Trail EAffect Episode 74 with Gary Sjoquist Mountain Bike Advocate and Hall of Fame Member
- The Gary Sjoquist Back Story on how he found mountain biking
Becoming and Advocate in Mountain Biking and Cycling in General- IMBA State Rep in the early 90’s
Contracting with the MN DNR for a bicycle conferenceCould see that access might become an issue across different public agenciesBecame a voice for Mountain Biking / published a newsletter called off-road riderCuyuna evolving into the state of MN first recreation meeting in ’93 and traveling there in ‘95- Got local leaders attend meetings about mountain biking to educate land managers
North Central Mountain Bike Resource Group evolved into MORCIMBA Trail Care Crew first showed up in 1996Director of Dakota County Asked “What do Mountain Bikers Want at Lebanon Hills?”Getting the right people and provide the right resources for themEncountering resistance to Mountain Biking in the 90’s- Gary – A Prisoner of Logic
Mountain Bikers do care about our natural resourcesStewardship has been critical for Mountain BikersFamous Failure…- Hosting a Mountain Bike Advocacy Meeting at the race venue after a Mountain Bike Race and only 2 people showed up…
Racers and Advocacy or lack ofThe WORS Model VS the MNMTB Model- MNMTB as a Non-Profit, 2021 MNMTB gave back almost $52,000 to clubs that hosted race events
Working with IMBA Early On- Gary is a unique advocate as he’s an advocate for both road and mountain bike access
IMBA Provided a lot of resources to local clubsDirectional Trails and the important role they play in trail systems- Sight Lines not as necessary
Legacy of separate Trails in MNImproves conflict managementReduces the need for Maintenance on the trailsRiding the wrong way on trails is just misguidedDirectional Trails can handle a lot more usersQuality Bike Products (QBP) Bringing Gary on staff as an advocate at QBP- Lots of Freedom to work in the advocacy world
Helped Start Bikes Belong, which became People for BikesAdditional Resources by befriending a member of congressTraveling to Washington DC lobby for funding to build the first 23 miles at Cuyuna as a pilot projectLaunching the MN Highschool League with the help of QBPNeeding to make sure that Cuyuna was built to the highest standardCreating perimeters where the trail building company at Cuyuna had to demonstrate their qualifications as a quality trail building company to bid on the projectWas there anyone else in a Role like Gary’s Role for any other companies?Being inducted into the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame in 2012Advice Gary has for communities in terms of facing resistance and changing the narrativeGary Being Thankful for “Being For Something” instead of against something, and something as bikes!How NICA and Highschool Mountain Bike Racing / has changed the future of Mountain Biking in a positive wayThe Economic Impact the NICA Races have brought to communities in MNWhat Gary Looks for in a Mountain Bike Community- A well thought out trail network
Signage that makes senseInfrastructure around the trail networkWho’s the Club taking care of the trailsAccommodations for Mountain BikersClosing Comments from Gary SjoquistMinnesota Cycling Association: https://minnesotacycling.org/
Quality Bicycle Products: https://www.qbp.com/
IMBA: https://www.imba.com/
People For Bikes: https://www.peopleforbikes.org/
Cuyuna: https://www.cuyuna.com/
Lebanon Hills: https://www.co.dakota.mn.us/parks/parksTrails/LebanonHills
Redhead Bike Park: https://www.mndiscoverycenter.com/visit/redhead-mountain-bike-park/
Biketown: https://freehubmag.com/biketown
This Podcast has been edited and produced by Evolution Trail Services
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