Founded in 1991 as Trail Conservation Services, the Colorado Mountain Bike Association has my respect and appreciation for the strides made and the countless volunteer hours dedicated over the years. Having served on the Board of Directors for the last three years, I believe it is now time to begin a new chapter for COMBA– redefining the organization as a more progressive, pro-MTB organization, by proactively working towards the interests of mountain bikers along the Colorado Front Range.
We have it good here, especially within the Jefferson County Open Space trail system and the variety of trails provided for our recreation. However, our “sport” is changing and growing– along with the local population. Bicycle technology is advancing rapidly, allowing even average riders to ride more technical trails, at faster speeds, than just a few years ago. Though our user-base may be skewing a bit older as the sport matures and long-time riders age, more and more people—young and old—are recognizing the joy in riding offroad. Local trails are becoming crowded, and user conflict may be up (or at least reported more often), as more folks from all user groups enjoy a limited number of trails.
As President of COMBA, I would strive to actively engage the MTB community to get more personally involved– to give voice to those of us who seek out a fulfilling, natural experience on a magnificent, two-wheeled, mechanical contraption… and to ensure that our children and their children have the same opportunity.
NEW VISION
As first order of business, I would prompt the new Board of Directors to dissolve the existing committee structure, which, in my opinion hasn’t worked well for our organization. Rather, I’d like to see us be more agile and dynamic, utilizing a project-based approach; this would allow us to more effectively allocate resources depending on the current task-at-hand, shifting focus and personnel as needed. The goal is to empower “Project Leaders” but also hold them accountable for dutiful progress. Likewise, another goal is to engage our volunteers in a more community-oriented atmosphere– where everybody knows everyone and knows what others are working on. Gone will be the days when formal committees met separately, and one person’s perception of COMBA might be an infrequent meeting of 3 or 4 people working on one issue. I propose that the BoD will meet every month, immediately followed by a 2 hour “work session” whereby all of membership is invited/encouraged to attend and get involved on current projects. Providing a sense of communal purpose and social interaction will, I believe, only help volunteers feel more committed to the organization and be more willing to recruit others to join/help the cause. Power in numbers, after all– both for internal efficiency and external influence.
Communication. COMBA has consistently failed here over the years. In my experience it is by far the complaint most often cited by members, current or former. While engaging membership at monthly meetings will go a long way to address this, we will need a sharp, dedicated focus to keeping our members (and the community at large) informed, via a consistent PR update schedule of what we are doing and how we are spending our time & money. I would dedicate one person’s whole attention to this matter, making them responsible for overseeing email communication and website updates, as well as press releases and other appropriate ways to “spread the gospel” about the hard work COMBA plans to undertake. Kyle Henley, a former journalist now working in Public Relations, has offered to fulfill this role, both as a Project Leader and ideally a member of the Board of Directors, and he has my confidence. Additionally, Hillary Seminick has offered to help produce a quarterly newsletter and assist with getting the word out.
Returning to Community– a shared sense of purpose can help to solidify a group of strangers. But there should be more to it than meetings or trail crews. All work and no play, yadda yadda yadda… after all, at the end of the day we’re all in this to ride bikes, right? The social component of mountain biking has been missing from the organization, and I’d like to rectify that. Whether it be group rides, events, or happy hour drinks debating the pros & cons of gears, “the family that plays together, stays together”. Michelle Beckman has graciously offered to look after Social Outreach, so that we don’t take ourselves too seriously and lose focus as to why we’re doing this.
Industry. Besides being lucky enough to get to attend Interbike, these folks have some valuable insight that needs to be exploited, er, tapped. So we’re not California (thankfully), but we’ve got our own thriving scene– including some great local bike shops—both independent and chain—and of course, more than a handful of manufacturers, both large and small. These folks are in the trenches, and in the case of shops especially, are face-to-face with mountain bikers on a daily basis. They should have representation, and to that end, I’m looking to Adam Williams, of Golden Bike Shop, and Joe Hanrahan, of Bicycle Village, to help us interact more closely with all local Front Range shops. Likewise, Anthony Sloan has been summarily “volunteered” by Yeti, to provide his insight and expertise both as a committed rider as well as an industry veteran and representative.
NEW MEMBERS
An organization is only as strong as its membership. Considering that our claimed “territory” (which—despite our name—I see as encompassing Buffalo Creek to Coal Creek Canyon) includes trails that arguably attract the most riders along the Front Range, it is inconceivable that our membership numbers are so consistently low. However, people need valid reasons to join and to part with their time and/or money, and we’ve never done a satisfactory job (in my opinion) of conveying to the cyclists of Denver and surrounding suburbs “why” they should join COMBA. After all, it is easy to take for granted the great trails and easy access we have, living or riding where we do. Subsequently, it is also easy to become apathetic to the situation at hand, unlike say, Boulder, where the Boulder Mountainbike Alliance has had huge successes in the last few years, fighting for access and working hard for new trail.
As population increases more trail users (from all disciplines) will flock to JCOS and other local trails… increasing the opportunity for conflict. I believe that in addition to education, providing new trails to alleviate congestion is a sensible approach. “New trail” also has the added benefit of motivating our constituency to join our ranks, as some will see it as a better use of their time, than say, maintaining a section of trail along Green Mountain. Don’t get me wrong, that maintenance/stewardship work is also important, but should not be our primary focus, in my opinion. JCOS has made it clear that they have a workforce of 200+ youth from which to put shovel-to-dirt, and though we may not all agree with their methods, that program seems to work for them. That said, I hope to increase our support for the successful “Mini-crew Trail Day” program– an independent initiative under the direction of Reven Swanson, made possible by her unique partnership with Jeffco and other local advocacy orgs. This program is an ideal and appropriate conduit between COMBA and JCOS, allowing us to concurrently focus on trail opportunities elsewhere without ignoring our “backyard”.
