2016 IMBA Summit Bentonville, Arkansas

Earlier this month IMBA held their biennial World Summit in Bentonville, AR. The event provided a forum for learning, sharing ideas, and developing new collaborations. Attendees attended sessions that ranged in topics from women in mountain biking to e-bikes, and from bikepacking to advocacy. And between panels and lectures, attendees revelled in the riding to be had throughout Bentonville and the surrounding area.



Michelle Barker, the Director of Chapter and Regional Development at IMBA, was actively involved with the summit both in speaking sessions, leading chapter congress workshops, and collaborating on the summit VIP experience. She also assisted in designing the community and diversity strand and helped coordinate speakers for it. With the summit taking place is a less traditional location – as opposed to the mountain towns it’s been held in previously – Michelle noted the inspiration visitors took away from their visit to Bentonville. “Something I heard mentioned often was about the great variety of trails in Northwest Arkansas and how this impacts mountain bike destinations; specifically how great trail experiences can be created in a wide variety of environments and also, the power of community in creating great mountain bike experiences. We all experienced this first hand in Bentonville and it exists in many places around the world.”



Jenn Dice, Vice President – Business Network, PeopleForBikes Coalition, was also struck by the world-class trails in Bentonville. “North West Arkansas doesn’t just build trails, they build best in class trails and raise the bar in everything from flow, to TTF, to armoured berms to bike parks. Then they back it up with effective community building cycling groups, bikes in schools, NICA leagues, and more. The people and the leaders in Northwest Arkansas really make everything come together and we were there celebrating their work.”


This impression of Bentonville and the summit was widely experienced, especially by summit presenter, instructor, and performer; Ryan Leech. “Our sport has deep reach and potential to provide a lot of good in this increasingly digitized world. IMBA knows and represents this, and cities like Bentonville are proving what’s possible. Flowy, high quality, all level trails that connect neighbourhoods, schools, and longer more challenging rides. Our sport is not fringe, nor should access to nature be an exclusive thing. There are so many passionate mountain bikers working and volunteering their time and energy to help make their love for the sport available to more people. Ultimately, the message I got was that everyone at the Summit loves mountain biking, yet they love getting others into the sport even more.”


In addition to giving a presentation about how mental fitness skills need to be more explicitly connected to skill coaching in order to support long-term sustainable enjoyment of our sport, as well as teaching a yoga class for guests of the event, Ryan also performed in a trials show with Hans Rey and Danny Macaskill; three generations of trials riders. “I felt deeply honoured to be included. I was the ‘middle child’ in the show and I felt the inspirational pull going both directions - Danny’s mastery, amplitude and precision and Hans's longevity, care and dedication. It was a powerful force for me, especially when combined with an audience that was largely familiar with each of our careers - and who expressed that recognition through cheers and smiles.”




One of the most talked about presences at the summit was that of the NICA (the National Interscholastic Cycling Association) and their collaboration with IMBA, REI, and Shimano to create the Teen Trail Corps - a program designed by NICA and IMBA to inspire and train the next generation of trail stewards and advocates. Isabelle Phraner, a NICA Alumni presented at the summit’s VIP Reception dinner, “mountain biking has, for me, provided the tools to deal with the stressors of a rigorous academic and professional life, as well as teaching me the importance of community. It’s been very ‘learn by doing’ for me, and by seeing a strong mountain bike community in action, banding together to work for equal trail access and riding and celebrating together; I’ve found community and engaged and learned the value of it.” Isabelle felt that summit elevated her knowledge of mountain biking and the community involved in it. “Never before could I have even Imagined such a large, welcoming, tight knit group of bikers getting together and talking access and advocacy for five days. It was a life changing experience, especially so for me, since moving to college has provided me with a distinct lack of a cycling community.” Some of the key points that she took home with her were, “that mountain biking is the most equal of all sports for women, and the community is stronger than ever, despite being such a diverse group of people in terms of gender, race, sexual orientation or political views.”



Isabelle’s fellow Teen Trail Corps Captain, Spencer Ciammitti, also inspiration through the conference, “the most valuable part of the Summit was getting to experience first hand what can happen when a whole community gets behind and supports cycling. Bentonville really showed the results of this.” Spencer who describes himself just three years ago as, “13 years old and extremely obese,” had never participated in a team sport before he started mountain biking. “Mountain biking has forever changed my life and I am so incredibly grateful for it to have.” Currently he works closely with his local IMBA chapter (Desert Foothills Mountain Bike Association) and he says that after this summit he’s more determined than ever to make a difference in the city of Cave Creek, AZ. “I plan on doing this by seeing what we can do to build new trails and how we can get the city to support it. I encourage anyone who rides bikes for fun or competitively to seek out their local IMBA or trail organizations and just to try to give back an hour each month to the trails.”


Ashley Korenblat, owner of Western Spirit and founder of the non-profit, Public Land Solutions, presented at the summit as part of a panel speaking on the Wilderness Act. Despite the stakeholders not necessarily moving any closer to a united front, the summit provided a format for open dialog that engaged the audience on a well-debated topic. As for IMBA itself, Ashley gives a nod to all the IMBA chapters and mountain bike advocacy groups that build the trails that she takes her clients riding on. “There are thousands of miles of trails that have nothing to do with wilderness that IMBA is impacting.”


Another contentious topic at the summit was E-Bikes. The PeopleForBikes Coalition, Trek’s Gary Fisher, Specialized, Bosch, and representatives of the Colorado Office of Outdoor Recreation Industry spoke together about it. “E-Bikes, both on road and off, are a growing market segment and our job at PFB, in partnership with the bike industry and BPSA, is to clarify and streamline regulations and local laws to allow governments and land managers to make the best decisions possible for managing and regulating e-bike use,” says Jenn Dice. The have already passed model e-bike bills in four states, tweaked many more states, and have roughly twelve states on tap for new bills next year. “We also have a handful of pilot projects where land managers around the country are testing the social and environmental impacts of allowing Class 1 e-bikes on trails.”


With a wide range of interests and focuses the IMBA summit was successful in the exchange of ideas and the creation of valuable connections for advocacy internationally. “[IMBA’s] vision for the future is even more exciting,” says Jenn. “Mountain biking is growing in many places around the United States and IMBA has that magic formula of combining local advocacy leadership, cutting edge trail layout and design, and trusted land management partnerships to equal lighter fluid to mountain bike access and growth. The World Summit helped kick off the next era of IMBA and we are excited to support their critical work.”


Photographer: Liz Chrisman

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MENTIONS: @peopleforbikes

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