I was talking to a friend the other day and when we stumbled upon the subject of NEMBA he rolled his eyes. Why? Let me start by profiling my friend.

He is (or was) a very active mountain biker. He is young (late 20's), has lived in Mass all of his life, has owned countless Mountain Bikes, has worked at bike shops and has competed in races (downhill and cross country). He has used many of the trails that NEMBA has built and or taken care of. He should be the perfect person to join/help/advocate as a NEMBA member.

However, on the occasions when he did go to NEMBA events or on sponsored rides, he felt snubbed. Not only did he feel that NEMBA advocates were looking down their noses at him but his friends also got that same vibe. After this happened a few times, he gave up on the organization. I sensed a sadness to his admission of these feelings. He even said, "I like what NEMBA stands for but I don't like the people who do it. I would love to give money to individual projects rather than to the organization."

There are several issues here that I thought would make for a good discussion. Try not to focus animosity on the individual, I guarantee that would be counterproductive.

One question is, what can we do to reach out to these individuals?