A little background and history

Hi,

First, a little about me. My name is Scott Forsyth.
I have been mountain biking since 1987. My first mountain bike was a 1987 Specialized Rockhopper. Until last year my focus was on XC riding and racing but in 2004 I started getting more interested in freeriding. In 2004 I also took my first trip out to BC to ride there for a couple of weeks. Those of you have done it know - going to BC changes your riding.

I was involved with CORBA and NCMBA, so I have seen them come and go. I have participated in trail maintenance days in Gatineau Park and Kanata Lakes.

Why am I starting OMBA? Quite simple really. I have been riding the South March Highlands (what most of you know as Kanata Lakes) for years now and have been involved in developing it into what it is today. Underlying this experience though was the constant question and doubt about what we were doing there and what was going to happen to it. At one point last year I was participating in on online discussion about the South March Highlands when Mark Schmidt of IMBA Canada was invited into the thread. In his post he repeatedly said. "There was a problem, they formed a club, and they negotiated with the land manager". My take: *We need a club*. It has also become very clear that the NCC wants to deal with a local mountain bike club that is an IMBA affiliate. My take: *We need a club*. So what am I going to do? Sit around and wait for someone else to do it? That's not like me, so here I am.

I asked a small group of like-minded people if they would help me with the initial stages and we worked on OMBA for 2 months before launching in the spring of 2005.

The intention is to have a club that is small on top and not over burdened with the bureaucracy of running a club. The intention is also to have groups within the club, each of which will focus on a particular area. This will leave us with more time for advocacy, and riding our mountain bikes.

OMBA is about ensuring that we have great places to ride in the Ottawa area. (1)
This means political advocacy. And this requires membership numbers that represent a constituency base.

OMBA is about ensuring that we have great places to ride in the Ottawa area. (2)
This could mean purchasing or leasing our own lands. Consider the possibilities if the area mountain bike community was to come together around something like this.

The intention is that over the next year or two OMBA will evolve into a club with elected officers, but this will happen naturally and take time.

OMBA is about action. If you like getting active then join up. If advocacy is not your thing but you like what OMBA is about – we need your support so join up.

Thanks for reading and see you on the trails,

Scott      April 23, 2005