Racing For Land Access

Jim Hasenauer,
IMBA Past President

Naive observers often think that land access advocates are against racing or that the racing community thinks access advocates are "goody two shoes" bicyclists who have nothing better to do than tell others what they ought to be doing. Nothing could be farther from the truth.

From the earliest days of mountain bicycling, racing and land access have gone hand in hand. Not everyone is a racer and not everyone is an advocate but our concerns are the same -- we want to be able to ride our bikes on natural terrain. My experience has been that mountain bike racers are acutely aware of the need to maintain access to the public lands. Think about it. Racers range farther than other riders. They appreciate long distance trail systems. They may need adequate mountain bike recreational opportunities more than most of us.

IMBA has always worked closely with the racing community. Our first president, Don Douglass, was the creator of the sport's most famous downhill time trial, the Mammoth Mountain Kamikaze; he also organized the 14-mile Ultimate Kamikaze in the White Mountains and the 50-mile Plumline 7500, one of the world's most beautiful cross country races. Many of IMBA's industry supporters -- Cannondale, Diamondback, GT, Ibis, Klein, Raleigh, Specialized and Yeti -- sponsor factory race teams.

Racers live on their bikes. They know how to ride in control. When they race, they ride hard. When they train, they ride responsibly. Still, there's a great deal of educational work that needs to be done. Land managers, other user groups and even inexperienced bicyclists sometimes think that recreational mountain bicycling only means the kamikaze downhills, ultramarathon cross country endurance events or getting bikes to hop through impossible obstacles styles of competition. These racing images have become the predominant public perception of mountain bike use. This perception has led to and will lead to trail closures.

This year IMBA is involved with several projects that will demonstrate that one can love mountain bike racing and still ride in control, do no damage to the land, and not threaten other users. We're going to start working very closely with the racing community.

For the first time, racers from Specialized, Diamondback and Yeti will be wearing the IMBA logo on their team jerseys. We also hope to develop some printed land access messages from the racing teams.

GT Bicycles of Huntington Beach California is working with IMBA to get the land access message out at the races. As part of an Event Support Package they're making available to race promoters, GT is distributing race number plates, course marking signs, registration forms and other assistance. The IMBA, GT and NORBA logos are on all the material. GT is encouraging promoters to distribute IMBA applications and to solicit IMBA contributions at their events. Heading the program is Bob Hadley, GT's All Terra Services Manager who has promoted more than 50 NORBA races.

Some race promoters have been very supportive of land access. In the last newsletter we reported on the Pacific Bicycles race which generated $2252 for IMBA and local affiliate, BTC East Bay. Bob Holderith, a race promoter and IMBA's regional rep in New Jersey consistently raises funds and distributes IMBA information at his races. We need more of this.

If you're involved in racing, please give us a call. We want to make sure that mountain bike racing remains good for the sport. We'll work with you to help develop programs that help all of us.

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	Racing For Land Access Jim Hasenauer, IMBA Past President Naive observers often think that land access advocates are against racing or that the racing community thinks access advocates are "goody two shoes" bicyclists who have nothing better to do than tell others what they ought to be doing. Nothing could be farther from the truth. From the earliest days of mountain bicycling, racing and land access have gone hand in hand. Not everyone is a racer and not everyone is an advocate but our concerns are the same -- we want to be able to ride our bikes on natural terrain. My experience has been that mountain bike racers are acutely aware of the need to maintain access to the public lands. Think about it. Racers range farther than other riders. They appreciate long distance trail systems. They may need adequate mountain bike recreational opportunities more than most of us. IMBA has always worked closely with the racing community. Our first president, Don Douglass, was the creator of the sport's most famous downhill time trial, the Mammoth Mountain Kamikaze; he also organized the 14-mile Ultimate Kamikaze in the White Mountains and the 50-mile Plumline 7500, one of the world's most beautiful cross country races. Many of IMBA's industry supporters -- Cannondale, Diamondback, GT, Ibis, Klein, Raleigh, Specialized and Yeti -- sponsor factory race teams. Racers live on their bikes. They know how to ride in control. When they race, they ride hard. When they train, they ride responsibly. Still, there's a great deal of educational work that needs to be done. Land managers, other user groups and even inexperienced bicyclists sometimes think that recreational mountain bicycling only means the kamikaze downhills, ultramarathon cross country endurance events or getting bikes to hop through impossible obstacles styles of competition. These racing images have become the predominant public perception of mountain bike use. This perception has led to and will lead to trail closures. This year IMBA is involved with several projects that will demonstrate that one can love mountain bike racing and still ride in control, do no damage to the land, and not threaten other users. We're going to start working very closely with the racing community. For the first time, racers from Specialized, Diamondback and Yeti will be wearing the IMBA logo on their team jerseys. We also hope to develop some printed land access messages from the racing teams. GT Bicycles of Huntington Beach California is working with IMBA to get the land access message out at the races. As part of an Event Support Package they're making available to race promoters, GT is distributing race number plates, course marking signs, registration forms and other assistance. The IMBA, GT and NORBA logos are on all the material. GT is encouraging promoters to distribute IMBA applications and to solicit IMBA contributions at their events. Heading the program is Bob Hadley, GT's All Terra Services Manager who has promoted more than 50 NORBA races. Some race promoters have been very supportive of land access. In the last newsletter we reported on the Pacific Bicycles race which generated $2252 for IMBA and local affiliate, BTC East Bay. Bob Holderith, a race promoter and IMBA's regional rep in New Jersey consistently raises funds and distributes IMBA information at his races. We need more of this. If you're involved in racing, please give us a call. We want to make sure that mountain bike racing remains good for the sport. We'll work with you to help develop programs that help all of us.


Help \| Site Map \| Copyright