IMBA Canada eNews - April 2006

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http://www.imba.com/canada/index.html

1) CANADIAN NEWS:

* TOP 5 REASONS TO ATTEND THE IMBA SUMMIT/WORLD MTB CONFERENCE
* REGISTER NOW - TRAIL CARE CREWS COMING TO A TOWN NEAR YOU!
* MEC/IMBA CANADA TRAILBUILDING TOUR - STOPPING IN WOODSTOCK, ONTARIO
* 2006 TORONTO URBAN HOT SPOT CAMPAIGN OFF TO A GREAT START
* 100 KM OF SWEET SINGLETRACK
* 2006 SUGOI DIRT SERIES PREPARES FOR ACTION
* INTERNATIONAL TRAILS DAY IS TWO MONTHS AWAY

2) INTERNATIONAL NEWS:

* EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR MIKE VAN ABEL VISITS EUROPEAN PARTNERS
* IMBA ISRAEL MOVING FORWARD WITH NATIONAL BIKE TRAIL PROJECT
* GETTING BACK TO SINGLETRACK IN UTAH
* MOUNTAIN BIKING GROWING IN ARKANSAS
* FOX IMBA HEROES PROGRAM HONORS NEW JERSEY'S JAY JONES


-- 1) CANADIAN NEWS 
--------------------------------------------------------


TOP 5 REASONS TO ATTEND THE IMBA SUMMIT/WORLD MTB CONFERENCE

5) Sample the International Flavour. When else will you share stories, 
learn
about trails and talk riding with a collection of global mountain 
bikers?

4) Learn From Experts. Check out the newest management and trail 
techniques:
seminar and presentation topics include risk management, conservation,
shared-use communities, trail construction and more.

3) Get Looney. Join the world's largest "Looney" social ride with the
Whistler Off Road Bicycling Association, attend a local BBQ, dine at a 
gala
banquet with trials rider Ryan Leech and see the World Mountain Bike 
Film
Festival.

2) Save Your Dough. The event website has a message board for room 
shares
and other ways to help make this an economical trip — it might be the
cheapest way to visit Whistler this summer.

1) Ride, Ride, Ride. Soak in some of the best riding on the planet, 
from
family-friendly paths to epic cross country and world-famous freeriding 
at
the Whistler Mountain Bike Park.

http://www.worldmountainbikeconference.com/conferencehome.asp

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REGISTER NOW - TRAIL CARE CREWS COMING TO A TOWN NEAR YOU!

The Subaru/IMBA Trail Care Crews will soon be making their sweep across
Canada, teaching the art and science behind sustainable trail design,
construction, and management. The 2-day IMBA Trailbuilding Schools fall 
on
the weekend, and are free of charge and open to everyone. Register now 
to
reserve your spot!

    * May 18-21: Dieppe, NB
        National Cycling Centre - Atlantic Canada
        Contact Luc Arseneau: luc@atlanticcyclingcentre.com

    * May 25-28: Coaticook, QB
        Association pour de Developpement des Sentiers de Velo de 
Montagne
        au Quebec
        Contact Jerome Pelland: jerome@adsvmq.org

    * June 1-4: Caledon, ON
        Albion Hills Conservation Area
        Contact Adam Ruppel: chico@chicoracing.com

    * June 15-18: Duncan, BC
        Cowichan Valley Regional District
        Contact Danica Rice: drice@cvrd.bc.ca

For a complete list of visits across North America, visit:
http://www.imba.com/tcc/schedule.html

Learn more about the Trail Care Crew program:
http://www.imba.com/tcc/index.html

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MEC/IMBA CANADA TRAILBUILDING TOUR - STOPPING IN WOODSTOCK, ONTARIO

Join IMBA Canada and the Woodstock Cycling Club for a 2-day revival of 
the
trails in "The Pines" Conservation Area April 29-30. Thinning of the 
forest
last year resulted in the loss of several fun and popular trails. Learn 
how
to build sustainable singletrack and help re-establish one of Southern
Ontario's great riding areas.

Contact Gerald Mueller for more info, or to RSVP: chgems@sympatico.ca

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100 KM OF SWEET SINGLETRACK

IMBA Canada's Mark Schmidt will be in Burns Lake, BC next week, 
starting the
ball rolling on 100km of brand new singletrack. While the project is 
just in
planning phase, Schmidt will return in the fall with a team of trail 
experts
to start the design of the trail system.

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2006 TORONTO URBAN HOT SPOT CAMPAIGN OFF TO A GREAT START

Designating Toronto as an "IMBA Urban Hot Spot" has already helped to 
raise
awareness of mountain bike issues in the GTA. More than 35 Toronto area
mountain bikers showed up at Sport Swap Friday, March 24, to kick off 
the
yearlong campaign.

