For the finale of our eMTB conversation we’ll hear the second panel discussion of the podcast. Guests include: Joshua Rebennack of City MTB and the Cuyuna Lakes Mountain Bike Crew in Minnesota, Yvonne Kraus, Executive Director of the Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance in Washington State, Jerry Greer, President of the SORBA Tri-Cities out in Tennessee, Wendy Sweet, President of the Boulder Mountainbike Alliance in Colorado and finally, Cooper Quinn, Vice President of the North Shore Mountain Bike Association in Vancouver, Canada.
Continue reading “Ep 39 – The eMTB Part 4: Panel Discussion”
This episode we hear from Morgan Lommele, eBike Campaigns Manager at the Bicycle Product Suppliers Association and the PeopleForBikes Coalition. Off the top of the episode we also hear from Joshua Rebennack of City MTB and the Cuyuna Lakes Mountain Bike Crew in Minnesota. We’ll also check in with our new correspondent, Rick Boles as he sits down with Jamie Mead at Crankworx Rotorua in New Zealand.
Last episode we heard from some industry representatives and for Part 2 of our look at the eMTB we’re going to hear from a number of guests. First, Will Niccolls, host of the AngryMountainBiker Podcast, shares his opinion. We’ll then look at what Land Managers are currently doing regarding Policy. Second guest of the episode is Kristian Jackson of the Boone Area Cyclists, Kristian shares the results of a study he did regarding the perception of eMTBs in his area.
To get us up to speed on eMTBs we hear from founder of the Electric Bike Review, Court Rye. Court gives us a breakdown of the eBike Classifications and a brief history. The main guest of the episode is the Sales and Marketing Manager at Yamaha Bicycles, Drew Engelmann. eMTBs have been produced by mountain bike manufacturers for a while, but the recent announcement of Yamaha entering the market is the first time we’re seeing an eMTB from a motorized company.
In addition to revamping the Chapter Program, IMBA has added a Chapter President to the Executive Board. I chat with that representative: Ernest Rodriguez, President of the Mid-Atlantic Off Road Enthusiasts. We discuss how the new position is going, how he got involved, and just how organizations can relay feedback to the IMBA Board. We also touch on HR 1349 and the testimony that IMBA provided prior to the House subcommittee hearing back in December.
On December 14th of last year, IMBA announced their new IMBA Local Program. The revamped Chapter Program is very different, and so I spoke with the Program Manager and Chapter Liaison, Anthony Duncan. Anthony was formerly the Regional Director for the Mid-Atlantic and prior to that served as the President of SORBA Tri-cities for 4 years. We get to all your questions about what the new program includes and when and how we can expect a roll-out.
Director of Recreational Land for Minnesota Lands Trust and former IMBA Regional Director, Hansi Johnson, lets us in on the secret of the midwest. We look at Duluth, MN and learn about where the community started, where it is now and how it got from Point A to Point B to become the mountain bike destination that it is today. No matter what the end goal is for your community, planning for the future is key and separates the successful trail organizations from the struggling ones.
We kick off the 2018 season with an episode about membership. Executive Director of the Vermont Mountain Bike Association, Tom Stuessy shares why membership is up in Vermont. We’ll also learn why membership is so valuable to an organization, beyond simply funding. In addition we’ll hear from Bruce Schroeder of the 
Before we bring in the New Year and another lineup of episode’s for 2018 we look back at the last year and the first 30 episode’s of the podcast. We’ll hear from Christine Reid of the North Shore Mountain Bike Association, Brannon Pack of the Ozark Off Road Cyclists and Jay Darby of the Mountain Biker’s of the Central Okanagan. What was your favourite episode? What do you want for discussion’s next year?
As volunteers and mountain bikers we don’t always understand why elected officials aren’t breaking down the door to allow mountain bikers access and opening new trail networks. Bruce Alt joins us to share his Elected Officials Rulebook. These three rules can go much further then just Federal Government officials but all levels of government and help us better understand what motivates an elected officials.