IMBA Europe Summit Report

IMBA Europe’s 2018 Summit in Slovenia was the most international edition so far. With attendees from 23 different countries, the event showed the need and urgency to share knowledge, ideas and opinions between different countries and to work together on EU level projects. Spring just arrived in time in Slovenia and although some trails in Kranjska Gora were still covered with snow, the sun and backdrop of the Julian Alps provided a stunning view for the attendees during the breaks.Friday’s program kicked off with IMBA member and project meetings. IMBA Europe welcomed 5 new members to their family. The Portuguese Cyclist Federation and Macedonian Mountain Bike Association joined as full members while Yllas travel association (Finland), Bulgarian Cycling League and Latvian Mountain Bike League joined as associate members.At the same time, the European Organisation of Mountain Bike Instructor-Guides welcomed 2 new national training providers to join the scheme and worked on the protocols for the first European exams in September 2018. Just one door further, the Slovenian inter-ministerial working group talked about Slovenia’s cycling strategy and addressed legaslative issues which are still a threshold for the development of mountain biking in Slovenia. A fruitful start of the day.In the afternoon, Adrian Greiner of BikePlan AG, Veikko Virkkunen of Parks & Wildlife Finland and Andreas Holzer of Villach Tourismus delivered their keynote speeches about the economic, environmental and transnational aspects of mountain bike development. The panel discussion afterwards included Eva Štravs Podlogar, the Slovenian state-secretary of the ministry of Economics, Aleš Zdešar (Triglav National Park), Peter Dakskobler (Slovenian MTB Consortium) and IMBA Europe President Thomas Larsen Schmidt. Moderator Miha Šalehar took advantage of the opportunity, asking when the state-secretary would set aside more financial resources for mountain bike development and how the government would work on less restrictive access legislation for mountain bikers. With the upcoming elections in Slovenia, the MTB lobby kick-started in Kranjska Gora. [[{“fid”:”1074″,”view_mode”:”media_responsive”,”fields”:{“format”:”media_responsive”,”alignment”:””,”field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]”:false,”field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]”:false},”link_text”:null,”type”:”media”,”field_deltas”:{“1”:{“format”:”media_responsive”,”alignment”:””,”field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]”:false,”field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]”:false}},”attributes”:{“height”:453,”width”:680,”class”:”media-element file-media-responsive”,”data-delta”:”1″}}]] Opening ceremony at Planica Nordic Center The official opening ceremony took place at Friday evening at the Planica Nordic Center, a modern ski jumping centre just out of town. After welcoming words of the mayor of Kranjska Gora, the Slovenian mountain bike community proudly presented themselves, showing their trail projects and how they won the title ‘best European MTB community 2017’. The European MTB guide-instructor project celebrated another milestone, certifying the first group of tutors to deliver the new foundation courses. [[{“fid”:”1075″,”view_mode”:”media_responsive”,”fields”:{“format”:”media_responsive”,”alignment”:””,”field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]”:false,”field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]”:false},”link_text”:null,”type”:”media”,”field_deltas”:{“2”:{“format”:”media_responsive”,”alignment”:””,”field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]”:false,”field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]”:false}},”attributes”:{“height”:453,”width”:680,”class”:”media-element file-media-responsive”,”data-delta”:”2″}}]][[{“fid”:”1076″,”view_mode”:”media_responsive”,”fields”:{“format”:”media_responsive”,”alignment”:””,”field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]”:false,”field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]”:false},”link_text”:null,”type”:”media”,”field_deltas”:{“3”:{“format”:”media_responsive”,”alignment”:””,”field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]”:false,”field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]”:false}},”attributes”:{“height”:453,”width”:680,”class”:”media-element file-media-responsive”,”data-delta”:”3″}}]]Mountain biking is therapy? Addressing the health agendaSaturdays program kicked off with three keynotes. Starting with Jana Apih and Peter Dakskobler, explaining the Green Scheme of Slovenian Tourism, followed by Lisa Roberts to address a whole different policy field related to mountain biking: mental health. Some people will say mountain bikers need therapy, but here we learnt mountain biking is therapy and can be a viable mental health intervention. And, as ECF’s development director Kevin Mayne added to the conversation, the health agenda will get a more prominent role at the EU level, offering future funding opportunities for cycling interventions. [[{“fid”:”1077″,”view_mode”:”media_responsive”,”fields”:{“format”:”media_responsive”,”alignment”:””,”field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]”:false,”field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]”:false},”link_text”:null,”type”:”media”,”field_deltas”:{“4”:{“format”:”media_responsive”,”alignment”:””,”field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]”:false,”field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]”:false}},”attributes”:{“height”:453,”width”:680,”class”:”media-element file-media-responsive”,”data-delta”:”4″}}]][[{“fid”:”1078″,”view_mode”:”media_responsive”,”fields”:{“format”:”media_responsive”,”alignment”:””,”field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]”:false,”field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]”:false},”link_text”:null,”type”:”media”,”field_deltas”:{“5”:{“format”:”media_responsive”,”alignment”:””,”field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]”:false,”field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]”:false}},”attributes”:{“height”:1020,”width”:680,”class”:”media-element file-media-responsive”,”data-delta”:”5″}}]]Breakout sessionsIn the afternoon, attendees participated in breakout sessions that ranged in topics from volunteer management, suburban trail systems, access and advocacy, the impact of mountain biking on birds, to the use of digital applications to build strong MTB communities and trail grading systems. A second advocacy workshop by ECF and trail builders round table in which the need for training, professional recognition and a possible EU trail development framework was discussed and agreed on, marked the end of Saturday’s busy program.