Hello Cape Fear SORBA! This email is a follow up to the General Membership meeting that was held on Thursday the 12^th. We want to fill all those in that were unable to attend on what happened at the event. First thing first though,

CFSORBA Seeks Delegate for National Bike Summit

Cape Fear SORBA has for the past two years had the good fortune to be able to send a representative to the National Bike Summit in Washington DC from March 20^th-22nd. Having that delegate there has had a direct effect on our efforts here in the Cape Fear Region. One of recent memory was the Trail Care Crew. Their visit was a direct result of conversations that were had at last years summit. The summit is an opportunity for advocates and bike lovers to learn more about how to support and advocate for the sport they love. This includes classes on various topics that include organizing, grant writing, and lobbying of elected officials. In addition the delegate has the opportunity to lobby his or her own Representatives and Senators on Capital Hill during the last day of the Summit.

Does this sound like something you would be willing to do? If your schedule is clear for March 20^th-22^nd and you are interested in participating in the Summit PLEASE email info@capefearsorba.com AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. We must register the delegate by Feb 3^rd in order to get the reduced price for their registration. The club and its members intend to pay for the registration, travel costs, and accommodations for the potential delegate.  In return we ask that you write blog posts during the summit about the event and provide a full report/presentation upon returning from the Summit. For more information on the summit you can see IMBA’s info here and the League of American Bicyclists information here.

CFSORBA General membership Meeting Recap

Our membership meetings continue to be strongly attended with over 20 people turning out to take part! Our topics ranged but here are the highlights.

President Greg gave a quick over view of our current progress at the Brunswick Nature Park. We will most likely be able to utilize culvert pipes to cross streams to enter the advanced section of trail, which will save Brunswick County $30,000 or more on building one or more bridges. Those in attendance also agreed that the next big trail building weekend would be January 21^st and 22^nd starting at 9am. Please visit our meetup.com page to RSVP for the trail building days. Greg will lead on the 21^st and VP Austin will lead on the 22^nd.

The club then heard from the new club organizer of the Coastal Carolina Off-Road Race Series Brandon Davis. Brandon filled the club in on the current goings on and what we should expect for the first event on January 29^th, which just happens to be at the Brunswick Nature Park! Check out www.ecvelo.org for more details on the series!

Next VP Austin discussed the current funding situation for the planned pump track and skills area that will be located near the picnic shelter at the Brunswick Nature Park. He is currently working on one grant and recently submitted another (both are for $5000). The club estimates the cost of the area will be $10-12,000. We are hoping to explore more local possibilities for funding the building of this area. If anyone involved with the club has access to lumber (treated or Cypress) or any other materials that we might need in construction of this area please let us know! Anything that we can get donated to the club would drop the cost of building the area dramatically.

Finally we also discussed the possibility of holding a TWO day event at the Brunswick Nature Park this fall as a large fund raiser and social event. A lot of ideas were batted around and they included having races on back to back days, holding a Fat Tire Fest on day 1 and a race on day 2, and having the race be a duathlon (running and biking). One thing was certain: the club members in attendance all agreed that an event of this nature is something that we should work on. We will continue to pursue the possibility of this event in the coming weeks.

So that, in a nutshell was the meeting folks! Soon we will be posting updates on a few things we discussed but for now if you want to help with trail building, trail funding, or event planning let us know. The club is always interested in folks who are willing to help in any capacity. Also, if you really are interested in visiting DC for the National Bike Summit PLEASE email us at info@capefearsorba.com as soon as possible!

See you soon Cape Fear SORBA. Get out and ride!