Slated for Augusta, Georgia on May 5 – 8th, 2010, the 2010 IMBA World Summit is expected be the largest yet. Seminar topics will include destination and urban trail networks, land conservation and sustainable trails, youth outreach and new programs designed to grow local capacity for the 700+ clubs and patrols in IMBA’s global network.

In addition to seminars and networking, the gathering will feature parties and plenty of riding, including a closing day tour of the Forks Area Trail System (FATS), an IMBA Epic.

Online registration for the 2010 IMBA World Summit is open now through May 3rd, 2010. IMBA members, be sure to login to your account before completing the registration form to enjoy special pricing.

The conference will be held at the Augusta Marriott hotel. IMBA has received a limited number of discounted rooms available at a rate of $109 from May 3rd – May 8, 2010. The rooms are first come, first served, so please make your reservations early and stay at the center of the action during the Summit.

For additional information visit: www.imba.com/summit/2010_World_Summit.html.

Dirt Rag Magazine would like to invite you to our own event: Dirt Fest. Mark your calendars for the weekend of May 21st-23rd, 2010 and head over to the Allegrippis trails at Raystown Lake in Hesston, PA.

Dirt Fest will be a fun mountain biking festival, featuring 32 miles of prime singletrack for a weekend of great riding. Camping will be available. We invite you to come and join the festivities, demo mountain bikes and check out the latest products in the industry expo area.

IMBA will be on hand to teach trail building clinics and advocacy, and other club events will take place.

Dirt Rag will be bringing the flavor of hops and barley as we host a Pennsylvania beer tasting event, complete with brew techniques and history. Other entertainment and spectacles will follow.

The cost for attending is $30 per person including two nights of primitive camping at Susquehannock Campground or $15 for the weekend without camping.

Visit dirtfest.blogspot.com for more information on Dirt Fest (and/or to contact the promoters about getting your company or organization involved in the expo area, or as an event sponsor). If you’re ready to rock and roll, click here for registration.

Dirt Rag’s Dirt Fest is brought to you by Dirt Rag, IMBA, Raystown Mountain Bike Association, Rothrock Outfitters, and the Friends of Raystown Lake.

In celebration of Sidi’s 50th Anniversary, the venerable shoe company wants to hear some amazing stories about riders and their Sidis. Top prize package includes a pair of Sidi shoes, a Look 556 bike with SRAM Rival components and Look Keo pedals.

Tell your story in 350 words or less. Or write a poem. If you’d like, include a photo of yourself and your Sidis. Or just your Sidis. Get creative. Just don’t plagiarize my previously published story of Sidi love.

Hurry, contest ends March 1st, 2010. To submit your entry, and for complete contest rules, visit sidiamerica.com.

Adventure Cycling Association announced that it has received two new grants in support of the organization’s work to establish an official United States Bicycle Route System (USBRS). The grants were awarded by Bikes Belong and New Belgium Brewing and will enable Adventure Cycling to continue its organizing and cartographic work with federal and state agencies and non-profits to establish what could become the world’s largest national cycling route network.

Bikes Belong awarded Adventure Cycling $15,000 in support of the project. Bikes Belong executive director Tim Blumenthal said, “The U.S. Bicycle Route System is a powerful, big idea that will encourage Americans to bicycle more often. It will also focus attention on crucial missing links in our bike route system and speed the process of correcting them.” Bike Belong is the U.S. bicycle industry organization dedicated to putting more people on bicycles more often.

New Belgium Brewing awarded the Association $15,000 annually for two years. Bryan Simpson, media director for New Belgium Brewing said, “Adventure Cycling’s U.S. Bicycle Route System proposal stood out because it works to connect communities and create a safer, more bike-friendly environment nationwide. We’re excited to be able to contribute in whatever way we can to make this project a reality.”

