Three years ago, Greg Heil reported on the San Diego Mountain Bike Association departing IMBA after a unanimous vote from the SDMBA board of directors. The decision had been a discussion for some time and was based on a few things: tens of thousands of dollars were going directly from SDMBA members to IMBA, without the actual affiliate chapter directly benefitting. The two organizations were also having “philosophical differences” over bikes in Wilderness and the support of e-bikes on non-motorized trails, and SDMBA members were mostly in support of the club’s independence.
Kevin Loomis, the SDMBA president at the time, indicated that a statewide club would be forming soon and that would help with legislative issues specific to California since IMBA had recently eliminated Area Regional Reps. The California Mountain Bike Coalition launched a year later in 2019 as a 501c4 nonprofit organization.
Loomis predicted that the hardest part would be managing their memberships efficiently. SDMBA decided to use a service called Memberleap, and said they’d be making the move easily replicable for other IMBA chapters. Three years later, things have changed, says SDMBA’s executive director Susie Murphy.
“So a couple things happened in that interim time. I worked not only on the stuff we have going on in San Diego, but I was also recruited to be a founding board member for the California Mountain Bike Coalition – and we formed that organization to kind of fill the void that IMBA was not fulfilling for us as trail advocates in California.”
With CAMTB’s 501c4 status, Murphy says that they could lobby and endorse more legislation and candidates and connect better with state agencies and legislators.
IMBA also revamped their chapter program making it more attractive and financially viable for affiliates, and rather than being a chapter, SDMBA became an affiliate for only $250. IMBA and CAMTB announced their partnership in April.
“It’s a very low buy in, we’re able to take advantage of IMBA’s expertise and resources that they’ve gathered over all the years and access webinars and things that they have,” she says. They can now apply for grants or work with Trail Solutions. The SDMBA board felt comfortable re-partnering with IMBA.
But all in all, “you can call it an olive branch,” says Murphy. She appreciates the federal work that IMBA is doing, the grants that are available, and that IMBA has reshaped some of their board, a sticking point for them years ago as they thought the board was a little too “industry heavy” and lacked diversity. She adds that IMBA was very helpful in getting CAMTB rolling as well.
Where are things with e-bikes and Wilderness between IMBA and SDMBA? The Wilderness issue was a sticky one for a lot of people at the time of IMBA’s non-support, but Murphy says that things are even muddier now, primarily because of the wariness around the bill’s sponsor, Republican Senator Mike Lee of Utah. IMBA’s position on Wilderness now is a little warmer too.
As far as e-bikes, “the attitudes of our general membership toward e-bikes has shifted some. It’s shifted in the board, it’s shifted in me.” CAMTB also has Bosch as a sponsor now, money she thought they’d never accept just a couple years back. They do support class 1 e-bikes now and class 1 and 2 e-bikes are legal in most areas around San Diego.
For SDMBA and CAMTB, the partnership is different and too good to pass up anymore. Murphy doesn’t want to say that the low price tag made the deal, but having IMBA’s resources, and supporting their efforts at the federal level made rejoining well worth it for them. “I want to know about those things, right? But I can’t keep track of it all. It’s too much.”
2 Comments
Jun 15, 2021
The good news - people and organizations can change! IMBA has since expanded its board which better reflects the community. They have been incredible in offering support to help CA MTB Clubs form the 501c4 CAMBA the California Mountain Biking Association (I am a founding member). Never once did they ask for compensation or guarantees - just their open hand of help. They have also found their place - working with federal agencies resulting in large wins and helping local clubs with local wins.
Another benefit was taking over membership. By fully owning and managing our membership, we've dramatically increased our userbase, increased our revenue, and become more closely connected and aligned with our community. Leaving IMBA was the right thing to do then, just as rejoining now is the right thing to do now.
Another reason for leaving was their No Bikes In Wilderness stance. While that has not changed (there is still hope!), IMBA has stopped their opposition. In addition, IMBA has helped push back wilderness boundaries that would have eliminated trail systems. They have also been instrumental in letting the community know when proposed wilderness areas are in jeopardy, allowing for changes and delays. In addition, CAMBA and other organizations are pursuing more balanced options. What I've learned in advocacy - compromise usually is when both parties do not get everything they want. Due to this, we are seeing more and more trails open in places rarely seen before - like some national parks.
As Susie mentioned, I too have personally changed my views on eBikes. I've seen many people getting back on the saddle who simply were unable to ride due to age or injuries. Seeing their health increase and their weight come off opened my eyes. The other aspect, more riders mean we need more trail! More riders also mean more elected officials are seeing more people on the trail. Our userbase is growing fast!
As Susie also mentioned, we are spending $250 per year (not 10x that amount) to support an organization that is truly being effective. I've always said I believed what IMBA was founded on - "United, riders can do more together." IMBA is back and I'm proud we've rejoined their organization.
Thank you IMBA for taking all our input, always having an open hand, and making many of
the changes we've desired.
Kevin Loomis
SDMBA - Vice President
CAMBA - Founder
Jun 16, 2021
The Wilderness Act clearly says "no other form of mechanical transport." STC's approach on that line was to say bicycles are not mechanical transport, only motorized vehicles are mechanical transport. Well, if the writers of the Wilderness Act wanted it to be only motorized vehicles banned from Wilderness Areas, they would have left no doubt and written it that way. STC's approach totally defies the laws of logic and the English language. It's obvious that "no other form of mechanical transport" can mean more than just motorized transport. After all, it says "no other form" in the sentence.
Even Ted Stroll, President of STC, has said the Bikes in the Wilderness Bill has no chance if the Dems hold any house of Congress. He said that back when the Republicans held both houses. Well, STC had 2 years where the Republicans had complete control of Congress and the Administration and they didn't get their stupid bill passed. They won't get it passed at any time over the 8 years of the Biden Administration.
Again, Kevin and SDMBA, the right thing to do is to admit you were wrong and denounce the Bikes in the Wilderness Bill. You should not be hoping IMBA changes their Bikes in the Wilderness stance, instead you should be embracing it and opposing the Bill yourself.
The Sustainable Trails Coalition employed the most right wing member of the US Senate, Mike Lee, to sponsor the Bill. This is a guy that was cheering when Trump reduced Bears Ear National Monument by 85% for a mining company. And it wasn't even a U.S. Mining Company, it was foreign.
And the announcement that Senator Lee has reintroduce the bill has been received with a big THUD. The only major outlets that had a story about it was Singletracks and Teton Gravity Research. In previous years several major bicycling news outlets covered the story. Basically, this story is dead. You should bury it and move on.
Kevin, I am totally happy that you have changed your views on ebikes. Ebike sales have been booming in Covid times. Bicycles are more and more being viewed as motorized vehicles, because they are. It just goes to show, the trends are moving away from having bikes in wilderness areas. The sooner you wake up to it, the better.
Todd McMahon, Preserving the PCT Facebook Page