Freewheel Bike held their 2nd annual Winter Bike Expo ("the world headquarters of winter riding fanatics") yesterday at their Midtown Bike Center. The fat bikes were everywhere (Surly and Salsa each had a big presence) and since I’m doing some work on the 2nd Annual Fat Bike Winter Summit & Festival coming up in January, the Expo gave me a picture of how much enthusiasm there is here in Minnesota for fat biking.
I hadn’t planned on going but on Friday night, I had dinner with Aaron Hautala, president of the Cuyuna Lakes Mountain Bike Crew and while I was under the influence, he influenced me to go. I got to chew the fat (heh) again with former Northfielder John Gaddo, Outside Sales Rep at QBP (Quality Bicycle Products). He introduced me to Joe Meiser, Q’s Product Design Manager who, just a few days ago, had sent me all his photos from the 1st Annual Fat Bike Summit for posting on the site. I also got to talk fat bike advocacy with IMBA Midwest Regional Director Hansi Johnson.
I took a photo of Hansi and Aaron, two guys who, unlike me, actually know what they’re doing with a camera. (See some of Aaron’s photos on his Sweet Cuyuna Living’ blog; see some of Hansi’s photos on his Universal Klister blog.) Alas, I was laughing when I took their photo and ended up with a very blurry image. So I’ve covered up my mistake with a stylized version of it. My choice of red was influenced by red accent that Aaron has used all over his Cuyuna Series G Surly Moonlander, which he had just outfitted with monster 4.8" Bud and Lou tires from Surly, complete with red valve stem caps.
QBP and Fitzgerald’s Bicycles are teaming up to host the 2nd Annual Fat Bike Winter Summit & Festival, Jan. 25-27 in Island Park, Idaho. The Summit (Friday) is for land managers, parks staff, and policy makers to learn more about fat biking in winter and to discuss possible changes in policies. The Festival (Sat/Sun) is for anyone.
I’m part of the team working on this event, helping with the blog, Twitter, webinars, Facebook, etc. And if all goes as planned, I’ll be at the event posting updates throughout… and hopefully doing a fair amount of fat biking in between.
We started started sending out this media release today and we’re starting to do a little online promo.
If you’ve got suggestions or questions, fire away.
This two-day trip will examine their recipe mix of new infrastructure, education, and advocacy that won this accolade. Special attention will be given to how cycling is being integrated into the transit community, and look at the economic impacts of cycling within the MSP area.
Utah delegation members City of Ogden: Mayor Mike Caldwell City of Ogden: Josh Jones UTA: Matt Sibul UTA: Darci Taylor Bike Utah: Scott Lyttle, Executive Director Bike Utah: Brad Woods, Board President WFRC: Andrew Gruber, Executive Director WFRC: Jory Johner Salt Lake County Planning: Max Johnson Davis County: Commissioner Louenda Downs Utah County: Commissioner Larry Ellertson Eagle Mtn: Mayor Heather Jackson MAG: Shawn Seager UDOT: Evelyn Tuddenham SLC Transportation: Dan Bergenthal
Robbie and I attended the world premiere of Reveal the Path at the Riverview Theater in Minneapolis last night, along with a few hundred other bike nuts:
A visually stunning adventure by bike: Reveal the Path explores the world’s playgrounds in Europe’s snow capped mountains, Scotland’s lush valleys, Alaska’s rugged coastal beaches and Morocco’s high desert landscapes…
Filmed across four continents and featuring Tour Divide race legends, Matthew Lee & Kurt Refsnider, this immersive film is sure to ignite the dream in you.
Luminaries from QBP and its Salsa Cycles division, the main sponsor of the movie and the event, were on hand. They were marginally adequate as movie theater attendants:
Left: John Gaddo, QBP Outside Sales Rep Center: Andy Palmer, Salsa Customer Service Right: John Gaddo and Jason Boucher, Salsa General Manager. See Jason’s ImagineGnat blog ("Bicycles – Photography – People – Exploration")
Some other bike nuts at the schmooze fest in the theater lobby:
Here’s a Slideshare view of Gary’s Powerpoint presentation that can be viewed while listening to the audio. Or you can download the original Powerpoint file now available on the Kick-Off Open House page.
Gary said that the League’s first initiative is to form a high school mountain bike racing league in here in MN. Other cycling sports might be supported at a later date but that the National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA) believes that mountain biking is the ‘T-Ball’ of cycling. The League’s events will be open to individual student riders but organizers also believe that forming high school teams is the best way for students to learn the skills and how to ride safely.
Organizers helped the attendees meet each other in geographic groups to facilitate planning. I got together with some guys from Cannon Falls and Red Wing and we’re exploring the possibility of forming a Cannon River Valley regional team, to include those towns plus Faribault and Northfield.
Here’s a Slideshare view of a presentation that can be used when presenting the concept to school administrators. Or you can download the original Powerpoint file now available on the Kick-Off Open House page.
I met Erik Saltvold back in 2000 when we were both members of an Inner Circle business group. He paid a visit to Northfield in 2008 for the annual Jesse James Bike Tour, as his shop is a Tour sponsor and provides mechanical support for the 1,000+ riders. I didn’t realize it till I looked at photos from 2008 but Libby Hurley, Marketing & PR Manager for Erik’s Bike Shop, was also in Northfield that day and there last night as well (on the right in the right photo above), helping to staff the the National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA) booth. Libby’s also doing PR work for the MN Cycling League. See the Media Center page for contact info.
I attended the Feb. MORC Board meeting on Monday, held at QPB headquarters in Bloomington. I’m interested in getting more involved in the organization, though I’m not sure yet what it might be. I asked about the existence of MORC committees (eg, membership, volunteers, marketing, finance, events, etc.) and evidently some are in the works.
MORC’s About Us page has info about the board and the organization, though it looks like that page needs some updating.
If you care about bicycling for yourself, your kids or your town, you should know what Gary Sjoquist is up to.
I met Gary over beers in Crosby, MN a month ago (left photo, blog post here). He’s the Director of Advocacy for Bloomington, MN-based QBP (Quality Bicycle Products), one of the largest bicycle parts distributors in the world. He invited me to take a tour of QBP’s headquarters and yesterday I took him up on his offer. (Photo album below.)
Gary’s the director of the Minnesota Mountain Bike Series, a non-profit organization that, besides hosting the races, uses the entry fees to fund:
Trips for Kids, “which provides inner city kids the opportunity to experience mountain biking on our Minnesota trail system.”
The new Minnesota High School Cycling League, “a newly formed Minnesota State High School League-sanctioned sport that begins competition in September of 2012.”
Bikes Belong Coalition was formed in 1999 as the national coalition of bicycle retailers and suppliers working to put more people on bikes more often. U.S. bicycle companies recognized that they could accomplish more for bicycling by working together than by working independently. From helping create safe places to ride to promoting bicycling, we carefully select projects and partnerships that have the capacity to make a difference… Additionally, we operate the Bikes Belong Foundation to focus on children’s programs and bicycle safety.
As you’ll see in my photo album, QBP’s headquarters and distribution center is not only huge, but spectacular. And it’s got a reputation as a great place to work. Their Career and benefits page has the details on why.
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