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IMBA Hot Spots Builds Trails and Partnerships in Urban Midwest
For Immediate Release: July 7, 2003
Mountain bicycling access in Chicago and Minneapolis/St. Paul surged forward recently, a result of simultaneous Hot Spot campaigns organized by the International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA). IMBA Hot Spots is a mountain biker-driven program dedicated to improving trail opportunities in urban areas.
Two separate teams comprising Subaru/IMBA Trail Care Crew leaders and IMBA staff worked in Chicago and the Twin Cities during the 10-day campaigns, held last month. IMBA staff and local advocates met with land managers and community leaders to discuss ways to improve mountain bike access. Other events were conducted to inspire mountain bikers to get involved in advocacy and trailwork, including IMBA Trailbuilding Schools, slideshow presentations and social rides.
In Chicago, IMBA leaders worked with city officials to boost the image of mountain bicycling. IMBA and Chicago Area Mountain Bike Riders (CAMBR) also constructed and re-routed trails in the Palos Forest Preserve, one of the only parks in the Chicago metro area where mountain biking is currently allowed.
CAMBR has battled anti-mountain biking policies for the last decade, but has made significant inroads in the past year. The IMBA Hot Spots campaign helped emphasize that mountain bicycling is a legitimate, sustainable trail activity that enhances the quality of life in an area.
Meanwhile, in Minneapolis/St. Paul, IMBA and the local affiliate Minnesota Off-Road Cyclists (MORC) built approximately 10 miles of serpentine new trails and taught land managers new trailbuilding techniques. Highlights included a new, challenging trail constructed at Lebanon Hills Park that includes rock drops, log crossings, bridges and other features that, up until now, have been missing on Minneapolis/St. Paul trails.
"Chicago and Minneapolis/St. Paul were probably our most successful Hot Spot campaigns ever," said IMBA Hot Spots coordinator Dan Vardamis. "In terms of tangible results, the new trails developed in the Twin Cities were the most we've ever built at one time in an urban area. And while Chicago is not quite as far along in terms of building new singletrack, the work we did to improve relations with city officials will pay big dividends for mountain bikers in the future."
In both Chicago and Minneapolis/St. Paul, the local bike industry played a key role in making the campaigns a success. In Chicago, bicycle component manufacturer and Above-and-Beyond IMBA corporate supporter SRAM hosted a reception for local riders and advocates at their world headquarters. SRAM also hosted an IMBA board meeting.
In Minneapolis/St. Paul, Quality Bicycle Products, also an IMBA Above-and-Beyond corporate supporter, organized a mountain bike ride and a tour of their facilities. The ride played a key role in the Hot Spot campaign: land managers who had never ridden off-road were provided bikes and an introduction to the sport.
The IMBA Hot Spots program is sponsored by Clif Bar Inc. A leading maker of all-natural energy and nutrition foods, Clif Bar Inc. has been an Above-and-Beyond IMBA corporate member since 1995 and has donated more than 50,000 CLIF BARS to fuel IMBA-affiliated trailbuilding and maintenance projects. In addition to supporting the Hot Spots program financially, Clif Bar Inc. provides bars and Hot Spot T-shirts to participants.
Local IMBA affiliates Chicago Area Mountain Bikers and the Minnesota Off Road Cyclists played key roles in the success of the recent Hot Spot campaigns. To get involved with these groups visit http://www.cambr.org and http://www.morcmtb.org.
The next IMBA Hot Spot campaign will take place in Sacramento, California, November 7-16. For more information, including slideshows highlighting the recent campaigns, please visit http://www.imba.com or contact program coordinator Dan Vardamis at 303-545-9011 or dan@imba.com.
Contact: Dan Vardamis, IMBA advocacy coordinator
dan@imba.com, 303-545-9011
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