Archive for the ‘Industry’ Category

Are you ready to #OptOutside on Black Friday?

Thursday, November 10th, 2016
#OptOutside

#OptOutside

Last year, CORBA supporter REI chose to break the Black Friday shopping frenzy trend, and remained closed the day after Thanksgiving. Instead, they encouraged people to #OptOutside for some quality recreation.

We applaud their efforts and want to encourage everyone to spend Friday, November 25th riding a bike, hiking a trail, playing in the snow, or just communing with nature.

Black Friday has become synonymous with crowds, checkout lines, and camping outside retail stores on the sidewalk. That’s not the kind of camping we like to do. It’s also become synonymous with deals and sales over the last two decades, but these days so-called “black Friday sales” often last a week or more.

While there are certainly some deals to be had, is it really worth the hassle? Studies have shown that many black friday “sale” items can be purchased at similar prices at other times of the year. Black Friday itself isn’t even the busiest shopping day of the year.

So won’t you join us, and #OptOutside for Black Friday?

It Takes a Village…Of Mountain Bikers

Wednesday, September 25th, 2013

By Mark Langton

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CORBA founders/Steering Committee/Board of Directors accepting the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame award for 2013. From left to right: Kurt Loheit, Peter Heumann, Jeff Klinger, Michael Goodman, Jim Hasenauer, Jennifer Klausner, Mark Langton, Steve Messer (not pictured, Hans Keifer).

Last week on September 18, CORBA was officially inducted into the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame during the Interbike Trade Show in Las Vegas. Several CORBA founding members, past and current board members, and VIPs attended the event. Also inducted were professional racers Marla Streb and Nicolas Vouilloz, Rim Cyclery (Moab, Utah) founders Robin and Bill Groff, and photographer David Epperson. Click here for more information on this year’s inductees.

In the weeks leading up to the event, I was tasked with compiling and editing a list comprised of founders, Steering Committee and Board of Directors members, and friends and significant contributors to CORBA, first provided by CORBA’s unofficial archivist Jim Hasenauer. It’s still a work in progress, but I believe it is fairly comprehensive (see below). The most noteworthy impression I get when looking at the list is that CORBA’s success in getting and keeping trails open to bicycles in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area and greater Los Angeles County and Eastern Ventura County is due to a team effort.

In 26 years more than 30 people have joined CORBA’s Steering Committee/Board of Directors. They have all made significant contributions to keeping CORBA on the high road of advocacy. The list of significant friends and volunteers is made up of people who have in one way or another gone above and beyond to help guide and bolster CORBA’s efforts, such as organizing events, providing mentoring and guidance,  volunteering incredible amounts of time, and so much more. Their contributions are far too lengthy and complex to list here, but it is one thing I am endeavoring to do as well. To be sure, if their name is on the list, they have done something significant to keep CORBA moving forward (including some land management agency folks who certainly took their fair share of heat for siding with CORBA; of course, they were visionaries). If you see someone missing who you feel should be on the list, please send their name and description to me at mark@corbamtb.com. Thanks!

Steering Committee/Board of Directors (chronological)
Jim Hasenauer
Kurt Loheit
Mark Langton
Matt Landis
Peter Heumann
Ross Blasman
Lou Pescarmona
Dan Bernstein
Callie Courtis
Michael Goodman
Lawana Godwin
Mike Roth
Jim Walters
Gary Stevens
John Christ
Ken Rodriguez
Laura O’Neal
David Grey
Mark Fingerman
Frank Still
Ed Dee
Reuben Finkelstein
Louisa Bonnie
Greg Scarich
Hans Keifer
Jeff Klinger
Sonia Ottusch
Danusia Bennett Taber
Mark Langton
Steve Messer
Jennifer Klausner
Friends of CORBA and Significant Volunteers (alphabetical by first name)
Aaron Hanson
Al Farrell
Alan Yoshida
Alex Baum
Bannar Moffat
Bart Allen
Bill Foster
Bob Pugsley
Bonnie Baskin
Brian Hemsworth
Brian Simms
Bryan Gordon
Burt Elliott
Carol Gray
Carola Lindquist
Charlie and Mary Litsky
Christine Blasman
Clay Clymore
Danny Ybarra
Darryl Gray
Dave Dwyer
Dave Mummert
David Ross

