Advocate Works to Bring Mountain Biking to Sri Lanka

In light of recent tragic events in Sri Lanka as a result of the December tsunami, we wanted to point out a link between mountain biking, IMBA and Sri Lanka. This connection was forged this summer, when Nishanthe Piyasena from Sri Lanka attended the 2004 IMBA Summit in Washington, D.C.

Nishanthe (R) and Joey Klein kicking it at the 2004 IMBA Advocacy Summit in Washington, D.C.
Nishanthe and the gang at Nishans Cycle Base.

Truth be told, when we got an online registration for the summit from someone in Sri Lanka, we weren't quite sure what to think. While IMBA has had scattered efforts in a few Asian countries, including Japan, Bhutan and Nepal, we've never had someone from this region of the world come to the United States to work with us.

When Nishanthe actually showed up at our summit, we were both amazed by his willingness to travel so far, and by his accomplishments to promote mountain bicycling in Sri Lanka. Since 1992, Nishanthe has taken mountain biking - a virtually unknown activity in Sri Lanka - and brought it to the forefront in his country.

Nishanthe started a bike shop, Nishans Cycle Base, in 1992. In the early days, the supply of bikes was limited to used hand-me-downs from Japan. Japanese mechanics provided technical bicycle assembly training to Nishanthe and his staff, and introduced modern tools for repair. During the next few years, Nishanthe began importing new, high-end bikes from Japan, and in 1998 opened a three-story shop in the suburbs of Colombo, the Sri Lanka capital city.

Perhaps even more significant has been Nishanthe's work to bring mountain biking into the mainstream of this Third World country. Nishans Cycle Base organizes several biking races and festivals, and has donated bikes to youth who otherwise would be unable to afford them.

Nishanthe came to the IMBA Summit in Washington, D.C. to learn advocacy and trailbuilding techniques. Much of the riding in Sri Lanka is done on dirt roads, and the trails that do exist are not sustainable. Subaru/IMBA Trail Care Crew leaders worked closely with Nishanthe during the summit to teach him the skills necessary to build sweet singletrack. IMBA was so impressed in Nishanthe that we designated him our official IMBA Sri Lanka representative this summer.

Nishanthe's latest endeavor was to work with IMBA and bicycling companies in the United States to secure bicycles and training advice to field the first-ever Sri Lanka mountain bike team in the 2005 South Asia Games.

Obviously, recent events have changed everything. In an email correspondence with Nishanthe, we learned that he is fine, but many friends and family are missing. But Nishanthe also conveyed a desire to move forward.

In this time of need, we'd like to encourage mountain bikers to help our fellow mountain biking kin in Sri Lanka. If you're interested in contributing to the reconstruction efforts email Nishanthe at .

Key Lessons:

1. Mountain biking can work anywhere.
2. By being resourceful, it's possible to bring cycling to economically challenged situations.