I want to introduce you to the IMBA Canada Ontario Council. My name is Dean Campbell, Chair of the council, and on the Board of Directors for IMBA Canada. Our goal with the council is to help the Ontario mountain bike community develop further in the province by supporting with knowledge of best practices in advocacy and trail building, lead research that will help mountain biking be better understood, and represent the interests of mountain bikers at the provincial level.

We’ve got a big task ahead of us, which is why I am happy to have such an amazing group of people on the council to help us get going.

Andy Cox is a bike shop owner, advocate and trail builder heavily involved in the Hydrocut trails. Johnny Yeaman has been a driving force for co-operation and collaboration in the Dufferin region. Lora Woolner is a former Executive Director of IMBA Canada and brings extensive knowledge to the council. Nate Smith is a bike park contractor based in Sarnia, Ontario and regularly travels all over the province and south of the border to ride, bringing in fresh perspectives from other places. Jennifer Deeks has been riding for six years and quickly got involved with her local club, GORBA. Igor Hoogendoorn has decades of experience in trail advocacy. Troy Storms is an ally to mountain bikers, and works as a land manager for the North Bay Mattawa Conservation Authority. Charlotte Batty is a well-respected guide and certified instructor, and a member of the IMBA Canada Board of Directors. My own background is in communications, though I’ve worked in the bike industry for 20 years in a variety of ways. I now live and ride in the Ottawa-Gatineau region.

Together, we’ve set an early vision of what the council can do to help serve Ontario mountain bikers. For us, this means:

“The IMBA Canada Ontario Council aims to celebrate, recognize, unite, and represent the Ontario mountain bike community to lead and support the education of those unfamiliar with mountain biking, and to demonstrate all of the positive impacts of the sport in our province.”

To live up to our mission, we want to gather people together to learn and ride, and so we’re part of the planning being done to host a mountain bike summit this fall at the Hydrocut trail network.

We know that some of the information we want hasn’t been developed, so we’re starting the work of commissioning research studies through education institutions in Ontario.

Making sure all of the information that helps build successful clubs and communities is easy to access, we’re working closely with IMBA Canada to develop a resource base that can be easily accessed and used to create more riding opportunities in this province.

This is just a start. We want to hear from you to know what challenges you face and see how we can help you move forward. Please reach out to us at ontario@imbacanada.com and let’s plan to ride together soon.

Thanks,

Dean Campbell
IMBA Canada Ontario Council Chair
dean@imbacanada.com