News Briefs

IMBA Trail News
Volume 14, Number 4
Fall 2001

1. California Wilderness Watch

   U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer is preparing California Wilderness legislation and hopes to present it to Congress soon. IMBA needs California mountain bikers to identify trails within proposed Wilderness areas so we can work to preserve access to them. We also want to determine which proposed Wilderness areas we can support. Senator Boxer's staff is respectful of our strong interest in maintaining these trail opportunities but IMBA still does not know all the exact areas that will be proposed for Wilderness protection. The California Wilderness Coalition's list of areas under consideration appears on calwild.org. We also know that most official U.S. Forest Service Roadless Areas are being considered. You can download generalized maps from the USFS website: roadless.fs.fed.us/states/ca/state3.shtml. If you know of trails ridden by mountain bikers in these Roadless Areas, please provide the location, names of trails, and other relevant details to IMBA CA State Rep Jim Haagen-Smit at . For ongoing updates, join IMBA's California Wilderness email list at imba.com.

2. Read and Build Better Trails

   Forget Harry Potter. IMBA's much-anticipated new book, Building Better Trails: Designing, Constructing and Maintaining Shared-Use Trails is now available electronically on IMBA's website and will be soon offered as a pocket-size printed booklet. Drawing on the Subaru/IMBA Trail Care Crews' five years of experience leading Trailbuilding Schools and working on trails around the world, Building Better Trails is an essential resource for mountain bikers, land managers and other trail enthusiasts who build or maintain trails. Building Better Trails covers the philosophy of sustainable trails, design and planning considerations, construction techniques and maintenance. This cutting-edge book also provides information on tools, trailbuilding resources, and includes an appendix on building challenging trails, step-by-step instructions on how to use a clinometer, and a glossary of terms. Print a PDF from IMBA's website now or wait until January to order hard copies ($10 each) through IMBA's online store. Building Better Trails is made possible by the generous support of Interbike.

3. IMBA Answers Call of the Wild

   It took five years, but the Subaru/IMBA Trail Care Crew finally visited its 50th state, Alaska, in September. The Crew first spent a few days in Sitka on Alaska's southern coast assessing trails with Bill Hughes of Yellow Jersey Cycle Shop. The Crew met with various Sitka trail groups and local, state and federal land management agencies to share their ideas and discuss new trails for mountain biking. In Anchorage, the Crew rode and inspected trails with Kevin Keeler of the National Park Service's Rivers, Trails & Conservation Assistance program. Up the road in Wasilla, the Crew met with Mike Goodwin of Alaska Dept. of Natural Resources to ride the trail system at Kepler-Bradley Lake State Park and give Goodwin feedback and suggestions on his plans to develop an interconnected trail network. The grand finale of the trip was a Crew-led slideshow presentation and on-trail workshop for land managers and trailbuilding professionals at the Alaska Recreation Rendezvous 2001. IMBA's presentation was a big success and the participants came away with a new understanding of ways to design trails that are sustainable, appealing and challenging. Special thanks to RTCA Program Manager Jack Mosby for his help in making this visit a big success.

4. Clif Bar Grants Preserve Access

   Ten bicycle groups have been awarded IMBA/CLIF Bar Trail Preservation Grants. The $500 grants fund projects that preserve and enhance trail access, promote environmental education, and inspire conservation in the mountain bicycling community. Examples of grant-winning projects include the construction of an interpretive trail and an educational sign program. CLIF Bar has been an Above-and-Beyond IMBA corporate member since 1995 and has donated more than 50,000 CLIF Bars to fuel IMBA-affiliated trailbuilding and maintenance projects. To learn more about IMBA's grant programs, and to view a list of the grant-winning projects and groups, visit imba.com.

