2001 IMBA Annual Report

A message from the Executive Director

More than 14 years ago the leaders of five California mountain bike clubs got together to discuss the future of off-road cycling. They were motivated by a crisis: California State Parks was considering a system-wide ban on mountain bike use - a move that threatened to eliminate access to many of the state's best trails.

Out of that March 1988 meeting came a new organization, the International Mountain Bicycling Association, and a commitment to promote responsible riding, volunteer trailwork, and partnerships with land managers and other trail user groups. From the beginning, the members of IMBA shared a collective belief that mountain biking is a fundamentally positive activity that can be made even better by innovative management and energetic advocacy.

Today, IMBA is respected around the globe for its leadership role in supporting trail recreation and open space protection. All five of our original affiliated clubs are still active, and their work has been supplemented by the efforts of more than 450 other clubs in all 50 states and 30 other nations worldwide. The backbone of our movement continues to be individual riders who provide two-thirds of our funding. Nearly 100,000 mountain bikers are members of IMBA and our affiliates. We have great support from retailers, government agencies, cycling publications, and bicycle equipment makers, too.

IMBA has created award-winning programs like the Subaru/IMBA Trail Care Crew (which is now midway through its sixth year) and the National Mountain Bike Patrol (which assists all trail users in more than 70 locations coast to coast and beyond). We conduct Trailbuilding Schools almost every week that are regarded as high-level, dynamic, innovative instruction programs. We celebrate great trails through the IMBA Epic Rides program. We concentrate on improving urban trail access through the IMBA Hot Spots program. We publish helpful mountain bike resources in book form and on our website (imba.com). We're working to develop a new generation of riders through IMBA Sprockids. We're collaborating with government agencies at all levels as never before. Nearly all our programs span the globe.

IMBA has achieved a lot in its first 14 years. But in some ways, the basic challenges that face our group haven't changed. People who live near cities still struggle to find appealing trails to ride. New development obliterates trails and replaces them with buildings, roads and parking lots. Some riders still pedal recklessly. Even as mountain biking approaches the end of its third decade, some land managers still don't understand our sport or have any idea of how to make it work.

IMBA is still evolving. On the next few pages we present an overview of our key accomplishments, challenges and programs. We hope this information helps you develop a clearer picture of IMBA.

Without your support, IMBA wouldn't exist. We are very grateful for your time-tested financial contributions, and also for your volunteer efforts and goodwill. On behalf of mountain bikers everywhere, thanks so much!

Let's keep working and riding together to bring out the best in mountain biking.

Best wishes,

Tim Blumenthal
IMBA Executive Director

2001 IMBA Accomplishments

Here's a snapshot of IMBA's biggest accomplishments in the past year.

IMBA Campaign Reverses BLM Plan

IMBA led a successful campaign to convince the Bureau of Land Management to manage mountain biking separate from motorized vehicles - a key distinction. After receiving more than 10,000 comment letters from mountain bikers in 30 days, the Bureau of Land Management decided not to group mountain bikes with motorized vehicles in a controversial new national OHV strategy.

IMBA and Sprockids Partner to Expand Innovative Kids Mountain Biking Program

IMBA became the U.S. and international coordinating agency for the Sprockids program - a time-tested, kids mountain biking curriculum developed by Doug Detwiller in British Columbia, Canada. More than 50 new Sprockids clubs have formed to lead all types of kids mountain biking events, including fun rides, skills clinics and races.

IMBA Leadership Network Reaches Record Levels

IMBA's network is bigger, stronger, and better trained than ever. Impressive numbers include: 450 affiliated clubs, 70 state and regional representatives, 12 volunteer board members, 20 professional staff, more than 60 National Mountain Bike Patrol units, and 50 new Sprockids clubs.

A Thousand Miles of New Trails

IMBA members opened more than 1,000 miles of new trails for mountain biking in 2001. IMBA Trailbuilding Schools taught more than 900 people - including key government officials - how to build durable trails that are fun to ride. The Subaru/IMBA Trail Care Crew program completed its fifth year on the road, sharing trailbuilding expertise with thousands of volunteers, land managers and trail advocates.

Mountain Bike Leadership in Washington, D.C.

IMBA's newly established National Mountain Bike Leadership Fund strengthened mountain biking's influence in Washington, D.C. - the place where crucial trail access decisions are being made. IMBA formed groundbreaking partnerships with five federal land agencies that together manage more than one-sixth of U.S. lands. The written agreements focus on building new trails near cities where most mountain bikers ride.

