On the Trail with IMBA

Hey you! Yeah, you with the Huffy! And you there with the Intense and the day-glo team kit! And all the rest of you too!

Let’s go ride.

Let’s take an afternoon and ride together. We’ll put all our differences aside, because today’s ride isn’t for training or for worrying about keeping up. It’s just a ride.

Today we’ll cruise through the city, diving in and out of urban trails. We’ll stop to cheer each other up a flight of stairs and we’ll give each other some good ol’ New Jersey style ball busting along the way. There will be no set mileage or pace, and if you dare to wear a heart rate monitor, we’ll stick a trout down your seat post when you’re not looking. The only set goal of this ride, 36 cyclists strong, is to have fun together. Some folks will session the skinnies and drop the drops, others will cry “FREEDOM!” while instigating derbies. A proud Englishman will stay proud after pulling himself out of the bushes for the 10th time. We’ll even have a woman show up for her first post-pregnancy ride. Her reappearance, only eight weeks after having a baby, assuaging our fears that mountain biking stops when parenthood begins.

You see, this isn’t the after work hammerfest, nor is it the killer epic. This is just a ride. It is the type of afternoon cruise that creates more mountain bikers. This is the ride that should exist in every community. It’s the ride that could exist in every community.

This particular event is the Gord’s Thursday Night Ride in Winnipeg, Manitoba. It is a well-known fact that no one will be turned away from this ride for being slow or out of shape, or for the bike they bring. If you get a flat or break a chain, the sweep will stay with you until it’s fixed. And if you start pushing the pace, well… have fun on your own.

The manager of Gord’s Bike Shop, JF Ravanelle, realizes that there is more to a successful bike shop than just stocking the hot goods and providing quality customer service. It is just as important to support the community and give new riders a place to start. He also sees how bike shops, local clubs, and an organization like IMBA can work together for the greater good. That’s why JF is the president of Gord’s Bike Club, and every Gord’s Bike Club membership includes an IMBA Canada membership.

He realizes something that most don’t - advocacy isn’t just about writing letters and building trails.

“I started mountain biking because of the Thursday Night Ride,” Jen II says after telling me that she had major back surgery only 8 months ago. This was a statement that would be reiterated by dozens of folks throughout the weekend.

The most important aspect of advocacy is often the one most ignored – building community. JF knows the secret of the bike club’s success, “People join Gord’s Bike Club for the community.” By building community, he’s building an army in waiting. Currently, there are no access issues to speak of in Winnipeg. Though, should issues arise, the 300 members of Gord’s will turn into a very loud, strong, and conspicuous army of advocates.

Until then, they just ride…

[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/9Wj9e0eQuFw" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]

As part of the Trail Care Crew, I’ve ridden some of the best trails in the world. But, this, by far, is one of the best rides I’ve ever been on.

-Kristin “FREEDOM!!!” Butcher

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 9th, 2007 at 8:40 am and is filed under Trail Care Crews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.