5. IMBA Hires Development Director

   Pete Burhop of Boulder, Colorado, is IMBA's new Development Director. Burhop, who started work at the beginning of October, will build IMBA's major donor network, boost our foundation support, and coordinate IMBA's growing array of corporate partnerships and memberships. Burhop comes to IMBA with broad experience as a development professional and outdoor educator. He was most recently the Associate Development Director for the Colorado Outward Bound School, where he was instrumental in developing COBS' Ice Ax Club major donor network. He has also worked for the National Outdoor Leadership School. Burhop is an avid rider and climber. He made his mountain bike racing debut a decade ago at the West Virginia Fat Tire Festival. Burhop and two friends-all neophytes-arrived at the start without helmets. Told that head protection was mandatory, they went back to their car and donned heavy lacrosse facemasks-that's all they had. But not to worry because Burhop finished third in his class.

6. Sprockids Rock Boy Scout Jamboree

   IMBA's newest project is IMBA Sprockids, a grassroots network of kids mountain biking clubs that make it easy for young people and their families to get involved in mountain biking. To promote the new program, IMBA recently sent rider representatives to the International Scout Jamboree in Fort AP Hill, Virginia. The riders wowed their audience with technical riding demonstrations, entertaining more than 21,000 scouts in seven days. Following the shows, the riders signed autographs and talked to kids about mountain biking and the IMBA Sprockids program. The Jamboree is the largest scouting event in the world, attracting 40,000 young people from more than 15 countries. To learn more about the Sprockids program or to start an IMBA Sprockids club in your town, visit imba.com/sprockids.

7. NMBP Works World Championships

   National Mountain Bike Patrollers served as official course marshals at the 2001 Mountain Bike World Championships in Vail, Colorado, this September. Despite difficult travel conditions related to the events of September 11, more than 30 patrollers came from all over the country to volunteer their services. Patrollers lined the courses during the races, performing crowd control duties and offering medical assistance. NMBP members played a crucial role assisting the Vail Ski Patrol in the evacuation and care of a pro woman rider who suffered a bad crash near the bottom of the downhill course. Thanks to all patrollers who donated their time at this important international event.

8. IMBA Meets National Park Director

   IMBA president Steve Anderson and executive director Tim Blumenthal met with new National Park Service director Fran Mainella in St. Louis September 27 at the International Trails and Greenways Conference. Mainella, Anderson and Blumenthal discussed bicycling opportunities in National Parks, mountain biking trends, and IMBA's offer of technical assistance to help the National Park Service assess dirt roads and trails suitable for bicycling. Mainella, who was confirmed as NPS director in July by the U.S. Congress, is the former director of Florida State Parks. She is widely regarded as a skilled administrator and consensus-builder who supports bicycling. While in St. Louis, Anderson and Blumenthal also met with the National Trails Advisory team, a group organized by the Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance branch of the National Park Service.

9. Blumenthal Enters Hall of Fame

   IMBA executive director Tim Blumenthal was inducted into the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame Sept. 30 in a ceremony at the Interbike trade show in Las Vegas. During his induction speech, Blumenthal outlined a vision for IMBA's future, emphasizing a need for tangible, high profile accomplishments - particularly new trails and new partnerships. Blumenthal joined IMBA's board of directors in 1989 - a year after IMBA's creation - when he was managing editor of Mountain Bike Magazine. He became IMBA's executive director in September '93 and has helped our organization grow 10-fold by virtually every measure since then. Other 2001 Hall of Fame inductees included two-time Olympic racer Tinker Juarez, mountain bike PR ace Steve Boehmke, California mountain bike pioneer Denise Caramagno, and former GT Bicycles president Richard Long, who passed away in a motorcycle accident several years ago. Founded in 1988, the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame and Museum is based in Crested Butte, Colorado.

10. Fundraiser Success in Vail

    The Tuesday Night Ladies Club racing team of Boulder, Colorado, hosted a very successful fundraiser for IMBA at the 2001 World Mountain Bike Championships in Vail. The event was presented by Shimano. More than 350 cycling fans came to cast their bids in a silent auction of bicycling products and dance to live music. All told, IMBA raised more than $14,000 to support our advocacy work. The most-coveted prize was a private bike ride with three-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong, which auctioned for $6,000. IMBA will donate more than $1,000 of the proceeds to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund.