There has been alot of discussion about advocacy and membership
lately. I'm going to throw a wrench in the works and take this in a
different direction.

I've been traveling for work lately. I'm currently camped out NE of
Sacramento. I've got my mountain bike with me and have been crashing
rides of local mountain bike group rides. Based on what I've seen out
here, I've come to the sad conclusion that there just aren't that many
mountain bikers in Portland. There are plenty of commuters, enough
road and track events in the summer to make one seriously consider
quitting their job, and an insane cyclocros scene, but not much in the
line of mountain biking.

Consider this, I've been on 3 rides in the Folsom and Auburn areas.
Each ride I have run in to other groups of riders, riders from local
shops, social groups, other advocacy groups, and even a high school
mountain bike team. There is even a local church coordinating rides.
When was the last time you saw another group out on the trail? In the
10 years I've ridden in the Portland area, I can recall two occasions.
The Bike Gallery camped out on the 4th of July and the Fat Tire Farm
shuttling Syncline. That's it.

Another thing to think about. How many people in PUMP are from
Portland? From Oregon? Why is it that when a new person shows up to a
PUMP meeting it always seems like they just moved here from some place
else. I'm not a native. Many of the people I know in PUMP aren't locals.

I think about this and the fact that the metro areas of Sacramento and
Portland are about the same and I come to the conclusion that there
just aren't that many mountain bikers in Portland.

Where does that leave us? I think we need to back up a step. We don't
need to recruit new members, not at this point. We need to get more
people into mountain biking. I don't think we have enough people
pedaling in the dirt to get enough attention. I think we need to get
with a local shop or even a big mountain bike company and get a fleet
of demo bikes out to Forest Park. Instead of the traditional check out
the latest bikes event we need a come try riding in the dirt event.
Mountain bikes are like SUVs in this town. Many people own them, but
very few take them in out in the dirt.

My $2 worth (inflation).

Brent.