The 1.5-Meter Rule – Bureaucracy vs. Freedom: Why Mountain Bikers Must Rise Up

on Oktober 18, 2025

What’s being sold as “nature protection” is, in truth, a step backward — an attack on common sense, outdoor freedom, and the very spirit of mountain biking.

The district of Miesbach in Bavaria, Germany, wants to introduce a new “1.5- or 2.5-meter rule” for cyclists — banning bikes from most natural trails. Officially, it’s about protecting the landscape. In reality, it’s an attempt to regulate passion, not preserve nature.

If this plan goes through, it will effectively ban riding on the vast majority of local trails.
And that means: less freedom, less access, and less trust between people and politics.

What’s actually being planned

According to the new regulation drafts, cycling will only be allowed on forest and agricultural roads wider than 2.5 meters. Everything narrower will be off-limits — except for a few “approved” MTB routes.

That sounds harmless — until you realize that most existing paths in these protected areas are below that threshold. In practice, it’s almost a complete ban on mountain biking.
Even local commuters, students, and kids riding to school would suddenly be in violation of the law.

Why the rule makes no sense

Nature isn’t measured in centimeters. Trails are alive — they grow narrower, shift with the seasons, or widen with use. Who will measure them all? A forest ranger with a ruler?

This rule is bureaucracy disguised as logic. It creates distrust instead of cooperation, restrictions instead of responsibility.
And ironically, it may cause exactly what it claims to prevent: more illegal trails, more conflicts, and more tension between user groups.

When regulation replaces reason, the outcome is always resistance.

What’s really behind it

This isn’t about nature. It’s about control.
It’s about political fear — fear of open dialogue, fear of participation, fear of responsibility.

Instead of working with bikers, local clubs, tourism boards, and environmental groups, officials are choosing the easiest path: ban first, justify later.
It’s classic symbolic politics — an administrative show of power that achieves nothing except frustration.

DIMB and DAV: A united stand

The Deutsche Initiative Mountainbike (DIMB) and the German Alpine Club (DAV) have released a joint statement that couldn’t be clearer:

“We reject blanket bans on cycling, including mountain biking, on trails under 2.5 meters wide.”

They warn of serious consequences:
– Local people lose access to nature
– Clubs and youth groups lose training grounds
– Tourism and hospitality suffer
– The region’s reputation as a bike destination collapses

Both organizations emphasize that cooperation works — projects like REO Oberland have already shown that dialogue can create sustainable, legal MTB networks without resorting to bans.

What mountain bikers should do now

This is not the time to stay silent.
DIMB and DAV are calling on all mountain bikers to act now:

Submit an official statement to the Miesbach district office. Every voice matters.
Talk about it. Share the issue across your community, online and offline.
Ride responsibly. Show that bikers are allies of nature, not enemies.
Support cooperative projects that promote dialogue instead of prohibition.

Because if this rule takes hold in Miesbach, it could spread fast — setting a precedent across Germany and beyond.

Talk, don’t ban

When you restrict movement, you kill trust.
The 1.5-meter rule isn’t a step toward sustainability — it’s a retreat into outdated thinking.

Real nature protection is built on respect and cooperation, not fear and control.
If we truly want to preserve the outdoors, we must protect what connects us to it: freedom of movement, respect, and shared responsibility.