The Oklahoma Earthbike Fellowship (OEF) was established in 1996 by a group of forward-thinking mountain bikers looking to advance the sport. Quite honestly, I do not know how they came up with the organization’s name, but I’m confident it reflected both the purpose and intent of the club at the time. I assume a little fun was put into this name, but however the name was decided upon, the club prospered and mountain biking in central Oklahoma has flourished.
Over the years, it became apparent that the Earthbike/Fellowship name wasn’t best for the organization. It’s meaning wasn’t intuitive, and it led to confusion regarding our identity and purpose. The most frequent questions we hear are:
What is an earthbike?
Fellowship? Is this some sort of cult?
Fellowship? Is this a religious organization?
These questions come not only from our members, but from the City, State and Federal land owners with whom OEF/OMBA holds land use agreements. As we enter 2024, and look forward to further growth, it’s time to rebrand our club to better reflect our intent and purpose and to better align with our parent organization, the International Mountain Bicycling Association. We need to send a clear message about who we are and what we do.
The guiding principles that formed Oklahoma Earthbike Fellowship (OEF) continue today under the new name Oklahoma Mountain Bike Association (OMBA). We will continue to work to keep our trails open, maintained and enjoyable to ride. We will collaborate with private, City, State and Federal landowners to secure land to pursue our riding passion.
This transition will take some time to complete, so please be patient with us as we work through this long and complex process.
If you have any questions, I welcome your feedback.
Regards,
Tony Sikes, Club President, OMBA board of directors
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