IMBA Membership by State

Top Ten

California - 6,310
Colorado - 2,850
New York - 1,703
Pennsylvania - 1,385
Texas - 1,255
Florida - 969
Massachusetts - 969
New Jersey - 902
Illinois - 901
Wisconsin - 651

IMBA Global Network

More than 45 IMBA affiliated clubs are based outside the U.S. IMBA is coordinating high profile advocacy and access projects in Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, Italy and several other countries. Trail tourism, technical trail development and high level partnerships with government agencies will assure the future of mountain biking worldwide.

2002 IMBA Challenges

Improving Urban Trail Access

Most people live in or near cities and want to recreate close to home. That's why IMBA continues to focus on urban trails. Keeping urban and suburban trails open requires political sophistication, patience, and innovative land management to reduce trail user conflict. The good news: urban trail success stories continue to take shape worldwide.

Getting More Cyclists Interested in Advocacy

Shaping public policy can be satisfying, but it usually requires attending contentious meetings, writing letters, building relationships with elected officials and standing for what's right. Most mountain bikers prefer to spend their free time pedaling. That's understandable, but less than one percent of avid riders support IMBA or their local mountain bike club. Our sport's future, particularly on public land. will depend on our ability to get more mountain bikers involved in advocacy--either financially or by volunteering, or both.

Measuring Our Progress

So much of IMBA's core work involves maintaining access to existing riding opportunities. When trails are threatened, we respond...and usually succeed in keeping them open. Nevertheless, preserving the status quo isn't the easiest product to show or tout. We need tangible accomplishments. While we've got them in new miles of trails constructed and new trail systems created, we need to find new ways to demonstrate the value of our work.

Managing Freeriding and Technical Riding

Thanks to improved bicycle technology, today's cross-country riders conquer dropoffs and technical challenges that elite downhill specialists wouldn't have touched a decade ago. Freeriding, extreme downhilling and stunt-riding can be embraced and supported by our movement. The keys are ensuring environmental protection and creating special use areas that provide great challenge in controlled environments. Innovative trail management is key.

Paying for Our Work

IMBA has grown 20-fold in the last decade, but so have the challenges of keeping trails open for mountain biking. While IMBA has 20 staff members, we could easy keep 180 fulltimers busy working on the myriad of trail challenges and opportunities worldwide. Close to two-thirds of IMBA's support comes from individual members and donors, who now surpass 32,000 strong. Increasing and diversifying our sources of revenue is crucial to our continuing success.

