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Mountain Biking News - March 2009
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Monday, 30 March 2009Follow mountain bike advocates -- including IMBA's executive director and government affairs director -- in real time as they update their progress at the 2009 League of American Bicyclists' National Bike Summit in Washington, D.C. Their real-time text updates will be distributed through the social networking tool Twitter and can be viewed on your computer or mobile messaging device. (Username: I MBA_NBS).
Twitterers can utilize the emerging hashtag convention by including #NBS09 at the end of messages (known as tweets), allowing for easy tracking of all National Bike Summit updates.
Mike Van Abel, IMBA's chief executive officer, says he's excited about the opportunity to provide frequent updates on IMBA's progress during the three-day gathering. "This is the premier bicycle advocacy event in our nation's capital and it's truly a vital opportunity for mountain bikers," says Van Abel. "The summit is packed with important meetings that run back-to-back, so Twitter's brief, text-based messages are a great format for providing real-time insights on what we achieve in Washington."
Government Affairs Director Jenn Dice will join Van Abel in posting reports. "Once a year, mountain bikers gather to bend the ears of multiple Washington decision makers and their staffs," says Dice. She adds, "I'm grateful that Twitter posts are limited to just 140 characters -- just long enough to give a sense of how a meeting went before racing off to my next appointment."
The Summit, held annually, is the premier bicycle advocacy event in our nation's capital and truly a highlight for advocates. IMBA is proud to be a leading sponsor of this year's gathering. Mountain and road cyclists will join forces to lobby as a unified front to preserve trails, trail funding and more. You can also follow the progress of representatives from Bikes Belong -- a non-profit that works to put more people on bicycles more often -- with Bikes Belong's Twitter updates.
Source: www.imba.com
Monday, 30 March 2009In honor of Lance Armstrong's first ever Giro d'Italia (Tour of Italy), an American father and daughter team, Gene Nacey and Nina Wilczek, formed a grassroots fundraising ride for the LIVESTRONG foundation called the Giretto or "Little Giro." They will ride the first five stages of the race in their entirety (all 667 km or 415 miles), on the same days as the race proper, just a few hours ahead o f Lance and the pros.
The event is being organized by new cycling website Cycling Fusion (www.cyclingfusion.com). Only one week into fund raising, the Giretto has raised nearly one-third of its goal of $10,000 for LIVESTRONG. Four riders have been recruited to join the tour, and the fundraising organizers are hoping for more. Being an international event, they are encouraging strong intermediate to advanced cyclists to join them in Italy. Each rider is responsible for raising at least $1,000 for the charity through the donations of everyday sponsors. For the riders so far signed up, this has been an easy challenge to meet.
"Nearly everyone knows someone who has suffered through cancer, so us cycling and raising money for LIVESTRONG is an event most people can believe in and relate to," said Gene Nacey. "This gives everyday cyclists a chance to ride with the pros and complete a professional circuit while building awareness and raising money for a great cause."
The Little Giro and the official Giro d'Italia take place starting May 9th, 2009. The deadline for rider applications is April 1st, 2009.
Find out more information about the Giretto, read blogs by the riders or support the event by making a donation at www.cyclingfusion.com. If you are interested in becoming a rider, a rider application form can also be found on that website.
Source: www.prlog.org
Friday, 27 March 2009Join WABA and DC United on Saturday, March 28, for the Off Sides Ride celebrating the home opener for DC United as they take on the Chicago Fire!
Ride with WABA to RFK Stadium to enjoy some bbq and tailgating good times before the game. WABA and DC United will be providing ample bike racks to accommodate everyone and there will be a tent and bbq supplies waiting and ready to go.
Date:
Saturday, March 28 2009
Locations:
-Bike Ride to RFK departs from the WABA office.
-Tailgate Party and Game will be at RFK Stadium.
Times:
4:30PM: A group ride will be departing from the WABA Office (1803 Connecticut Ave. NW) to RFK Stadium traveling through Capitol Hill and hitting the Anacostia Tributary Trail. Once at RFK, guests can park their bikes, and enjoy the festivities. WABA's tailgate will end just before game time.
