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Written by Gene Roberts
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Tuesday, 25 May 2010 15:10 |
Members of the HPT Board of Directors Dan Luebke, Marvin Wanders, Dave Lawrence and Gene Roberts represented Human Powered Trails at the 2010 International Mountain Bike Association 2010 World Summit. This event was sponsored by the City of Augusta, Georgia, IMBA and the Southern Off-Road Bicycle Association. The meeting brought mountain bike advocates, land managers, trail builders and the bike industry from Canada, Australia, and the United States together to discuss the state of off-road cycling, how to become more organized, and to attend educational forums. HPT members were given the opportunity to network with other trail organizations and clubs to discuss universal issues and solutions to problems facing the trail building and mountain biking communities.
The days were filled with meetings and seminars covering topics ranging from dealing with unauthorized trail building, building partnerships, and running a successful trail patrol. HPT attendees selected programs to attend which were felt to provide information that would assist our organization meet the challenges that lie ahead. IMBA’s Public Land Initiative, a new national campaign to improve access for mountain bicycling, protect public lands and engage the bicycling community in critical U.S. public lands issues was of particular interest to the HPT delegation.
We were able to observe firsthand and ride the well developed sustainable Forks Area Trail System (FATS), a 35 mile trail network through the Sumter National Forest, as well as a recently opened pump track in the City of Augusta. These trails were built in such fashion that it would be enjoyable for the beginning rider to the expert. Witnessing a successful trail network of this caliber raises the bar for future trail development on HPT and the surrounding area.
On a personal note I left the meeting with a renewed optimism and enthusiasm for future projects at HPT, the La Crosse, Bluffland Project area, and other trail opportunities in our region.
We were also invited to attend the IMBA World Congress, where for the first time select leaders from Local, State and Regional organizations shared their thoughts with IMBA regarding ways in which IMBA could improve the effectiveness of their mission, to… “Create, Preserve and Enhance mountain biking opportunities worldwide. That mountain bikers are expected trail users and not just accepted.”
One of the main issues discussed included ways in which communication could be improved both up to IMBA and down to the local clubs and members. The regional director program that IMBA implemented last year was also seen as a great success and something that could also be expanded down to the state level. HPT has benefited greatly from the help we have received from our IMBA Regional Director Hansi Johnson.
Overall the IMBA World Summit was another great success. We came in under budget, made a lot of new connections, and learned about many ways to improve our organization. If any HPT members have any questions or would like more information regarding what we learned or did at the world summit, please contact one of the attendees. (The list below shows who attended each session)
Marvin
Funding Trail Projects
Environmental Impacts
RTP Funding
Connecting with the bike media
Building Partnerships
High School Leagues
Gene
IMBA’s Public Land Initiative
Environmental Impacts
RTP Funding
Bicycle Friendly Communities
Bike Patrols
Overcoming Roadblocks
Dave
Bike Park Maintenance
FATS Trail System Case Study
Club Care
Bike Parks: Getting Started
Unauthorized Trails
Overcoming Roadblocks
Dan
Funding Trail Projects
IMBA’s Chapter Program
All-Weather Trails
Youth Programs
Working with the Bike Industry
High School Leagues
IMBA Congress
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uman Powered Trails, Inc. is a non-profit organization whose mission is: “To develop and maintain first class sustainable and environmentally correct, human-powered, shared use trails for the La Crosse, WI region."
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