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	2001 IMBA Annual Report A message from the Executive Director More than 14 years ago the leaders of five California mountain bike clubs got together to discuss the future of off-road cycling. They were motivated by a crisis: California State Parks was considering a system-wide ban on mountain bike use - a move that threatened to eliminate access to many of the state's best trails. Out of that March 1988 meeting came a new organization, the International Mountain Bicycling Association, and a commitment to promote responsible riding, volunteer trailwork, and partnerships with land managers and other trail user groups. From the beginning, the members of IMBA shared a collective belief that mountain biking is a fundamentally positive activity that can be made even better by innovative management and energetic advocacy. Today, IMBA is respected around the globe for its leadership role in supporting trail recreation and open space protection. All five of our original affiliated clubs are still active, and their work has been supplemented by the efforts of more than 450 other clubs in all 50 states and 30 other nations worldwide. The backbone of our movement continues to be individual riders who provide two-thirds of our funding. Nearly 100,000 mountain bikers are members of IMBA and our affiliates. We have great support from retailers, government agencies, cycling publications, and bicycle equipment makers, too. IMBA has created award-winning programs like the Subaru/IMBA Trail Care Crew (which is now midway through its sixth year) and the National Mountain Bike Patrol (which assists all trail users in more than 70 locations coast to coast and beyond). We conduct Trailbuilding Schools almost every week that are regarded as high-level, dynamic, innovative instruction programs. We celebrate great trails through the IMBA Epic Rides program. We concentrate on improving urban trail access through the IMBA Hot Spots program. We publish helpful mountain bike resources in book form and on our website (imba.com). We're working to develop a new generation of riders through IMBA Sprockids. We're collaborating with government agencies at all levels as never before. Nearly all our programs span the globe. IMBA has achieved a lot in its first 14 years. But in some ways, the basic challenges that face our group haven't changed. People who live near cities still struggle to find appealing trails to ride. New development obliterates trails and replaces them with buildings, roads and parking lots. Some riders still pedal recklessly. Even as mountain biking approaches the end of its third decade, some land managers still don't understand our sport or have any idea of how to make it work. IMBA is still evolving. On the next few pages we present an overview of our key accomplishments, challenges and programs. We hope this information helps you develop a clearer picture of IMBA. Without your support, IMBA wouldn't exist. We are very grateful for your time-tested financial contributions, and also for your volunteer efforts and goodwill. On behalf of mountain bikers everywhere, thanks so much! Let's keep working and riding together to bring out the best in mountain biking. Best wishes, Tim Blumenthal IMBA Executive Director 2001 IMBA Accomplishments Here's a snapshot of IMBA's biggest accomplishments in the past year. IMBA Campaign Reverses BLM Plan IMBA led a successful campaign to convince the Bureau of Land Management to manage mountain biking separate from motorized vehicles - a key distinction. After receiving more than 10,000 comment letters from mountain bikers in 30 days, the Bureau of Land Management decided not to group mountain bikes with motorized vehicles in a controversial new national OHV strategy. IMBA and Sprockids Partner to Expand Innovative Kids Mountain Biking Program IMBA became the U.S. and international coordinating agency for the Sprockids program - a time-tested, kids mountain biking curriculum developed by Doug Detwiller in British Columbia, Canada. More than 50 new Sprockids clubs have formed to lead all types of kids mountain biking events, including fun rides, skills clinics and races. IMBA Leadership Network Reaches Record Levels IMBA's network is bigger, stronger, and better trained than ever. Impressive numbers include: 450 affiliated clubs, 70 state and regional representatives, 12 volunteer board members, 20 professional staff, more than 60 National Mountain Bike Patrol units, and 50 new Sprockids clubs. A Thousand Miles of New Trails IMBA members opened more than 1,000 miles of new trails for mountain biking in 2001. IMBA Trailbuilding Schools taught more than 900 people - including key government officials - how to build durable trails that are fun to ride. The Subaru/IMBA Trail Care Crew program completed its fifth year on the road, sharing trailbuilding expertise with thousands of volunteers, land managers and trail advocates. Mountain Bike Leadership in Washington, D.C. IMBA's newly established National Mountain Bike Leadership Fund strengthened mountain biking's influence in Washington, D.C. - the place where crucial trail access decisions are being made. IMBA formed groundbreaking partnerships with five federal land agencies that together manage more than one-sixth of U.S. lands. The written agreements focus on building new trails near cities where most mountain bikers ride. IMBA Membership by State Top Ten California - 6,310 Colorado - 2,850 New York - 1,703 Pennsylvania - 1,385 Texas - 1,255 Florida - 969 Massachusetts - 969 New Jersey - 902 Illinois - 901 Wisconsin - 651 IMBA Global Network More than 45 IMBA affiliated clubs are based outside the U.S. IMBA is coordinating high profile advocacy and access projects in Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, Italy and several other countries. Trail tourism, technical trail development and high level partnerships with government agencies will assure the future of mountain biking worldwide. 2002 IMBA Challenges Improving Urban Trail Access Most people live in or near cities and want to recreate close to home. That's why IMBA continues to focus on urban trails. Keeping urban and suburban trails open requires political sophistication, patience, and innovative land management to reduce trail user conflict. The good news: urban trail success stories continue to take shape worldwide. Getting More Cyclists Interested in Advocacy Shaping public policy can be satisfying, but it usually requires attending contentious meetings, writing letters, building relationships with elected officials and standing for what's right. Most mountain bikers prefer to spend their free time pedaling. That's understandable, but less than one percent of avid riders support IMBA or their local mountain bike club. Our sport's future, particularly on public land. will depend on our ability to get more mountain bikers involved in advocacy--either financially or by volunteering, or both. Measuring Our Progress So much of IMBA's core work involves maintaining access to existing riding opportunities. When trails are threatened, we respond...and usually succeed in keeping them open. Nevertheless, preserving the status quo isn't the easiest product to show or tout. We need tangible accomplishments. While we've got them in new miles of trails constructed and new trail systems created, we need to find new ways to demonstrate the value of our work. Managing Freeriding and Technical Riding Thanks to improved bicycle technology, today's cross-country riders conquer dropoffs and technical challenges that elite downhill specialists wouldn't have touched a decade ago. Freeriding, extreme downhilling and stunt-riding can be embraced and supported by our movement. The keys are ensuring environmental protection and creating special use areas that provide great challenge in controlled environments. Innovative trail management is key. Paying for Our Work IMBA has grown 20-fold in the last decade, but so have the challenges of keeping trails open for mountain biking. While IMBA has 20 staff members, we could easy keep 180 fulltimers busy working on the myriad of trail challenges and opportunities worldwide. Close to two-thirds of IMBA's support comes from individual members and donors, who now surpass 32,000 strong. Increasing and diversifying our sources of revenue is crucial to our continuing success.


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