Mountain Biking, Culture and Society

This book represents the first critical examination of the social, cultural, and political significance of mountain biking in contemporary societies.

Starting from the premise that cultures of mountain biking are diverse, complex, and at times contradictory, this book offers practical and theoretical insights into a range of embodied, material, and socio-technical relationships. Featuring contributions from an interdisciplinary team of researchers, artists, and (Indigenous) community members with backgrounds in sociology, anthropology, cultural studies, community development, and coaching, chapters critically unpack the complex and contested nature of mountain biking identities, bodies, environments, and inequalities within specific settings. Via a range of international case studies from England, Scotland, America, Canada, New Zealand, and South Africa, authors highlight how tensions and conflicts in the world of mountain biking initiate important conversations about climate change, colonialism, discrimination, and land-use.

This is essential reading for academics and practitioners in sociology, cultural studies, sport-for-development, and human geography.

Jim Cherrington is Senior Lecturer in Physical Activity, Sport, and Health at Sheffield Hallam University, UK. His research explores how identity, bodies, knowledges, and objects are materialised in/through everyday life, with much of his recent work dedicated to investigating the socio-historical, socio-technical, and onto-political conditions of mountain biking.