“We are grateful for this show of support for the U.S. Bicycle Route System. This project is receiving important support from funders, as well as from the halls of Congress and the leadership of state departments of transportation,” said Jim Sayer, executive director of Adventure Cycling. “We also want to thank our members, who have been the principal supporters of our work on this visionary project.” Adventure Cycling is the largest cycling membership organization in North America, with over 44,000 members.

The U.S. Bicycle Route System project is part of a global trend, as countries and provinces establish national cycling networks—composed of on-road and trail facilities—to make cycling easier and more enjoyable in urban, suburban, and rural areas. Examples include the National Cycle Network in the United Kingdom, La Route Verte (the “Green Way”) in Quebec Province, the D-Route Network in Germany, and VeloLand Switzerland. These systems are spurring major growth in bicycling and other non-motorized trips, with corresponding reductions in fossil fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.

Adding to the USBRS momentum is growing interest on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. The USBRS project was included for recognition and funding support in legislation recently put forward by Congressmen Jim Oberstar (D-MN) and Peter DeFazio (D-OR). These influential members of Congress are, respectively, the chairman of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the House Subcommittee on Highways and Transit. The legislation—to re-authorize the federal government’s transportation program—will be considered by Congress in the coming year.

For a background report on the USBRS, click here. The latest news and updates on the USBRS is available at www.adventurecycling.org/usbrs and/or the USBRS Facebook page.

Outerbike is a consumer demo event for both road and mountain bikes that is scheduled to take place in Moab, UT on September 30th through October 3rd, 2010. Participants will receive demos for all four days of the event, lunch at the trailheads, and discounted tickets to evening parties and films. Exhibitors will include: Breezer, Cannondale, Fox, Fuji, Ibis, Kona, Marin, Maverick, Pivot, Rocky Mountain, Santa Cruz, Specialized, Trek, Turner, and Yeti. It’s a safe bet that additional companies will sign up, as this new event gains momentum.

Outerbike promoter, Ashley Korenblat of Western Spirit Cycling, explains: “There will be three different trailheads to give participants a chance to ride short and medium loops of all types. It is an opportunity to ride your dream bike on a world famous trail. Plus there is great road riding in Moab, making it the perfect place to demo both road and mountain bikes.” The three trailheads are: The Bar M, the Sovereign Trail, and the Slicrock Trail.

The Registration fee for the four-day event is $150. Proceeds will go to both IMBA and the Moab Trails Alliance.

Korenblat adds, “We have been thinking about this for years. The bike companies work hard to get their new product ready for the Vegas show, but since that show isn’t open to the public, only dealers get to ride the new bikes. Now everybody can.”

To register go to www.outerbike.com or call Western Spirit Cycling at 800.845.2453.

Each year the Dirt Rag/Bicycle Times staff has a friendly intra-office competition and we (try to) keep track of when we ride to work. A simple grid representing the days of the week listed vertically, and our names written horizontally, is as high-tech as we get. As usual, the staff tallied some strong commuting numbers in 2009.

The staff accumulated a combined 470.5 days commuted by bicycle, covering a grand total of 8848.5 miles. That’s a strong number, considering we live between 6 and 42 hilly round trip miles from HQ. I was curious to know what that total mileage represented, and a quick search of the Internet revealed that our mileage is equal to a round trip flight from Pittsburgh to Poland.

We are proud of our accomplishment, but we were off pace from the two previous years and hope to regain the lost days in 2010. Simply forgetting to mark an “X” on the grid to tally a “commuted day” is a big portion of our lower number.

Karen cleanly took home the gold with 140.5 commuting days covering 3512.5 miles. Hooray for Karen!

Matt had the second most mileage, 1560, with 78 days on the saddle.

Shannon had the second most days at 92 with 1288 miles.

And Justin finished with an even 60 days and 960 miles.

The remaining staff stats:
Eric 56 days 784 miles
Maurice 18 days 252 miles
Amanda 12 days 72 miles
Andy 10.5 days 273 miles
Andrew 3.5 days 147 miles