Riding with Purpose: How our Limitlass Legacy Gives Back to the Trails

Words by Katie May.

Limitlass is Scotland’s leading women’s mountain bike community, empowering and inspiring riders of all levels. Our flagship event, The Limitlass Festival, is a weekend of skills coaching, workshops, guided rides, and wellbeing. All in a fun, uplifting and inclusive atmosphere. But Limitlass is more than just a festival. It’s a growing community built on connection, with each other, and with the wild places we explore.

We know that Limitlass wouldn’t be what it is without the incredible trails and landscapes that host us. That’s why we’re deeply committed to protecting them. Since day one, we’ve proudly followed the Trash Free Trails Approved Event guidance to help reduce the environmental impact of our festival and give back to the trails.

Planning with Purpose

The Trash Free Trails Approved guidance has been a fantastic resource that has helped us embed sustainability into Limitlass. As a small team with limited resources but a lot of passion, we knew we might not get everything perfect, but we could be thoughtful and purposeful in our planning.

The guidance offered a wide range of ideas. From simple changes like providing clearly labelled recycling bins and organising trail cleans, to more ambitious steps such as eliminating single-use plastics and choosing non-chemical toilets. It gave us scalable ideas so as a small event we could still make a difference. The guidance also helped us find the right words to inspire our community and encourage vendors and attendees to get behind our mission. Thanks to the TFT Approved Guidance sustainability has felt achievable and empowering, not overwhelming.

Here are a few of the things have put in place:

• Conducting post event single-use pollution sweeps of the event village to ensure no trash is left behind.

• Providing a ‘Trash Zone’ with a full range of recycling bins and trail clean stations to make sure waste managed responsibly and litter collected.

• Encouraging vendors and attendees to reduce single-use plastics and instead use eco-friendly containers and bring your own cups.

• Promoting public transport and car sharing in our pre-event communications.

• Encouraging our sponsors to get behind our mission has resulted in:

  • Endura and Trash Free Trails A-Teamer mending workshops on-site, helping to extend the life of our favourite gear.

  • Endura hosting an Endura clothes swap, where our lasses could refresh their kit without buying new. 

• We also raise awareness of Trash Free Trails through our social media and website. 

We know there’s lots more we can be doing and thanks to the guidance we’ve got a long list of future improvements we can make.

Protecting our Trails

The trails we ride at Limitlass are a huge part of the magic. They’re where 

confidence grows, skills are learned, and unforgettable moments are shared. That’s why we’re passionate about giving back to the trails. We work closely with local trail associations to leave a positive impact. From hosting pre-event women’s dig days to raising funds through our raffle. We are even looking at sponsoring women through their Trail Dig Leader Qualifications. 

At its heart, Limitlass is about connection. Not just between women, but between us and nature. When we connect deeply with the trails beneath our tyres and the landscapes we are riding through, we’re more inspired to protect them for the future.

Looking Ahead

As Limitlass continues to grow, our commitment to protecting the trails and places grows with it. A huge thanks to Trash Free Trails for helping us do things better. We’re proud to be part of their movement, and excited to keep evolving what it means to ride with purpose.

You can learn more about the Trash Free Race Event programme here.