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.
Continue reading “Ep 35 – Chapter Representation on the IMBA Board: Interview with Ernest Rodriguez”
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.
Continuing with the theme of Bikes in wilderness outside of the United States, we hear from Parks Canada and Mark Schmidt, he’s the Visitor Experience Infrastructure Advisor for Trails. Mark explains how Bikes are embraced in Parks Canada, how they’re managed and the varying types of rider experiences they offer.
Turning the focus to Mountain Biking in wilderness North of the US border, we look at how Tyax Adventures is ensuring Backcountry Mountain Biking can be sustainable in the South Chilcotin’s. Naheed Henderson tells us just what they’re focused on to make that happen. We’ll also hear from Bruce Alt about National Monuments; what they are, how they’re made and just what they could mean for Mountain Biking.
The finale of our three part series on Bikes in US Wilderness Areas we hear from the Sustainable Trails Coalition (STC) President himself, Ted Stroll. Ted explains how the organization got started and dispels some of the myths of what the STC is trying to do. Ted also provides us with some additional back-story on the Wilderness Act itself.
As part two of our three parts series on bikes in Wilderness Areas in the US we hear from Eric Melson of the International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA). Eric’s new role is in Government Relations and he’ll give the background on the Boulder-Whiteclouds and explain the new Recreation Not Red Tape Act. Next episode we’ll be hearing from Ted Stroll, President of the Sustainable Trails Coalition.