IMBA's Spinach

Early Summer 2004

Volume 17, Number 2

Need to get stronger, quickly? If you're Popeye, you chug a can of spinach. If you're IMBA, you host a summit meeting to bring your entire network together.

IMBA's first big conference, held deep in the Arizona desert early in 1996, was our organization's coming out party. We brought a diverse group of 135 mountain bike group leaders and government officials to the futuristic Biosphere II. The event was simply magical.

Though IMBA had been around for nearly eight years, this was the first time that many of us actually met face to face. We rode together, traded stories late into the night and felt the glow of being surrounded by inspired, diehard mountain bikers. Each attendee left with a shared confidence that we could build a bright future for mountain biking. The Biosphere bash changed IMBA dramatically - for the better and forever.

Six years later, in Moab, Utah, we gathered again. We assembled more people this time and the international contingent was particularly impressive. This event strengthened our partnerships with federal agencies, coalesced our thinking on freeriding, improved communication among our regional leaders and was simply a great time.

The Moab Summit raised IMBA's bar of expectations. Our staff, leadership, volunteer network, land manager partners and the cycling press began to expect more from us. We were asked to develop more expertise, more professional work, more leadership and more tangible accomplishments - all backed by the passion and commitment that carried us through our first dozen years. For IMBA, a new phase began. (A quick disclaimer: For IMBA - and all participants - summits are huge undertakings that require significant investments of money, time and focus. Staying on top of other core IMBA projects is essential, which is why we don't produce a summit each year.)

Now IMBA is readying for our next big event: the IMBA Summit in Westminster, Maryland, June 4-8. This event is appropriately more ambitious than the Biosphere or Moab gatherings. We'll welcome all IMBA members as well as other mountain bikers who want to get involved. We'll manage several different seminar tracks. But the hallmark of this summit will be our group trip to Capitol Hill. Never before will so many mountain bikers have assembled in the heart of Washington, D.C., to take our key messages to Congress. We've got important messages to convey:

Mountain biking has become the first- or second- most popular type of trail use on most trail systems in much of the world.
We are responsible visitors, stellar volunteers and role models on public land.
Mountain biking keeps us healthy. In the wake of stunning new findings about the state of obesity in our society, this is a key attribute.
Our federal agency partners need more money to keep trails open and in good condition, manage them properly and support new trail development. n We've got a significant, legitimate problem where new Wilderness proposals overlap trails that are popular rides. Thankfully, we've created solutions.
Beyond these common points, we have specific issues and opportunities in every U.S. state that we will concisely convey to Congressional staffers.

This IMBA summit will include great rides, lots of networking time and plenty of inspiration. When it's done, we will have left a powerful, positive impression on the leaders of our federal government. Our movement will be significantly stronger. And let me tell you, spending four spring days in D.C. and the beautiful rolling hills of western Maryland beats eating cans of raw spinach every time.

Hope to see you there!

- Tim Blumenthal

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	IMBA's Spinach Early Summer 2004 Volume 17, Number 2 Need to get stronger, quickly? If you're Popeye, you chug a can of spinach. If you're IMBA, you host a summit meeting to bring your entire network together. IMBA's first big conference, held deep in the Arizona desert early in 1996, was our organization's coming out party. We brought a diverse group of 135 mountain bike group leaders and government officials to the futuristic Biosphere II. The event was simply magical. Though IMBA had been around for nearly eight years, this was the first time that many of us actually met face to face. We rode together, traded stories late into the night and felt the glow of being surrounded by inspired, diehard mountain bikers. Each attendee left with a shared confidence that we could build a bright future for mountain biking. The Biosphere bash changed IMBA dramatically - for the better and forever. Six years later, in Moab, Utah, we gathered again. We assembled more people this time and the international contingent was particularly impressive. This event strengthened our partnerships with federal agencies, coalesced our thinking on freeriding, improved communication among our regional leaders and was simply a great time. The Moab Summit raised IMBA's bar of expectations. Our staff, leadership, volunteer network, land manager partners and the cycling press began to expect more from us. We were asked to develop more expertise, more professional work, more leadership and more tangible accomplishments - all backed by the passion and commitment that carried us through our first dozen years. For IMBA, a new phase began. (A quick disclaimer: For IMBA - and all participants - summits are huge undertakings that require significant investments of money, time and focus. Staying on top of other core IMBA projects is essential, which is why we don't produce a summit each year.) Now IMBA is readying for our next big event: the IMBA Summit in Westminster, Maryland, June 4-8. This event is appropriately more ambitious than the Biosphere or Moab gatherings. We'll welcome all IMBA members as well as other mountain bikers who want to get involved. We'll manage several different seminar tracks. But the hallmark of this summit will be our group trip to Capitol Hill. Never before will so many mountain bikers have assembled in the heart of Washington, D.C., to take our key messages to Congress. We've got important messages to convey: Mountain biking has become the first- or second- most popular type of trail use on most trail systems in much of the world. We are responsible visitors, stellar volunteers and role models on public land. Mountain biking keeps us healthy. In the wake of stunning new findings about the state of obesity in our society, this is a key attribute. Our federal agency partners need more money to keep trails open and in good condition, manage them properly and support new trail development. n We've got a significant, legitimate problem where new Wilderness proposals overlap trails that are popular rides. Thankfully, we've created solutions. Beyond these common points, we have specific issues and opportunities in every U.S. state that we will concisely convey to Congressional staffers. This IMBA summit will include great rides, lots of networking time and plenty of inspiration. When it's done, we will have left a powerful, positive impression on the leaders of our federal government. Our movement will be significantly stronger. And let me tell you, spending four spring days in D.C. and the beautiful rolling hills of western Maryland beats eating cans of raw spinach every time. Hope to see you there! - Tim Blumenthal


Help \| Site Map \| Copyright