CORBA’s August 12 2011 fundraiser at Cycle World was a new type of event for CORBA, and turned out to be a completely worthwhile one at that.  The smaller event brought in almost 60 guests with about a dozen volunteers to keep things running smoothly. Several people walked away with some smokin’ deals on helmets, shoes, body armor and other cycling accessories in the silent auction. Others took advantage of Cycle World’s donation of 10% of all sales to CORBA, and picked up what they needed to continue enjoying the sport.

Former world champ Leigh Donovan was our special guest, and we were honored to have her there. After an introduction by CORBA president Mark Langton, the crowd watched a retrospective video about her career, while she gave a running commentary about many of the race scenes. She reminisced about downhill racing in the days of hard tails and 2” of travel, and reveled in the improvements in bike technology and the growth of the sport. Now the mother of a beautiful daughter, Leigh is still competing and doing well at the national and international levels. Her mission these days is to get more women on bikes, and to further that cause she donated a set of women’s workshops to the auction.

Mark Langton gave a great taste of what people experience at CORBA’s free monthly skills clinics. Though restricted by the shop space, it was clear that Mark’s instruction can and does give many new riders a jump-start into this great sport, boosting their skills and confidence. Steve Messer talked about the importance of volunteering, and at the same time introduced and thanked the volunteers who made the evening possible.

Cycle World owner Erick demonstrated the amount of detail he takes when doing a bike fit, a clear indication that these guys know bikes, and know cycling.

Special thanks to all the volunteers who made it possible. Wendy Engleburg, a long time CORBA volunteer and supporter organized the event. She had help from Tamara Napier, who coordinated the auction, Miyuki for photos and support (photo gallery of the evening), Jim for serving beer and of course everyone who came out on a Friday night to support CORBA and have some fun.

Also we’d like to extend our sincerest thanks to the Cycle World owners Erick and Mike, and their dedicated staff who made the new store available for the event. Lots of people learned about this new Cycle World branch, and met the friendly folks. The pizza and beer on tap went over really well, with most getting their fill of both.

The object of the event was to raise awareness of CORBA, introduce people to a new CORBA-supporting bike shop, and raise funds to keep our volunteer programs  running. On all fronts it was a great success and we’re looking forward to the next one.

We had a great turnout for our fundraiser at the new Cycle World store in Chatsworth on Friday evening. There was much spirited discussion and demos! Thanks to CORBA volunteers Miyuki, Drew and Wendy for their contributions to our gallery of photos of the event!