Joining a club

[Micheal Artindale]

When my brain starts thinking... it wont stop.

I was looking, and yes, my area does have a "cycling" club. It has seperate
rides for road and mountain.

Would It be a futile move to try to create a mountain bkie only club?

Thanks

Micheal

[tcmedara]

"Micheal Artindale" > wrote in message
...
> When my brain starts thinking... it wont stop.
>
> I was looking, and yes, my area does have a "cycling" club. It has
> seperate
> rides for road and mountain.
>
> Would It be a futile move to try to create a mountain bkie only club?
>
> Thanks
>
> Micheal
>
>
I think that would depend on how active the mountain bike contingent is in
the local club. There are a lot of clubs out there that claim to cater to
the entire cycling community but tend to be dominated by roadies. That's
not a bad thing, it just seems to be the norm.

I'd check out the local club and see what they have to offer. There are a
couple of basic outcomes or possibilities in my mind:

1) You may find a great group of like-minded mountain bikers already
organized and active. No further action required. Join, ride, be happy.
2) You may find a club that is looking to increase interest and
participation, but need someone to do the organizing and leadership. This
would give you a ready-made structure and member base to draw from as you
build a community of mountain bikers.
3) The club may be focused exclusively on GRS and have no interest in
support to mountain biking.

I'm sure there are a few other possibilities, but you get the idea. Check
out what's already there and then decide to join the group or strike out on
a new path. Good luck!

Tom

[Slack]

Micheal Artindale wrote:
> When my brain starts thinking... it wont stop.
>
> I was looking, and yes, my area does have a "cycling" club. It has seperate
> rides for road and mountain.
>
> Would It be a futile move to try to create a mountain bkie only club?
>
> Thanks
>
> Micheal
>
>
Not futile at all. Sometimes there is no existing club/group that is
serving the need. We had to create our own group for this very reason
http://ambpsocal.org/

But check with you local mtb shops, you might find something good
already established.

--
Slack

[Westie]

Micheal Artindale wrote:
> When my brain starts thinking... it wont stop.
>
> I was looking, and yes, my area does have a "cycling" club. It has seperate
> rides for road and mountain.
>
> Would It be a futile move to try to create a mountain bkie only club?

Only if no-one wants to join.

The existing club may do a good job at meeting the needs of both roadie
and off-road riders. There is certainly some advantages to combining
resources, and you can get economies of scale in several areas. There
is also an advantage for those riders that like to dabble a bit in both
disciplines - they don't have to go to two sets of meetings for two
different clubs.

How about joining and trying the exisiting club for a while and see how
it goes? Be aware that you should listen and keep your head down for a
while before trying to change things. Much like a newsgroup that I
won't mention by name, sometimes you can do more harm than good by
rushing in and going like a bull at a gate to change the things that you
perceive to need changing. Once you know how it all works with this
club, and the political situation in it (every club/board/group in the
world has politics to deal with) you can decide whether to form a new
club or make (gentle) changes to the existing one.
--
Westie

[[email protected]]

tcmedara wrote:
> 1) You may find a great group of like-minded mountain bikers already
> organized and active. No further action required. Join, ride, be happy.
> 2) You may find a club that is looking to increase interest and
> participation, but need someone to do the organizing and leadership. This
> would give you a ready-made structure and member base to draw from as you
> build a community of mountain bikers.
> 3) The club may be focused exclusively on GRS and have no interest in
> support to mountain biking.
>
> I'm sure there are a few other possibilities, but you get the idea. Check
> out what's already there and then decide to join the group or strike out on
> a new path. Good luck!
>
> Tom

4) Make sure the cost divided by pedal strokes makes it worth your
time.

[tillio]

wrote:
> tcmedara wrote:
> > 1) You may find a great group of like-minded mountain bikers already
> > organized and active. No further action required. Join, ride, be happy.
> > 2) You may find a club that is looking to increase interest and
> > participation, but need someone to do the organizing and leadership. This
> > would give you a ready-made structure and member base to draw from as you
> > build a community of mountain bikers.
> > 3) The club may be focused exclusively on GRS and have no interest in
> > support to mountain biking.
> >
> > I'm sure there are a few other possibilities, but you get the idea. Check
> > out what's already there and then decide to join the group or strike out on
> > a new path. Good luck!
> >
> > Tom
>
> 4) Make sure the cost divided by pedal strokes makes it worth your
> time.

