Oregon Bike Summit Report
I attended the Portland Bike Summit last Friday and Saturday. There were six PUMP members that I know in attendance. We had Roger Louton, Tom Archer, Paul Barlow, Wayne Naillon, Bob Crispin, and myself. There were also representives from COTA and IMBA.
Hill Abell, IMBA President was the keynote speaker and he did a spectacular job. Tim Blumenthal a former executive director of IMBA was also in attendance. I was able to sit down and talk with both of them on Saturday and it was great getting opinions and thoughts from national bike advocates.
We also heard from Earl Blumenauer on Saturday. Our own Roger Louton even managed to grab him for a minute to talk about the Mt Hood Wilderness proposal.
One other big thing to note is what the travel Oregon people are doing. Has anyone ever used the ski oregon website? They run this one and are putting together a bike oregon website. We will be able to post all of our events on this site to help advertise PUMP to visitors and people who have just moved here. This is supposed to be launching in 2009.
Here is what Jill Van Winkle of IMBA Trail Solutions had to say.
As Chris said- great work at the Summit! It didn't go exactly as we had planned, but anyone who was in attendance last year can attest that there was much more mountain biking content this year. We are poised to push the content for next year to further reflect the value of the sport to the state: in recreation, industry, health, and sustainable tourism. We had great conversations with key government and industry leaders and made connections with the broader cycling community. There was even a blurring of the Rogers: Louton talking about Share the Road, while Gellar pressed the importance of BMX and mountain biking!
There is a growing momentum, at Stubb, Oakridge, Bend, and Cascade Locks, but also in, the Holy Grail- Portland. Seattle, NYC, Philly, and DC have all made it work, Portland can too. The variety of mountain biking labels continues to grow, demonstrating the robust nature of the sport: Cross-country, Freeriding, Downhill, Cross Stuntry, All-Mountain, and we shouldn't forget cross-over activities like Cyclocross (I love watching CX- you can separate the roadies from the mtbers by seeing who gets off their bikes at the obstacles). More and more events showcase the simple fun of being on a bike, and that is where mountain biking is king.But we still have a long way to go. We still don't have any decent mountain biking in Portland. Epic riding areas like Ashland and Oakridge are still not on the national radar. We will continue to struggle with approvals for constructed features (but successes at Falls City and Stubb are KEY to opening doors all over the state and region). We are overshadowed by high-impact/high-infrastructure/high-maintenance recreational activities like golfing and skiing.
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Thanks!
Nice report Shane, & thanks to all of the other dedicated mtb'ers who attended.