Who We Are
In April 1997, South Bay Mountain Biking Club (SBMBC) proudly presented its first complete monthly newsletter after several months of weekly newsletters. After riding for a long while with different clubs, we felt the need to establish our own club in order to advance the sport, implement new organizational ideas, and have our own unique approach to conducting our club. The SBMBC belongs to all of us. Our club's philosophy revolves around each and every member and not just one individual. The decisions are made through members' participation. Not only everyone's ideas count in this club, but also it is a realistic expectation that everyone comes with new ideas to the club's monthly meeting. The leadership of the club is equally distributed to all members. The individual's knowledge and familiarity of the trail determines ride leaders. The club's philosophy is an evergreen and can be modify and add to with the consensus of the majority of the members.
The other pillar that we pride ourselves with is free membership to the club. This is a major difference between the SBMBC and other clubs. We do not believe that we should make money from something that we all enjoy tremendously. We are hoping that the spirit of the sport will bring us together. However, we encourage all members to join CORBA (Concerned Off-Road Bicyclists Association) which does all the political and social fights to keep the trails open in the Santa Monica Mountains.
The club extends its welcome to everybody who is enthusiastic and interested in this sport. It offers different rides to accommodate people with different skill levels: beginner, intermediate, and advanced rides. The club, besides rides on weekends, offers afternoon and night rides during weekdays and as well on Sundays. This is a good feature for those of us who are busy during daytime and on weekends. The club encourages all beginners to participate in the CORBA's introduction to mountain biking skill class which instructs riders on the fundamental of mountain bike riding and provides basic knowledge to progress quickly. After all, our rides' purpose is to facilitate riders to improve their riding abilities and skills so that everybody can, in time, ride with people at the next level.
Our beautiful state of California offers a great variety of year-round outdoor activities to its citizens, especially to mountain bikers who are willing, able, and ready to share the outdoor environment with their counterparts: hikers and equestrians. In particular, the Santa Monica Mountains, a stretch of 52 miles of land between Griffith Park and Point Mugu, provide us with a unique mixture of mountain, seashore, and urban access to everyone. We use these mountains for most of our rides but never abuse this precious land, which should be sacred to us. The club also offers rides in Palos Verdes, San Fernando Valley, San Gabriel, and Orange County. We will schedule rides outside of the greater Los Angeles area as well as out of state. The club highly recommends that its riders be environmentally conscious and try to carpool as much as possible. This also reduces the financial burden of driving long distances alone. As well, we would like everyone to call our ride leaders or contact person a day prior to the riding day to inform him or her that you will be on that particular ride.
SBMBC follows CORBA’s and IMBA’s rules and policies, which include trail etiquette and ecologically minded riding.
