IMBA: Possible new direction for the MMBA

[Scotty]

So take a poll and and see who knew and who didn't see this coming?

Every time there's a poll it's the same few people participating in the poll. The request goes out for more people to participate, but they don't and we're right back at the same point again....with another poll. Can't we outsource these polls to Google or something?

[G.Cook]

I have some what come to the conclusion that the difficulty we have in attracting new members , and perhaps even maintaining membership , is that the MMBA is a victim of it's own success's in opening up trails to mtb'ers. We are blessed , to a certain extent , with a gluttony of rich's as far as trail access is concerned . Especially in S.E. Mich .
Folks coming into the sport have little or no realization why they have the access to the trails they ride . Why and how those trails are maintained for ride ability and safety .
I think those of us deep into the sport , and that also understand what it took to gain and maintain that access , have something of a disconnect with the greater mtb'ing community using the trails . It's been great for the DNR in terms of increased park usage but lousy for the MMBA in realizing increased membership for that access success .
If shedding the time consuming business side of running the MMBA to IMBA , and giving the focus over to educating the general mtbing public about why they have that access and why those trails are being built and maintained by the local chapters through out Michigan then , yeah , lets move in that direction .
It would be nice to have the scenario where in every trail user , especially mtb'ers , passing a trail worker by on the trail KNOWS without asking that they are volunteers and members of the MMBA/IMBA trail crew and DON"T work for the DNR .

[volklgirl]

It would be nice to have the scenario where in every trail user , especially mtb'ers , passing a trail worker by on the trail KNOWS without asking that they are volunteers and members of the MMBA/IMBA trail crew and DON"T work for the DNR .

Amen brother!

[bax]

I have some what come to the conclusion that the difficulty we have in attracting new members , and perhaps even maintaining membership , is that the MMBA is a victim of it's own success's in opening up trails to mtb'ers. We are blessed , to a certain extent , with a gluttony of rich's as far as trail access is concerned . Especially in S.E. Mich .
Folks coming into the sport have little or no realization why they have the access to the trails they ride . Why and how those trails are maintained for ride ability and safety .
I think those of us deep into the sport , and that also understand what it took to gain and maintain that access , have something of a disconnect with the greater mtb'ing community using the trails . It's been great for the DNR in terms of increased park usage but lousy for the MMBA in realizing increased membership for that access success .
If shedding the time consuming business side of running the MMBA to IMBA , and giving the focus over to educating the general mtbing public about why they have that access and why those trails are being built and maintained by the local chapters through out Michigan then , yeah , lets move in that direction .
It would be nice to have the scenario where in every trail user , especially mtb'ers , passing a trail worker by on the trail KNOWS without asking that they are volunteers and members of the MMBA/IMBA trail crew and DON"T work for the DNR .

X2 - When I ride out at Highland and walk up to the newly constructed kiosk, nowhere is there anything posted about the MMBA,or how those who use the trail benifit from this organization. I think there is an opportunity there to tell folks what you do, as well as ask for contributions, volunteer, or join...

[Loren]

There's a nice little plexi pamphet holder and a bunch of MMBA brochures with maps and trail info that is destined for every Metro South kiosk, as soon as those lazy TCs* get around to mounting them...

* you won't find this on the Lakeshore kiosk yet either. Sigh.

[scat silvurz]

X2 - When I ride out at Highland and walk up to the newly constructed kiosk, nowhere is there anything posted about the MMBA,or how those who use the trail benifit from this organization. I think there is an opportunity there to tell folks what you do, as well as ask for contributions, volunteer, or join...

Never noticed before at Highland! It's really up to the Chapters who have kiosks to decide if they want to spend cash to have signage made for the kiosks - I do know that Novi has an exemplary one, as well as Maybury.....perhaps you just volunteered for a project!!!?

These are the kinds of projects I was glad to head up when I was on the State Board. It's these types of customer [trail users] oriented projects that the MMBA will be able to do far more often if certain things come to pass......

[WallEyed]

Loren, the good news is that they have made their way into my car and I hope to get them up soon.

[Scotty]

Folks coming into the sport have little or no realization why they have the access to the trails they ride . Why and how those trails are maintained for ride ability and safety .
I think those of us deep into the sport , and that also understand what it took to gain and maintain that access , have something of a disconnect with the greater mtb'ing community using the trails .

You can't mobilize a large number of people without clearly defining who their enemy is.

[G.Cook]

You can't mobilize a large number of people without clearly defining who their enemy is.

I guess that could happen if equestrians plan to gain access to the ILRA trails with the blessings of the DNR .
In bold print ,EQUESTRIANS GIVEN ACCESS BY DNR TO ILRA TRAILS , then a follow up of why they should support MMBA/IMBA to prevent this type of action .

[Scotty]

You can't mobilize a large number of people without clearly defining who their enemy is.

I guess that could happen if equestrians plan to gain access to the ILRA trails with the blessings of the DNR .
In bold print ,EQUESTRIANS GIVEN ACCESS BY DNR TO ILRA TRAILS , then a follow up of why they should support MMBA/IMBA to prevent this type of action .

