Lets talk about you and me/
All the good things/
And the bad things/
That may be/
Lets talk ab-out PUMP!

I am really glad such a good dialogue has started about a new
direction of pump. I joined a year or so ago and let it lapse for
many of the reasons that have been brought up already. I rejoined and
am trying to be more involved because i believe that a) be the change
you want to see and b) you don't get what you don't ask for! A
question that was asked earlier was how many mtb'ers are in Portland?
I think there are hundreds. From the people I have seen at scapoose,
at the different shops, and listening in on the interwebs I believe
there is a large untapped 'market' for members and volunteers.
Here are some suggestions that I have thought of that could make PUMP
a larger organization that appeals to more people.

-It is really hard for me to make the ONE meeting a month. Invariably
something else pops up that I need to do (okay, I forget too) that I
don't attend. Perhaps more social hours can be arranged in order to
facilitate more face to face contact? I feel this makes me more
connected instead of internet.

-Bringing back an oldie, maybe it is time to completely cut off the
list-serv and make it all on the PUMP website? We are having an
awesome discussion on the list-serv, but how many interested
non-members does this reach?

-Is anybody in contact with Jonathan Maus @ bikeportland.org? Maybe
someone could approach him about penning an occasional mtb column that
can get the word out about what PUMP is doing?

-There has to be a way to get more people to not necessarily lead more
rides, but be in better contact about getting riders in short order.
A lot of riders I know only plan a few days in advance. Could we set
up a phone tree or a text tree? I know you can now send a text from
Gchat. How can PUMP spread the word in different mediums?

Sorry its a long message, but these have been building for a while
now. I will try to cross post this on the forum. I welcome criticism
as long as it is constructive!
Thanks for reading,
-Kevin