The Lake Tahoe Bicycle

Achievement Award Recipients 

2010 and 2011

2010 Award Recipients

Individual - Gary Bell

Gary Bell is an early mountain bike pioneer who in the 70's took fat tire cruising bikes and placed multiple gears on them so he and friends could try Tahoe's trails, and in doing so, help created a new bicycling revolution called "mountain biking".  Back in the late 80's, Gary and his wife Becky co-founded the Tahoe Area Mountain Bike Association as a bicycle advocacy organization to help build and maintain trails, and help bring this new recreational activity to the tops of minds in the region.  Last year, Gary celebrated the 25th anniversary as the owner/operator of Sierra Ski and Cycle Works in South Lake Tahoe.  Gary is also a featured monthly columnist (The Spoke Junkie) in Tahoe Mountain News - a local news tabloid where he writes about bicycling, skiing and the environmental issues throughout the year.

Business - Northstar California

Northstar is a leading year-round mountain resort located in the Lake Tahoe/Reno region.  In 1992, Northstar built and opened the largest lift-served mountain bike park in Northern California with more than 100 miles of trails.  Each summer Northstar hosts important competitive mountain bike races at its Bike Park, is a hub for cycling in the North Tahoe area, and in 2011 was the designated finish line for the first stage of the Amgen Tour of California (ATOC) - American's most important professional cycling race.

Organization - Nevada Bicycle Advisory Board (NBAB) 

The NBAB is the Nevada state bicycle advocacy organization founded in 2008 to promote and provide advice on safe bicycling in Nevada.  Some of its members are Governor appointed and others are nominated by its Board of Directors.  Each year, the NBAB receives grant requests from bicycle advocacy organizations and bicycle event promoters from throughout the State.  The NBAB reviews those requests and then selects those organizations to receive min-grants that can help them advance safe bicycling and awareness in the state.  The NBAB also reviews and offers input to agency bicycle and pedestrian plans and legislation. And each year, NBAB sends a representative or two to the Bike Summit in Washington DC to meet with transportation policy makers in Congress.

Agency - Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) and Tahoe Metropolitan Planning Organization (TMPO).

This award is shared by two agencies because of their close collaborative efforts in the region.  Together they envision, plan and implement regional policies and guidelines - TRPA leads the effort to preserve, restore and enhance the unique natural and human environment;  the TMPO works to establish a safe, efficient and integrated transportation system that reduces reliance on the private automobile, provides for alternative modes of transportation, serves the basic transportation needs of the citizens of the Tahoe Region, supports the economic base of the region in the movement of goods and people, and minimizes adverse impacts on humans and the environment.

Together they produced the Lake Tahoe Region Bicycle & Pedestrian Plan: Establishing the Foundation for a World-Class Bicycle and Pedestrian Community at Lake Tahoe. 

2011 Award Recipients

Individual - John Upton

John Upton is the consummate community advocate. A South Tahoe High School graduate who went on to receive his MBA from Stanford and has been a community leader ever since.  John has served as a Board Member and president of: Lake Tahoe Unified School District, Rotary Club, Lake Tahoe Educational Foundation, El Dorado County Supervisor, and California State Association.  As a member of the South Lake Tahoe City Council he was its representative to the California Tahoe Conservancy and Tahoe Regional Planning Agency. He successfully chaired the campaigns for Measure C, S and R - bond measures that would generate revenues for building and improving the recreational facilities in the City.

In 2011, he tirelessly spear-headed the Measure R campaign - a campaign that would amend bond Measure S to allow accruing tax monies to be spent on maintaining existing and new bike paths - an estimated 2.2 million dollars.  These maintenance dollars are needed to repair aging bike paths and are an essential criterion for the funding of new bike path construction.  Measure R was passed in November 2011 by the voters with more than a 2/3 approval. 

Business - Lake Tahoe Media Group

Lake Tahoe Media Group (LTMG) is a creative and environmentally conscious agency utilizing integrated marketing communications solutions to design brands and campaigns that clearly reach and move a target audience into effective actions.  LTMG has produced numerous bicycle centric branding and marketing communications campaigns - some of which include:  June is Tahoe Bike Month, Tahoe Bike Day, Tahoe Bike Challenge, Measure R, Lake Tahoe Bicycle Film Festival, the Lake Tahoe Bike Trail Map, Tahoe Region Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan, and others.  Each of the forgoing examples have increased 'top of mind' awareness about bicycling role in helping move the region toward sustainability, and increase the number of residents, businesses, and visitors choosing to ride their bicycle in lieu of driving their automobiles.

Organization - Tahoe Area Mountain Bike Association (TAMBA)

Originally formed in 1988 and incorporated in 1997, the organization was an active mountain bike advocacy voice in the lake Tahoe Basin during the 1990s.  But TAMBA all but disappeared in the early 2000's due to lack of support and volunteers.

Last fall, during the Tahoe Trails Conference, jointly hosted by the US Forest Service and the International Mountain Bike Association, there was an outpouring of fresh support for a mountain bike group to work in the Tahoe region.  After several follow-up meetings, it was decided to resurrect the TAMBA organization.  Since then, they have built a web site, increased membership, organized several trail maintenance volunteer days, are advancing plans for a bike park in South Lake Tahoe, California, and have several special events in the works.

Agency - US Forest Service/Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (USFS-LTBMU)

The USFS/LTBMU is the largest landowner in the Lake Tahoe region with more than 154,000 acres or 75% of the basin.  Nearly every paved bicycle path and native surface forest trail is under its management.  Of particular importance, and unparalleled for a public land manager, is their proactive approach to working with multiple agencies to ensure that the region is becoming more bicycle-friendly with improved trails, connectivity of trails, and more public access to Tahoe's recreational resources.

In 2011, the LTBMU hired the International Mountain Bike Association to co-host the Tahoe Trails Conference which both informed the area's mountain bike enthusiasts about best practices and lead to the reorganization of the Tahoe Area Mountain Bike Association.  They have hired an international bike trail consultant to help design new single track trails in the South Tahoe area to minimize erosion, increase safety, and have features that challenge the increasing 'freeride' segment of mountain biking.