Santa Barbara, March 7, 2009 – The International Mountain Bicycling Association’s (IMBA) Subaru/IMBA Trail Care Crew will be in SANTA BARBARA, March 26th through March 29th to talk trails, teach people sustainable trail building technique, and spend quality time on trail with volunteers. The visit is one of 70 stops on the 2009 schedule. Everyone is invited to attend the weekend’s events – but registration is required for the Trail Building workshop.
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The award-winning Subaru/IMBA Trail Care Crew program includes two full-time, professional teams of trail experts who travel North America year-round, leading IMBA Trail building Schools, meeting with government officials and land managers, and working with IMBA-affiliated groups to improve mountain biking opportunities. IMBA’s Crews have led more than 1,000 trail projects since the program debuted in 1997.
The Crews teach “sustainable” trail building, which means building trails that last a long time and require minimal maintenance. This helps reduce trail damage, protects the environment, and enhances visitor enjoyment.
Now in its eighth year, the Subaru/IMBA Trail Care Crew program is more popular than ever.
The Subaru/IMBA Trail Care Crew program has inspired great volunteer trail work across the U.S. and abroad – a big help to government agencies and land managers who have limited funding for trail construction and upkeep.
Coming to SANTA BARBARA are Subaru/IMBA Trail Care Crew members Inga Beck and Jason Van Horn. Beck hails from the San Francisco area while Van Horn is from Oregon. They bring a unique combination of professional experience to the program – from coaching mountain bike skills, working with a multitude of environmental organizations, to swing dancing and yoga – on top of being trained as some of the country’s top trail builders. They’re also committed volunteers who have logged hundreds of hours building trails and performing outreach work with a host of public agencies.
All are welcome to join the Subaru/IMBA Trail Care Crew leaders when they come to town. Below is a schedule of events that are open to the public:
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- March 26th, Presentation “Club Care – Reinvigorating Your Club”: 6:30pm – 8:30pm, Faulkner Gallery – Santa Barbara Central Library, 40 East Anapamu Street. Open to the public.
This presentation focuses on techniques that advocacy groups across the country have used to reach goals, overcome, challenges, and build up their community. Any trails, outdoor, environmental, or sports based organization will benefit from this workshop. Included will be ideas on sustaining boards of directors, recruiting members, and making sure that everyone has a great time participating in their organization. No cost.
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- March 28th, IMBA Trail Building School and trail work.
8:30am – 5:00pm, Louise Lowery Davis Center 1232 De La Vina St Santa Barbara, CA: Pre-registration is required. Registration: http://go.imba.com/santabarbara or register by email to chris.orr@sbmtv.org or ray@sbtrails.org.
This workshop instructs hikers, cyclists, and equestrians sustainable trail building/maintenance philosophies and trains volunteers and land managers to use these skills on their trails and in their community. The workshop will include a half day (8:30am -12:30pm) in class instruction and a half day on a trail applying and refining skills. Location of the trail will be announced in the workshop. Carpooling is strongly encouraged. No cost.
- March 28th, After Trail Work Social with the IMBA TCC, Location TBA
- March 29th, TCC Fun Ride , 10am Location TBA
For more information and to register for the IMBA Trailbuilding School, contact Chris Orr (chris.orr@sbmtv.org) or register at http://go.imba.com/santabarbara
For a complete list of visit dates, photos and additional information on the Subaru/IMBA Trail Care Crew visit www.imba.com.
The previous visit of the Subaru/IMBA Trail Care Crew to the region was to Ventura County in 2005. You can view the photo galleries of trailwork and the following recreational ride.
About Subaru of America, Inc.
Subaru of America, Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. of Japan. Headquartered near Philadelphia, the company markets and distributes all-wheel drive Subaru vehicles, parts and accessories through a network of nearly 600 dealers across the United States. Subaru of America, Inc., is the only car company that offers symmetrical all-wheel drive as standard equipment on every vehicle in its product line. Subaru has been the best-selling import wagon in America for the past 20 years, based on R.L. Polk & Company new vehicle retail registration statistics calendar year-end 2002.
About IMBA
The International Mountain Bicycling Association creates, enhances and preserves trail opportunities for mountain bikers worldwide. Since 1988, IMBA has been bringing out the best in mountain biking by encouraging low-impact riding, volunteer trail work participation, cooperation among different trail user groups, and innovative trail management solutions. IMBA’s worldwide network includes 32,000 individual members, more than 500 bicycle clubs, and 400 corporate partners and dealer members. For more information visit www.imba.com.
About SBMTV
Santa Barbara Mountain Bike Trail Volunteers is a group of advocates dedicated to building a trail community and sustainable trail system through continued volunteer work. The Santa Barbara Mountain Bike Trail Volunteers formed over 20 years ago in response to threatened trail closures. Since then the Trail Volunteers have worked hard to promote responsible mountain bike trail use and volunteer trail maintenance activities. We are currently focusing our energy on rider education and the development of closer ties between members of the trail community.
About the Santa Barbara County Trails Council
Since 1969, the Santa Barbara County Trails Council has dedicated itself to working with local government agencies and other organizations on the development of a safe and sustainable trail network, acquisition of new trails and support for volunteer trail maintenance programs. SBTC plays a key role in bridging the differences among trail user groups as we work towards building a network of trails that serve the entire community.