I don't think the everyday mountain biker has any idea of who and what is out there trying to take away their right to ride. It isn't because people are lazy. It's just that all they see are open trails and some feel good organization that seems to be working on it. Then, once you pay your membership and start following along with what's going on, you hear an awefull lot about how much physical labor you should be doing.

The MMBA should be framing mountain bike access as our "Right To Ride." And highlighting the groups or people who are out there trying to take away your Right To Ride.

The biggest threat to the MMBA isn't the fact that board members don't want to paperwork, or lazy bike racers. It's the Equestrians, Hikers and ignorant beurocrats that want to take away our right to enjoy OUR public land.

[Indytrekracer]

View from Indiana

Yes, Indiana is keeping an eye on what happens with Michigan and I would like to see a regional IMBA chapter. HMBA has talked about the IMBA Program and is on board, if we can get other States to go in and work towards having an IMBA staff person in the region. We have a more centralized organization and can move pretty easily if Michigan figures out a frame work that will work.

I try to keep an eye on what is going on in Michigan, but am just and outsider looking in. So I am impartial to some of the discussions on this thread.

One of the challenges I see is that local issues are typically the most important to riders. They want to know that their membership dollars are going to mean more trails in there local area....Until there is a State or National issue that impacts them locally. Then they expect the State or National group to be there. But, the State and National groups struggle because the locals didn't provide funding to support them until they are needed.

I don't think that a basic membership is enough to support the local, state, and national issues that must be addressed to advance and protect our access to mountain bike trails. To start off with, $10 to $15 per membership go to insurance and processing costs. For those who only contribute the basic membership fee, that leaves $10 to build and maintain local trails, and to advocate at the state and national level.

I have always made a point to Indiana mountain bikers that the basic membership fee just pays for the basic operation costs. Insurance, website, accounting fees, audit costs, mail box fees, etc..... Basic membership doesn't build trails, advocate for trails, fight for trails, etc.....

If riders want more, then they need to find additional ways to contribute. For some, that is a financial donation, for some time swinging tools in the woods, and for others its volunteering to run the organization. Keep in mind that it is important to respect everyone who contributes.

Often I see a lot of effort wasted in fighting over who gets the basic membership fee. This leads to fighting that really discourages those who have stepped up as leaders. I suggest we stop worrying about who gets the $25. Take that energy and fund raise, advocate, build trails, or maybe even ride our bikes.

If people think having a lobbyist is important, then they need to contribute to a state advocacy fund and not expect just their basic membership fee to cover it.

This isn't selling out to IMBA, this is letting IMBA take on one of the painful parts of running a state or local group and freeing up resources to work on local and state wide issues. And it is a step forward to the long term need to have strong local, state, and national organizations their to promote and defend mountain biking.

Paul Arlinghaus
President HMBA

[Washington Rider]

After reading through the post it appears all of the initial positions/opinions are clear and now we are just going in circles with the same issues. I see the MMBA organization as having grown/evolved to a point where it's too big to manage easily yet too small to hire it's own staff, which really seems to be the bottom line in addressing the burnout factor.

Like any organization, you are either growing or dying. To maintain success we have to build our membership to the point where we can hire full time folks rather than burning out those willing to donate their time. Building our membership to that point would take a massive, sustained effort. Since that does not seem a likely possibility then I am in favor of the IMBA option as it seems to fill that gap. As someone pointed out, we are lucky to have IMBA as an option on the table. I am also confident that given our size in membership, we can have a significant influcence over any policy/procedure with IMBA that does not meet our needs.

I agree that merging with IMBA will not solve all of our issues but will remove a significant level of administrative duties to help us focus on solving what issues remain. I for one, still plan on donating my time to help fight for what we have (or what we can lose) at the local and state level.

[Di_bear]

After reading through the post it appears all of the initial positions/opinions are clear and now we are just going in circles with the same issues. I see the MMBA organization as having grown/evolved to a point where it's too big to manage easily yet too small to hire it's own staff, which really seems to be the bottom line in addressing the burnout factor.

To maintain success we have to build our membership to the point where we can hire full time folks rather than burning out those willing to donate their time.

I completely agree with this. Unfortunately, this is not the expertise of the current board. I, for one, am currently looking to give away certain responsibilities.

[wingzz]

After reading through the post it appears all of the initial positions/opinions are clear and now we are just going in circles with the same issues. I see the MMBA organization as having grown/evolved to a point where it's too big to manage easily yet too small to hire it's own staff, which really seems to be the bottom line in addressing the burnout factor.

To maintain success we have to build our membership to the point where we can hire full time folks rather than burning out those willing to donate their time.

I completely agree with this. Unfortunately, this is not the expertise of the current board. I, for one, am currently looking to give away certain responsibilities.

but that is for reasons other than burnout, (I'd think)

[Doc_d]

I think we should outsource to India. The BMBA (Bangalore mountain bike associate) is more than willing to take over the operation.


Seriously though, so what is the plan? I've tried to keep up on this thread, so I apologize if I missed it. Is there going to be a membership vote on this issue? Or is this something the board can decide to do on their own? Where does this go from here and what kind of timelines are involved?