5:30PM: Group riders will have arrived at RFK parking lot and tailgating festivities will commence.
7:30PM: DC United Game begins!
For more details on this event, you can visit www.waba.org.
Thursday, 26 March 2009The SRAM Cycling Fund has announced a $40,000 contribution to the International Mountain Biking Association (IMBA) to launch the formation of IMBA Europe. SRAM's contribution will firmly establish a united Pan-European effort for mountain bike advocacy and sustainable trail development.
"We are extremely excited about this European-led opportunity," says Stan Day, President and CEO of SRAM." The end game is to broaden access to mountain biking across Europe. IMBA's expertise in trailbuilding and management, and their experience working with government land managers throughout the US will contribute significantly to achieving this end," says Day.
"There are several well organized mountain bike groups in Europe," says IMBA's CEO, Mike Van Abel. "SRAM is providing a timely boost to European mountain bike advocacy efforts, including support for professional mountain bike leaders. There is a growing need to advance knowledge and best practices for sustainable trail development, with a particular focus on policies and funding coming from the European Commission."
In May 2009, the leaders of European national mountain bike advocacy organizations will meet again in the Czech Republic. Tomas Kvasnicka, president of Czech Mountain Biking Association (CeMBA), says, "My organization is quite excited about IMBA's strengthened presence in Europe. This step will end the isolation in which European groups like ours have worked until now."
"This is an important step forward for those in Europe who want to see expanded mountain bike trail access," says Wales-based Professional Trail Builder, Dafydd Davis. "I have attended several IMBA World Summits over the past five years and I am convinced that IMBA, more than any other group, has the framework and experience essential to create government and mountain bike enthusiast partnerships."
Since its inception in 1988, IMBA has fostered partnerships between government agencies and volunteer stewardship groups. Today, IMBA conducts programs in Australia, Canada, the Czech Republic, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, South Africa, Spain and the United Kingdom.
Source: www.imba.com
Wednesday, 25 March 2009BMX Olympian, Jared Graves showed another side to his bike skills by winning the Downhill Oceania Mountain Bike Championships in Thredbo. The 26-year old Queenslander held off New Zealand's hot favourite, Wyn Masters, to take the title in a time of 6 minutes and 14.07 seconds.
Having swapped his BMX bike for his Yeti prototype Graves admits the transition was not easy.
"The cro ss over back isn't that hard as I've been riding downhill for ten years. It's a different kind of fitness though and that definitely is an issue," said Graves.
After qualifying fastest Graves bettered his run by just half a second after rain had dampened the course before the men's final.
"I wasn't thinking about the results," stated Graves. "Bits of the track felt slower especially the long fast straights. I'm pretty happy with that time."
Third was national series winner, Joshua Button. Canberra's Ben Cory and world number eight, Nathan Rennie, claimed fourth and fifth respectively. Rennie was content with his first race back after major knee surgery saw him on the side line this summer.
National downhill champion, Claire Whiteman from Canberra, claimed the women's Oceania Title in a close race beating fellow Canberra rider, Caroline Buchanan. Half a second separated the pair but Whiteman hopes the win will help her get to the World Championships later this year.
"It's been the best year yet," said an excited Whiteman. "It was tough. Generally I don't do well in the wet. This time down I decided to relax from the top."
Third place went to New Zealand's national silver medallist, Amy Laird.
The under 19 winner, Shaun O'Connor, was over four seconds ahead of nearest rival, Rhys Willemse. Third was Laurie Dinham. Fastest qualifier, Richard Leacock from New Zealand, placed fourth in the final run.
Many of Australia's mountain bike elite riders now head overseas over the next two weeks to compete in the World Cup series which starts in South Africa on the 11th of April. Riders are out to qualify for the upcoming 2009 UCI World Mountain Bike and Trial Championships to be held in Canberra in early September.
Photo from: evanjeffery.blogspot.com
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