Slideshow of the Hot Spot launch event at Sport Swap:
http://www.imba.com/resources/urban/slideshows/toronto_index.html

Hot Spot Schedule of Events:
http://www.imba.com/resources/urban/toronto_schedule.html

More about the Toronto Hot Spot:
http://www.imba.com/resources/urban/toronto.html

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2006 SUGOI DIRT SERIES PREPARES FOR ACTION

With a full schedule of 15 camps across Western Canada and the U.S., 
the
Whistler-based Sugoi Dirt Series is back for its sixth season of 
world-class
mountain bike instruction. In 2006, they will add hundreds more people 
to
the 2000 who have already taken the program and seen huge improvements 
in
their mountain bike skills, confidence, and general fun on the bike. 
The
camps cater to riders from beginner to advanced, and can serve as an
inspiring introduction to the sport, a systematic exposure to freeride
essentials, or a way to polish intermediate or advanced skills. While 
the
Series remains focused on women’s instruction, two of the camps, one at
Whistler and another at Mike Wiegele's Heli Skiing in Blue River, BC, 
are
co-ed.

http://www.dirtseries.com/

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INTERNATIONAL TRAILS DAY IS TWO MONTHS AWAY

Get outside, get active, and experience the wonders of trails in your 
own
backyard and across the country! June 3, 2006 is International Trails 
Day,
and IMBA Canada encourages you to plan a ride or trailwork day to 
celebrate.

Register your event on the International Trails Day website:
http://www.internationaltrailsday.com/index.html


-- 2) INTERNATIONAL NEWS 
---------------------------------------------------


EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR MIKE VAN ABEL VISITS EUROPEAN PARTNERS

Executive Director Mike Van Abel recently returned from a productive 
trip to
Europe. Visiting the Netherlands, Ireland, England and Scotland over 11
days, Van Abel concluded, "I saw the broadest spectrum of mountain bike
access, from the superb trail resources in Scotland to the nascent 
advocacy
scene in Ireland, all in a small geographical area." The trip was 
motivated
by an invitation from the Netherlands Bicycle Touring Association 
(NTFU) to
present IMBA's approach to trails stewardship and advocacy at their 
annual
Mountain Bike Conference.

Mountain Bike Ireland http://www.mtbireland.com/

Netherlands  http://www.ntfu.nl/

UK Home Site http://www.imba-uk.com/

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IMBA ISRAEL MOVING FORWARD WITH NATIONAL BIKE TRAIL PROJECT

A national bike trail project (Shvil Yisrael B'Ofanayim) in Israel is
progressing. With a MOU agreement drafted this winter, it appears that 
the
trail will run the length of Israel, from the Golan in the north to 
Eilat in
the south. IMBA Israel will coordinate volunteer participation from 
several
IMBA-affiliated clubs.

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GETTING BACK TO SINGLETRACK IN UTAH

Subaru/IMBA Trail Care Crew members Nat and Rachel Lopes, along with 
IMBA
National Mountain Bike Coordinator Zach Vanderkooy, visited Utah's 
Brian
Head Resort to help protect valuable trails being overrun by ATV use. 
Once
true singletrack, four-wheeled vehicles have widened the Bunker Creek 
Trail,
deteriorating both the trail and experience. Working with the Forest 
Service
and Color Country Bicycle Club, nearly 100 volunteer hours were donated 
to
install several features to prevent wider vehicles from accessing the 
trail.
Read more in Nat and Rachel's wrap-up:

Crew Visits Brian Head
http://www.imba.com/tcc/2005/brian_head.html?autologin=true&AddInterest=1007

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MOUNTAIN BIKING GROWING IN ARKANSAS

Mountain bikers in the Natural State (yep, that's the official state
nickname) are celebrating the completion of more than 12 new miles of
singletrack at the Syllamo Trail System, bringing the total to 50 miles 
of
awesome riding. In the Ouachita Mountains, approval has come in for a 
new
trail system around Lake Ouachita. The Hot Springs Bicycle Association 
is
working to bring new trails to some of the more than 500 miles of 
shoreline
and other spectacular terrain, eventually connecting to the Ouachita 
Trail
and the Womble trail. To check out more of the progress in Arkansas, 
visit
the OzarkOff-Road Cyclists here:

Ozark Off-Road Cyclists
http://www.ozarkoffroadcyclists.com/html/news.html

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FOX IMBA HEROES PROGRAM HONORS NEW JERSEY'S JAY JONES

In 2006, five superstars of dirt will be selected by IMBA staff for the
FOX/IMBA Heroes program. All FOX/IMBA Heroes will receive a new FOX 
Racing
Shox fork of their choice, and an assortment of gear and clothing, 
courtesy
of FOX. The first honoree is New Jersey's Jay Jones. A hero to mountain
bikers in the Garden State, Jay Jones has tirelessly worked to ensure 
New
Jersey riders have great places to turn the cranks. Jay served as part 
of
the Jersey-Off Road Biking Association (JORBA) leadership during its 
recent
reformation, led the local IMBA-affiliated club, Jersey Action Riders 
(JAR)
since 1997, co-founded the Delaware Valley Mountain Bike Patrol in 
2000, and
has served as an IMBA representative for southern New Jersey since 
2000. On
top of all this, Jay has spent thousands of hours supporting mountain 
biking
and protecting trail access in the Wissahickon Valley Park in 
Philadelphia.

For more about Jay's inspiring work, see the new issue of IMBA Trail 
News,
appearing in mailboxes later this month. Past issues of the Trail News 
are
available online:

Trail News Archives
http://www.imba.com/news/trail_news/index.html?AddInterest=1017