows them to interpret the trails and ride them in different ways. This is balanced against the constructability of the site, so we are working with the landscape andcreating an efficient, low-impact construction.

This carries through to the build, and as a team, we are very reactive in designing to the environment we are in. The goal is to make each trail have its own riding experience and have its own identity. Testing is a key part of this; all of the construction team are riders as well as builders. Everyone in the team gets to input into the features and testing to make sure we are working together to build the best trail we can. Overall, the most important thing is creating a fun, challenging experience.

Lars: The impact of climate change on trails in Scotland and across Europe has been profound. In your view, what steps can the trail building community take to adapt to increasingly severe weather conditions?

Tom: It’s a growing issue and we are already seeing the impact. We build year-round, which means working through the worst of it; however, it means the trails are designed to cope with increasingly impactful weather.

Mitigating the impact starts with understanding the site, how the material can be used, any unusual ground conditions, and, most importantly, choosing the right line. We need to ensure diverse types of trails are sustained, so it’s not about just building heavily engineered trails. The principles of quality sustainable trails apply to all the different trail types so increasing education opportunities would be a great step. The most critical factors are building the right trails in the right locations and having a plan for maintenance. As a brief example, planning more natural enduro style trails in areas with good drainage and subsoils will ensure they are more likely to last longer.

Lars: Where do you see the most exciting innovations in trail building heading, and how are you keeping CRC Trails at the forefront of these innovations?

Tom: I think the more variety in trails we can have, the better, from flow jump lines to downhill tracks to trails for adaptive bikes; the variety is such an important part of what makes mountain biking so unique. I see growing the diversity of trails to include more types of bikes and riders is the key – as examples we have built trails specifically for adaptive bikes and skills areas for balance bikes. More broadly, it’s providing new experiences for riders. For these to deliver the quality of the design and build needs to be kept high so new trails offer the experience riders are looking for. Our role is to deliver on this and to provide a broad range of sustainable trails that will last into the future.

I think it’s also cool seeing the development of Hardline to push what is possible in the sport, not sure I want to be responsible for building those features though!

The progression in bike design also plays into this. E-bikes change how riders approach trails, from increased use of trails to technical climbs and a huge increase in range for trail networks. This, in turn, expands what we can do as trail builders to create new trail networks and trail features.

Lars: Many of your projects have involved partnerships with volunteer trail associations. From your perspective, what are the key factors for success when bridging professional trail building efforts with volunteer contributions?

Tom: Having a clear understanding of the strengths of each group and using the professional trail builders to support the projects of the TA. In my experience, the TA’s are great at building landowner and community relationships that allow exciting projects to be put into reality.

Professional trail builders can ensure these can be delivered to a high standard and quickly. The management of the trails then goes to the trail association, which can utilize volunteers to maintain the trails and build stewardship within the community. Professional builders can also train the volunteers to raise the standard of the trail work. In our experience it can be a great way to build the legitimacy of the trail association with the community as they are responsible for the creation of quality trails without the burden of having to hand build with volunteers. It opens up the range of projects and trail associations can undertake by working with a professional trail builder.

Lars: And finally, a few rapid-fire questions: Do you prefer building with imported gravel or native soil?

Tom: Native soil every time! Imported material is tricky to work with and significantly complicates the challenge of the build. Native soil allows significantly more creative designs.

Lars: Do you enjoy riding on hand-cut or machine-built trails more?

Tom: Hand cut, mainly as I love how these types of trails evolve and change over time. Machine built is great fun, too!

Lars: What’s the most memorable trail (or trail section) you’ve ever ridden?

Tom: Recognized trail would be Khyber Pass Whistler – A rough, rugged backcountry trail that ties into some other Whistler classics. Most memorable riding experience would be Monte Sasso del Ferro in Lake Maggiore, running into wild buffalo and horses on an incredible old hiking route above the lake.

Interview conducted by Lars Wrea Jensen, DIRTT project

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