Beyond the Ride: Brian Hann

Beyond the Ride is our love letter to the people who make mountain biking better. This isn’t a series reserved for sponsored athletes or the folks in power at bike brands (although we’re excited to cover those too). Instead, it’s an open invitation: Do you know someone who’s working to make mountain biking better? Nominate them here. We want to highlight the local ripper, the policy wonk who works with land agencies, the mechanic who saved your race, and the organizer who put it on. This is for the advocates, the storytellers, the builders, and the coaches.

Brian Hann was nominated for a feature in our Beyond the Ride series by Matthew Kellogg, the Executive Director of the Appalachia Mountain Bike Club, who called Hann "a true visionary," for being "the architect behind Knoxville's trails." Hann was quick to deflect credit back to Kellogg (a theme we're seeing a lot of with this series) with his response: "Matthew is an amazing person." We're just stoked to get to highlight them both a bit here in this intro, and to shed some light on the incredible work Hann has been doing for years at this point!

Name, age, current place of residence?

Brian Hann, 48, Knoxville, Tennessee

What do you do? (Specifically related to mountain biking)

Past President of the Appalachian Mountain Bike Club; past President of the Southern Off Road Bicycle Association; currently serving on the Trail Committee for the Appalachian Mountain Bike Club.

What’s been the bike-related highlight of your year?

Watching The Appalachian Mountain Bike Club grow and prosper under great leadership and exceptionally talented staff!

If you could leave any impact on mountain biking, what would you like to be remembered for?

I hope to be remembered for improving the quality of life in my community by working with many partners to develop Knoxville's Urban Wilderness.

What, outside of mountain biking, makes you excited?

Introducing outdoor recreation to as many people as possible with low barrier access to trails and nature. I believe that outdoor recreation is the backdoor to conservation. Local elected officials finally getting the idea that trails are a low-cost way of providing exceptional outdoor recreation opportunities as well as good economic impact.

What are your goals for the next year? (They can be anything from race results, to injury recovery, to just trying to ride your bike more)

I would like to get out and explore our neighboring trail systems; the folks over in Pisgah have been doing great work in the Forest and I would like to check that out.

What’s the most exciting trend in mountain biking you’re seeing right now (and how can we help it)?

Kids on bikes, specifically the Little Bella's program and NICA in Knoxville, and trail advocacy organizations being able to hire paid staff.

What’s the worst trend you’re seeing right now (and how would you fix it)?

New riders not understanding what work has gone on to get advocacy organizations to this point; I still remember having to explain the difference between mountain bikes and motorcycles to inquisitive land managers.

What’s your trail of choice right now (and why?)

I have been riding with my dog Vega lately. I'll defer to her on that. She is big into climbing which is troubling for me. I almost lost her to a group of spirited e-bikers last weekend.

What other question do you wish we’d asked?

Why organizations like AMBC and SORBA so important? Because access to trails does not happen on its own! Join your local trail advocacy organization.

Any sponsors, friends, or family you’d like to thank?

I'd like to thank the MANY MANY volunteers it takes to advocate, build, promote, maintain and ride our trails. Knoxville is truly an amazing trail community.