A big thank you for your support!
3 October 2013
The last couple of months were crazy times for IMBA Europe, like for everyone in the bicycle industry. From the extensive paperwork of our first EU grant application to our Eurobike program, followed by the Ride Mountain Bike Congress in Chur. Three events in the early stages of IMBA Europe that are pretty symbolic for what we aim to do in the future. Forging collaborations between mountain bike advocates, trail builders, the bicycle industry, tourism sector and governmental organizations to flourish mountain biking on the European continent. Without the network of the national mountain bike associations we weren’t eligible to apply for a EU grant, the Eurobike presentation and panel discussion showed the importance of strong industry support to grow the European mountain bike market and in Chur, it became clear mountain bike tourism is going up but that we also need to invest in purpose built mountain bike trails to make better use of the potential of the MTB tourism market. In this period we’ve met dozens of people with a great passion for mountain biking. Representatives from the bicycle and tourism industry, non-profit organisations and mountain bike associations who were so kind to meet or collaborate with us. This special newsletter is our way to show our appreciation. Special thanks go out to our Eurobike panel members Stan Day (SRAM), Frank Aldorf (Specialized), Hans Rey, Darco Cazin (Allegra Tourismus and Rich Cook (IMBA). To all the volunteers of DIMB who shared their booth with us and did an amazing job by collection more than 33.000 signatures for their petition against the restrictive 2-meter rule. And finally, we like to thank the staff of Chur Tourismus and Ride Magazine for a successful first edition of the Ride Mountain Bike Congress in Chur. What’s next? A new series of trail building schools starts this fall, new EU grant schemes are monitored and IMBA Europe’s strategic plan 2014-2016 will be presented in November. Just a small selection of all the plans we have that can only be carried out with your support . So stay in touch, connect to our network and start (or continue) supporting IMBA Europe to accelerate growth! Yours sincerely,IMBA Europe BoardHarold Veldkamp, PresidentMike van Abel, TreasurerAre Sorensen, SecretaryIMBA Europe DirectorMark Torsius