Tim Blumenthal, executive director of the International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA), has been picked from a pool of more than 500 applicants to lead The Bikes Belong Coalition. Bikes Belong is the industry trade group dedicated to putting more people on bikes more often. Blumenthal will begin work as the organization's executive director in September.
Blumenthal has served as IMBA's chief staffer since 1993, following five years as a board member. When he began as IMBA's first fulltime employee, the organization had a $70,000 annual budget and fewer than 1,000 individual members. Today, IMBA's yearly budget is $2.1 million, it supports 22 employees, and is backed by 32,000 individual members as well as a broad< range of corporations, foundations, government agencies and major donors.
At Bikes Belong, Blumenthal will work to increase government support for bike paths, trails, safe routes to work and school, and other key components of bicycle-friendly communities. He will strive to generate positive publicity for cycling, particularly among kids and families. He will further develop the Bikes Belong organization by expanding its membership and revenue base, enhancing its support of other non-profit bicycling groups, and cultivating new partnerships inside and beyond the cycling community.
Blumenthal will replace Rich Olken, Bikes Belong's first executive director, who has served since 1999 and will retire later this year. Blumenthal will move the group's headquarters from Boston to Boulder, Colorado. Boulder was honored just last week as the number one bike-friendly U.S. city by the League of American Bicyclists.
Blumenthal said, “The mission of Bikes Belong–to put more people on bikes more often–is a great one, and I am thrilled to have earned this new opportunity to help bicycling and the bike industry grow. My years at IMBA have been unbelievably rewarding. I am so grateful for the hundreds of friendships and partnerships that have developed along the way…and they will continue. Fortunately, IMBA is stronger than ever and perfectly positioned for continuing growth.”
IMBA president Hill Abell, owner of Bicycle Sport Shops in Austin, Texas, said, “The entire IMBA board congratulates Tim and wishes him the greatest success in his new position at Bikes Belong. For the past 11 years Tim has been the prime mover of IMBA's growth into one of the most effective non-profit organizations in the U.S. We are very grateful for his enormous contributions to the mountain bike community.
“We are thankful that Tim is leaving IMBA in a strong position, organizationally and financially. IMBA's ability to fulfill our mission of insuring that mountain bikers have great places to ride will continue unabated as we search for a new executive director. We look forward to working with Tim and Bikes Belong to ensure a political climate in which the needs of bicyclists are fully understood and supported.”