Shouldn't you be ripping people off on Ebay instead of trying to get a
date on AM-B?

[Michael Dart]

Micheal Artindale wrote:
> When my brain starts thinking... it wont stop.
>
> I was looking, and yes, my area does have a "cycling" club. It has
> seperate rides for road and mountain.
>
> Would It be a futile move to try to create a mountain bkie only club?
>
> Thanks
>
> Micheal

No, it wouldn't. In Richmond we have a road cycling club and a mountain
bike/trails club. The road club does MTB rides but since VDOT takes care of
their other "trails" they expect someone else to do MTB trailwork.

But beware (Penny should agree) organizing MTBer's is a bit like herding
cats.

Mike

[small change]

Michael Dart wrote:
> Micheal Artindale wrote:
>> When my brain starts thinking... it wont stop.
>>
>> I was looking, and yes, my area does have a "cycling" club. It has
>> seperate rides for road and mountain.
>>
>> Would It be a futile move to try to create a mountain bkie only club?
>>
>> Thanks
>>
>> Micheal
>
> No, it wouldn't. In Richmond we have a road cycling club and a
> mountain bike/trails club. The road club does MTB rides but since
> VDOT takes care of their other "trails" they expect someone else to
> do MTB trailwork.
>
> But beware (Penny should agree) organizing MTBer's is a bit like
> herding cats.
>
> Mike

yes, be very sure that starting a club is what you really want to spend
your time and energy doing.

What I looked at is what the other riding club/groups were doing, and
whether my needs were being met. In our community, we have TONS of shop
rides, and a few strong outdoors groups that do a lot of rides. But no one
was doing any advocacy work or trail work. So the focus of our new club is
trail work and advocacy, with some social rides thrown in every now and
then.

Putting together a group that rides every now and then is one thing; putting
together a real organization is another thing entirely.

Mike, we actually had **8** people at our work day, and not counting me
running for president in the first election in November, we have volunteers
for every board position. Now if we can just get a quorum at the next two
meetings....

Penny

[Ride-A-Lot]

small change wrote:
> Michael Dart wrote:
>
>>Micheal Artindale wrote:
>>
>>>When my brain starts thinking... it wont stop.
>>>
>>>I was looking, and yes, my area does have a "cycling" club. It has
>>>seperate rides for road and mountain.
>>>
>>>Would It be a futile move to try to create a mountain bkie only club?
>>>
>>>Thanks
>>>
>>>Micheal
>>
>>No, it wouldn't. In Richmond we have a road cycling club and a
>>mountain bike/trails club. The road club does MTB rides but since
>>VDOT takes care of their other "trails" they expect someone else to
>>do MTB trailwork.
>>
>>But beware (Penny should agree) organizing MTBer's is a bit like
>>herding cats.
>>
>>Mike
>
>
> yes, be very sure that starting a club is what you really want to spend
> your time and energy doing.
>
> What I looked at is what the other riding club/groups were doing, and
> whether my needs were being met. In our community, we have TONS of shop
> rides, and a few strong outdoors groups that do a lot of rides. But no one
> was doing any advocacy work or trail work. So the focus of our new club is
> trail work and advocacy, with some social rides thrown in every now and
> then.
>
> Putting together a group that rides every now and then is one thing; putting
> together a real organization is another thing entirely.
>
> Mike, we actually had **8** people at our work day, and not counting me
> running for president in the first election in November, we have volunteers
> for every board position. Now if we can just get a quorum at the next two
> meetings....
>
> Penny
>
>

Right. Also look at what the regional groups are doing. Some states
have a state-wide MTB group and smaller areas have regional groups, like
NEMBA (New England Mountain Bike Association). These groups then have
chapters for selected areas. Sometimes it's easier to be a chapter in
the larger group, because they help you get started. In NJ, we have
JORBA but they have been dormant for years. This is why I have begun to
start the NJMBA (www.njmba.org).


