Tag: <span>Matt Andrews</span>

20th Anniversary MORC Gala at the Varsity TheaterThe 20th Anniversary MORC Gala at the Varsity Theater in Minneapolis on Sunday was fabulous. As a MORC board member, I’m more than a little biased, of course.  So with that caveat, here’s a glimpse into the wingding.

Kristin Clark, MORC Board member, meteorologist, and 2WheelWeather bloggerThe doors opened at 2pm for the Surly Brewing Happy Hour, with live music by The Lost Wheels. MORC Board member, meteorologist, and 2WheelWeather blogger Kristin Clark (@2WheelWeather & @KClarkWx) was the Master of Ceremonies and began her duties by introducing each of the speakers.

Advocacy Fundraiser Photo album

MORC Gala

I have a little story to tell but if you want to get all the info about the MORC 20th Anniversary Gala coming up on Nov. 9, CLICK HERE. More on the Gala’s Facebook event page here.

MORC tent at Cuyuna grand opening 2011

I took up the sport of mountain biking in serious way in June of 2011 after attending the Cuyuna Lakes Mountain Bike Festival Grand Opening. In the photo above, I’ve added an arrow pointing to the MORC and IMBA tents in the back of the parking lot at Cuyuna that weekend. I’d never heard of either organization but I became a member a few days later shortly after purchasing a a 2011 Trek Gary Fisher X- Caliber 29’er from Penn Cycle in Bloomington, courtesy of Ben Witt at Milltown Cycles in Faribault.  (If that makes no sense to you and you’re curious, click here.)

I’ve been hooked on mountain biking ever since, as evidenced by the 250+ posts to this Mountain Bike Geezer blog.  And in those 3 years, I’ve done 90% of my year-round mountain biking on MORC trails in the Twin Cities metro area.  I feel a kinship to the organization like no other because of what it’s given me: the enjoyment of a sport I love and the opportunity to meet and spend time with so many great people.  Being a MORC board member this year has been an honor, especially since it’s MORC 20th anniversary season, topped off with this big fundraiser Gala,

Matt Andrews and Pat Sorenson Gary Sjoquist and Pat Sorenson

I’m also pleased that Penn Cycle, where I bought the bike that I still ride nearly every day, has stepped up to be the Title Sponsor for the Gala. That’s founder/owner Pat Sorenson handing a check to MORC Executive Director Matt Andrews in the left photo.

Advocacy Fundraiser Organizations

Organizations Photo album

Last week I moderated a webinar and Q&A session with MORC President Reed Smidt and MORC Executive Director Matt Andrews.

Here’s my lightly edited 1 hour and 12 minute video of the session, with a Table of Contents of 46 clickable segments on the left side that allows you to quickly jump around to whatever interests you most.

Advocacy Organizations

Events Organizations Photo album

MORC Board meeting, 11.12.13 L to R: Porter Million, Reed Smidt, Susannah King, Matt Andrews MORC Board meeting, 11.12.13 MORC Executive Director Matt Andrews

MORC agenda 11.12.13I attended last night’s MORC Board of Director’s meeting at REI in Bloomington. The agenda, as usual, was packed. But this one was the first with an Executive Director’s report, as Matt Andrews has been on the job for a month. Based on what I saw and heard, Matt appears to be more than marginally adequate. Winking smile

2014 is shaping up to be a banner year for MORC. The organization will be celebrating its 20th anniversary and Matt and the Board are cooking up some great ideas for it. If you ride a mountain bike in the Twin Cities metro area, you should be a MORC/IMBA member. You can join MORC/IMBA here.

MORC logo IMBA logo join

Organizations

Matt Andrews, MORC Executive Director; Assoc Regional Director of IMBA Upper MidwestI last blogged about advocacy related to the MN River bottoms issue back in August (here).  Since then, Matt Andrews has started his new job as the new Executive Director of MORC and Associate Regional Director of IMBA’s Upper Midwest region.

The MORC Board has indicated that they want him to get up to speed on the issue, so those of us who’ve been involved have been bombarding him with PDFs, emails, and links to everything we can think of.

L to R: Matt Andrews, Dennis Porter, Don Youngdahl, Kent Karjala L to R: Matt Andrews, Kent Karjala, Don Youngdahl, Dennis Porter L to R: Kent Karjala, Dennis Porter, Matt Andrews, Don Youngdahl,

And today, he got taken to school—a tour through the MN River Bottoms from I35W to the Hwy 169 Bloomington Ferry Bridge and back, narrated by longtime MN River Bottoms dirt bosses Dennis Porter and Don Youngdahl, with Kent Karjala and I chiming in regularly.

The issue of adding a paved trail to this segment of the River Bottoms will heat up in January when the MN Legislature starts its 2014 session. A DNR request for funding for a paved trail through the River Bottoms from Cedar to 169 is likely to be included in the trails bonding bill.

The MORC Board hasn’t taken a formal position yet, as it’s not yet known whether the US Fish and Wildlife Service will allow two trails through the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge. I think it’s a safe bet that if only one trail is allowed and the DNR wants it paved, the MORC board will encourage mountain bikers to organize in opposition to the plan. If two trails are allowed (paved and natural surface), we’ll work to preserve the existing multiuse trail as much as possible, while collaborating on shared facilities like bridges and trailheads.

Advocacy