David Updike

Dieter Schirrmacher
Donna Marks
Dori Friedman
Elayne Haggan
Ezra Dweck
Fran Gruchy
Frank Padilla
Fred Ansaldi
Fred Chavez
Gene Berwager
Holly Harmon
Hoyt Pemberton
Jack Dwyer
Jack Matalon
Jack Short
Jean Bray
Jeff Alexander
Jerry Cowan
Jim Shanman
Joe Dillman
Jonathan Kay
Katy Endicott
Keith Barefoot
Kellog and Andelson Accountancy Corp.
Ken Raleigh
Ken Williams, Carol Matsonaga, and Dana Supanovich attorneys at Law
Kevin Donnelly
Kevin Korenthal
Lance Bisco
Larry LaSota
Larry Marks
Liz Baumann
Loren Bain
Loren Pluth
Lynne Rubin
Mansoor Sabbagh
Matt Gunnell
MBU/Youth Adventures
Mike Poteet
Pete Warden
Randy Rogers
Rebecca Lemke
Rich Pinder
Robert Heagy
Robin and Mike McGuire
Rorie Skei
Russ Eddy
Russ Okawa
Steve Clark
Steven Weiss
Stu McNally
Stuart Ganong
Tamara Napier
Terry Harmon
Tom Robbins
Troy Braswell
Virgil Hemrick
Vondell Scharrer
Wendy Engelberg
Woody Smeck

 

 

 

Niner Bikes’ Generous Donation To CORBA

Tuesday, July 30th, 2013

CORBA recently received a generous donation of framekits from Niner Bikes.NIN_weblogo

Some of these sweet Niner frames will be put into CORBA’s Youth Adventures fleet, where at-risk youth are given the opportunity to experience the joy of  cycling on trails in our State Parks. Others will be raffled off to reward volunteers who come out for CORBA’s trailwork days, or to raise funds to support our programs. The generous donation will also benefit our neighboring IMBA Chapters, including the Santa Barbara Mountain Bike Trail Volunteers, Mount Wilson Bicycling AssociationSHARE Mountain Bike Club and the San Diego Mountain Bike Association.

Niner Bikes Generous Donation to CORBA and IMBANiner has a strong history of supporting mountain biking advocacy. They truly understand that more trail opportunities helps grow the sport, and everyone benefits. As an Above and Beyond IMBA Corporate Member their custom IMBA-themed bikes have generated many thousands of dollars for IMBA at the national level. For many years they have also been there to support CORBA’s efforts at the local level.

They also understand mountain bikes themselves, making some of the sweetest mountain bikes available. Niner were among the original proponents of 29 inch wheels, and have helped advance the state-of-the-art in off-road bicycle design.

We thank Niner for their generous and ongoing support, which will ultimately benefit trails and mountain bikers throughout Southern California.

 

 

 

Mammoth Mountain Kamakaze Games Supports CORBA

Saturday, July 20th, 2013

 

Kamakaze Bike Games, Mammoth Mountain

Mammoth’s Kamikaze helped establish Mammoth Lakes as a bike Mecca in the mid-80s, about the same time that mountain bikes were being banned from local trails throughout California. It was a time when advocacy was beginning, CORBA was formed, and lift-accessed downhill bike racing in the US had its start.  In the world-famous Kamakaze, pros raced the same course as amateurs and success was measured by how much fun you had.

It’s back! Kamikaze Bike Games goes down September 4-8 and includes downhill, cross-country, and enduro races as well as an off-road Gran Fondo and kids race.

This year, there will be much more happening than those early days, including some road cycling events. There’s an award winning century, Gran Fondo or one of the shorter courses to choose from. There will be great food, entertainment, epic riding, and an expo. It promises to bring back the glory of big mountain racing and should be the bike bash of the year!

Mammoth Mountain has generously donated some entries into the race and some Mammoth Bike Park day passes for us to reward our volunteers. We’re excited to see the Kamakaze return, bigger and better than ever, and are grateful for their support of CORBA.