--
o-o-o-o Ride-A-Lot o-o-o-o
www.schnauzers.ws

[[email protected]]

Westie wrote:
> Micheal Artindale wrote:
> > When my brain starts thinking... it wont stop.
> >
> > I was looking, and yes, my area does have a "cycling" club. It has seperate
> > rides for road and mountain.
> >
> > Would It be a futile move to try to create a mountain bkie only club?
>
> Only if no-one wants to join.
>
> The existing club may do a good job at meeting the needs of both roadie
> and off-road riders. There is certainly some advantages to combining
> resources, and you can get economies of scale in several areas. There
> is also an advantage for those riders that like to dabble a bit in both
> disciplines - they don't have to go to two sets of meetings for two
> different clubs.
>
> How about joining and trying the exisiting club for a while and see how
> it goes? Be aware that you should listen and keep your head down for a
> while before trying to change things. Much like a newsgroup that I
> won't mention by name, sometimes you can do more harm than good by
> rushing in and going like a bull at a gate to change the things that you
> perceive to need changing. Once you know how it all works with this
> club, and the political situation in it (every club/board/group in the
> world has politics to deal with) you can decide whether to form a new
> club or make (gentle) changes to the existing one.
> --
> Westie

(Hmm... which newsgroup could he be thinking of...?)

/s
Another Musing Buggerer

[Michael Dart]

small change wrote:
> Michael Dart wrote:
>> Micheal Artindale wrote:
>>> When my brain starts thinking... it wont stop.
>>>
>>> I was looking, and yes, my area does have a "cycling" club. It has
>>> seperate rides for road and mountain.
>>>
>>> Would It be a futile move to try to create a mountain bkie only
>>> club?
>>>
>>> Thanks
>>>
>>> Micheal
>>
>> No, it wouldn't. In Richmond we have a road cycling club and a
>> mountain bike/trails club. The road club does MTB rides but since
>> VDOT takes care of their other "trails" they expect someone else to
>> do MTB trailwork.
>>
>> But beware (Penny should agree) organizing MTBer's is a bit like
>> herding cats.
>>
>> Mike
>
> yes, be very sure that starting a club is what you really want to
> spend your time and energy doing.
>
> What I looked at is what the other riding club/groups were doing, and
> whether my needs were being met. In our community, we have TONS of
> shop rides, and a few strong outdoors groups that do a lot of rides.
> But no one was doing any advocacy work or trail work. So the focus of
> our new club is trail work and advocacy, with some social rides
> thrown in every now and then.
>
> Putting together a group that rides every now and then is one thing;
> putting together a real organization is another thing entirely.
>
> Mike, we actually had **8** people at our work day, and not counting
> me running for president in the first election in November, we have
> volunteers for every board position. Now if we can just get a quorum
> at the next two meetings....
>
> Penny

You're off to a great start!

Were at around 105 members and average about 8-10 on a work day.

Y'all did some fine work in those pics.

Mike

[small change]

Michael Dart wrote:
> small change wrote:
>> Michael Dart wrote:
>>> Micheal Artindale wrote:
>>>> When my brain starts thinking... it wont stop.
>>>>
>>>> I was looking, and yes, my area does have a "cycling" club. It has
>>>> seperate rides for road and mountain.
>>>>
>>>> Would It be a futile move to try to create a mountain bkie only
>>>> club?
>>>>
>>>> Thanks
>>>>
>>>> Micheal
>>>
>>> No, it wouldn't. In Richmond we have a road cycling club and a
>>> mountain bike/trails club. The road club does MTB rides but since
>>> VDOT takes care of their other "trails" they expect someone else to
>>> do MTB trailwork.
>>>
>>> But beware (Penny should agree) organizing MTBer's is a bit like
>>> herding cats.
>>>
>>> Mike
>>
>> yes, be very sure that starting a club is what you really want to
>> spend your time and energy doing.
>>
>> What I looked at is what the other riding club/groups were doing, and
>> whether my needs were being met. In our community, we have TONS of
>> shop rides, and a few strong outdoors groups that do a lot of rides.
>> But no one was doing any advocacy work or trail work. So the focus of
>> our new club is trail work and advocacy, with some social rides
>> thrown in every now and then.
>>
>> Putting together a group that rides every now and then is one thing;
>> putting together a real organization is another thing entirely.
>>
>> Mike, we actually had **8** people at our work day, and not counting
>> me running for president in the first election in November, we have
>> volunteers for every board position. Now if we can just get a quorum
>> at the next two meetings....
>>
>> Penny
>
> You're off to a great start!
>
> Were at around 105 members and average about 8-10 on a work day.
>
> Y'all did some fine work in those pics.
>
> Mike

I got to actually ride it for the first time today. Wow, it's going to be
great when it's done. Technically it's easy, BUT it's really snaky and the
grade is as good a grade as you can have on a contour trail, plus the
climbing turn.