‘The most valuable part of the Summit is bringing people together, learn from each other and experience first hand what great things can happen when mountain bike communities grow and get better organized. I believe the European Summits are very important to create valuable connections for advocacy at the EU level and to get new transnational initiatives rolling ‘said IMBA Europe president Thomas Larsen Schmidt. ‘We also hope that the Summit will have a positive outcome for mountain biking in Slovenia. The natural assets are incredible, there’s a huge potential to develop mountain biking in a responsible way and the MTB community is all fired up to take their beloved sport to the next level. We hope the Slovenian government will notice this too and use this momentum to take away some access barriers and provides the support the Slovenian MTB community deserves. [[{“fid”:”1079″,”view_mode”:”media_responsive”,”fields”:{“format”:”media_responsive”,”alignment”:””,”field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]”:false,”field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]”:false},”link_text”:null,”type”:”media”,”field_deltas”:{“6”:{“format”:”media_responsive”,”alignment”:””,”field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]”:false,”field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]”:false}},”attributes”:{“height”:453,”width”:680,”class”:”media-element file-media-responsive”,”data-delta”:”6″}}]] Sunday – getting outsideOn Sunday, the event venue was exchanged for the outdoors. Attendees opted for a technical site visit to one of the local trails, a visit to Triglav National Park and the Slovenian Alpine museum or just enjoyed a relaxing sunny spring before getting ready for a guided ride in the afternoon. The view after the first climb (and hike) is well worth the effort. Sitting on a hilltop, overlooking the turquoise blue waters of Lake Bled is just magnificent and shows what great natural assets Slovenia has to offer. [[{“fid”:”1080″,”view_mode”:”media_responsive”,”fields”:{“format”:”media_responsive”,”alignment”:””,”field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]”:false,”field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]”:false},”link_text”:null,”type”:”media”,”field_deltas”:{“7”:{“format”:”media_responsive”,”alignment”:””,”field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]”:false,”field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]”:false}},”attributes”:{“height”:453,”width”:680,”class”:”media-element file-media-responsive”,”data-delta”:”7″}}]] [[{“fid”:”1081″,”view_mode”:”media_responsive”,”fields”:{“format”:”media_responsive”,”alignment”:””,”field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]”:false,”field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]”:false},”link_text”:null,”type”:”media”,”field_deltas”:{“8”:{“format”:”media_responsive”,”alignment”:””,”field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]”:false,”field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]”:false}},”attributes”:{“height”:453,”width”:680,”class”:”media-element file-media-responsive”,”data-delta”:”8″}}]] MondayBike Galaxy and the local trail crew of the Golovec Trails organized the after-Summit ride in Slovenia’s capital Ljubljana for attendees that extended their stay in Slovenia. Ljubljana is already a leading cycling city and recently joined ECF’s Cities and Regions for Cyclist global network. The guides of Bike Galaxy were eager to show the potential of Ljubljana as mountain bike capital. In less than 10 minutes riding from the city centre, you already enter the forest which is rising about the eastern part of Ljubljana. Add another 10-15 minutes and you reach the purpose build Golovec trails. Numerous great trails for different skill levels.Afterwards, the city of Ljubljana literally let us taste the city with a lunch on the embankments of the Ljubljanica river. When cycling through the streets, it’s clear this city is a perfect weekend getaway. Combine beautiful architecture with a visit to the National Gallery or Museum of Modern Art, taste the great food in one of the numerous cafes and of course, go out on a bike ride just outside of town to enjoy a few hours riding trails in the small wooded hills of this subalpine region.[[{“fid”:”1082″,”view_mode”:”media_responsive”,”fields”:{“format”:”media_responsive”,”alignment”:””,”field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]”:false,”field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]”:false},”link_text”:null,”type”:”media”,”field_deltas”:{“9”:{“format”:”media_responsive”,”alignment”:””,”field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]”:false,”field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]”:false}},”attributes”:{“height”:453,”width”:680,”class”:”media-element file-media-responsive”,”data-delta”:”9″}}]] [[{“fid”:”1083″,”view_mode”:”media_responsive”,”fields”:{“format”:”media_responsive”,”alignment”:””,”field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]”:false,”field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]”:false},”link_text”:null,”type”:”media”,”field_deltas”:{“10”:{“format”:”media_responsive”,”alignment”:””,”field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]”:false,”field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]”:false}},”attributes”:{“height”:453,”width”:680,”class”:”media-element file-media-responsive”,”data-delta”:”10″}}]]