So my goal is to increase our membership to at least 200 members by the end of 2009, and hopefully that benchmark can be achieved early in the year so we can draw upon those people (YOU!) to help us accomplish the tasks at hand. Nate Wyant has thankfully offered to help with this endeavor, and it will keep him busy.
NEW TRAILS
As outlined above, I believe the pursuit of new trail construction will be key to our success. I’ve identified the following projects as the most reasonable attempts to that end:
Area 28, Idaho Springs
Continue to pursue this new trail system, which was jumpstarted by COMBA earlier this year, but is currently stalled while the City looks at easement issues. The goal here is a directional, “downhill” trail (phase 1), followed by a multiuse (AM/XC) trail system in future phases. There are some politics at play, but I’m cautiously optimistic that this project will come to fruition. I’d like to see this initiative headed up by David Rontal, who has thus far worked closely with Jason Bertolacci and I on this.
Municipal Bike Park
Earlier this year the President of Yeti and I met with City of Lakewood officials to at least start some dialogue about the possibility of a bike park in/around either Bear Creek Lake Park or Green Mountain (both Lakewood properties). While those two locations have essentially been ruled out, there may be other areas worth looking into. That said, I think I’ve found an ideal location within the jurisdiction of the City of Golden, where we could also pursue JCOS funds for assistance. Taylor Shull, after a briefing from Chris & I, had a meeting with the Mayor of Golden to try to get a feel for his position on mountain biking; the discussion was generally positive, though vague (a bike park wasn’t raised). Furthermore, IMBA has rolled out a like-minded program called “Gateway Trails” which could offer some valuable assistance for an undertaking such as this. I’d like to see Joe Hanrahan, an accomplished semi-Pro DH’er, work with Taylor to take the lead on this.
Buff Creek
The Front Range Mountain Bike Patrol has a long history of working with the USFS out at Buffalo Creek. That relationship has certainly proven worthwhile and reciprocal, as the Ranger(s) for the area recently approached them about building some advanced “freeride”-type trails within the park (yes, you read that right). Keith Clark and Stu Miller (co-founders FRMBP) have since been seeking the best organization to run with this opportunity; I have let Keith know that, should I get appointed President, I’d fully support this project moving forward under COMBA's leadership. Jason, Keith, and others have already scoped out the area for possible trail routes (rocks, drops, ledges, etc.). I’d like Jason Bertolacci to continue to take the lead on this, with Keith & Stu supporting and liaising with the Forest Service. We’ll be sure to keep you apprised of this exciting venture (and we’ll be looking for help).
The following two trail projects don’t have quite the priority of the aforementioned, but have some definite benefits to be worthy of our attention:
Staunton State Park
This is a new park, currently not open to the public, outside of Pine Junction along US285. It isn’t clear yet whether the new administrator(s) there support an IMBA-proposed trail plan, or if, in fact, they may even be anti-MTB. We need to keep our finger on the pulse of this, as it could have some political underpinnings and could serve to set precedent (for or against) for bike trails in other State Parks.
http://www.stauntonpark.com/
Trestle / Ruby Hill Bike Park
Winter Park (Intrawest) is working with the City of Denver to build an urban stunt park likely located at 6th & Federal. I’d like to see if/how COMBA could contribute to this project, as we have resources to share and it meshes nicely with our (proposed) new focus.
http://blogs.westword.com/latestword/
Finally, a long-term goal of mine—having started riding here in 1986—is an “inter-county connector” trail between Jeffco and Boulder– potentially allowing one to ride from White Ranch to either the new Dowdy/Marshall area, or even, ideally, Walker Ranch. This idea isn’t as farfetched as it may seem, as I’ve seen vague references to it in County documents (though of extreme low-priority status). There are issues related to the Railroad and the Denver Water Department, which own some of the land betwixt the two counties, but with the acquisition of the Coal Creek Canyon Open Space acreage, I’m hopeful. For that matter, a case could be made for a similar connector between Jeffco and Clear Creek, up the corridor towards Idaho Springs (Area 28, anyone?). Again, long term, back burner status.
So there you have it: my vision for 2009. It represents a significant change from the status quo, and of course the incoming Board of Directors would decide and act on these initiatives as a group. My role as President would be as a facilitator to make sure progress is being made, so as not to waste anybody’s time and talent. I intend to delegate and hold folks accountable; conversely, I’ll also look to empower people, too, so as not to get bogged down in “group think” and endless meetings. As Chief Evangelist I would make fundraising a major part of my mission (more on that later). Progress. New Trail. Relevance. I believe COMBA is at a tipping point– it could dissipate into the New Year quietly, or it could emerge as a powerhouse of energy and focus for Front Range mountain bikers. I hope you’ll help me re-invent this organization and leave it stronger than when we found it. *** JOIN COMBA NOW ***
I support the following individuals currently running for seats on the 2009 BoD: Michelle Beckman; Jason Bertolacci; Joe Hanrahan; Kyle Henley; Adam Williams; Nate Wyant.
Regards,
Terry Breheny
December 21, 2008
2 comments:
Go Mr. President, Go!!!!
Yes we can!
;-)
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