IMBA Mountain Bike Advocacy Summit - April 18-21, 2002. Moab, Utah
IMBA Trail News
Volume 15, Number 2
Early Summer 2002
The 2002 IMBA Mountain Bike Advocacy Summit attracted 170 leaders from around the world to the Utah desert April 18-21 for four days of strategic planning, networking and information exchange. This unprecedented event, presented by REI, will help create and preserve riding opportunities for mountain bikers worldwide. On these pages, photographers Bob Allen and Alison White use pictures to tell a bit of the conference story. For more information about the summit visit www.imba.com.
Partnerships
Kit Kimball from the Department of Interior and IMBA President Steve Anderson sign the Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance (RTCA)/IMBA Memorandum of Understanding. RTCA, a branch of the National Park Service, and IMBA will work together to develop urban trails systems as part of the agreement. In addition to this MOU, IMBA also announced new partnerships with the UK Forest Enterprise and the Army Corps of Engineers. Summit attendees also provided feedback to help the BLM develop their new mountain bike strategy.
Support
A Western Spirit Cycling guide helps prep bikes for an afternoon ride on the Slickrock Trail. The summit was made possible by the generosity of many corporate and business supporters. IMBA would like to thank REI, the Federal Highway Administration, Grand County (Utah), the BLM, Lake Cycling, New Belgium Brewery, Giro, Bell, Sock Guy, CLIF Bar, Timbuk2 Designs, Dirt Rag, Western Spirit Cycling, Salsa Cycles, Zeal Optics, Surly, Moots Cycles, Subaru of America and Western Spirit.
Future
IMBA Trails Specialist Joey Klein and Rocky Mountain professional freerider Wade Simmons talk trails. Technical trails, freeriding, downhilling and stunts were hot topics at the summit. Simmons, Klein and more than 75 attendees discussed ways IMBA can create challenging and sustainable trails. More info on this will be presented in future issues of IMBA Trail News.
Trailbuilding
IMBA is the proud owner of a new Sweco 480 Trail Dozer. Thanks to John Mueller, head of Sutter Equipment Company, for donating this Sweco to IMBA. The Sweco will be housed at Tony Boone's Arrowhead Trails facility in Salida, Colorado, and will be put to work at IMBA Trailbuilding Schools and trail consulting visits.
Riding
No IMBA event would be complete without a mountain bike ride or two. After long days of meetings and brainstorming to determine IMBA's and mountain bike advocacy's future, summit participants sampled Moab's trails.
Conservation
Steve Smith from the Sierra Club addresses summit attendees. Since IMBA began in 1988, we've worked hard to promote environmental conservation. In Moab, IMBA leaders discussed ways our organization can continue to promote environmental protection and blend access advocacy with land stewardship.
Information
Summit attendees sample mountain bike advocacy information from around the world. Perhaps the best part of the Moab summit was the sharing of ideas. Each summit participant brought a unique perspective to the table, whether they were a land manager, an IMBA rep, a member of the media or an international advocate. This sharing of ideas will help the IMBA network successfully meet future challenges.
