Kona Bicycle Company - Advocacy

Advocacy

Kona is involved in cycling advocacy.

International Mountain Biking Association Kona has been an IMBA corporate supporter since 1994, and has developed fundraising projects including the Kona Buck-A-Bike program, the Kona Bro Deal program, the Interbike bowling tourney and Kona/IMBA Freeriding grants.

The Kona/IMBA bowling party, held at Interbike from 1998 until 2007, raised money for NEMBA, a New England IMBA-related advocacy group. Its purpose was to help purchase a large area for mountain biking by funding the KONA/IMBA freeride grants. The Kona/IMBA Freeride grants helped clubs throughout the US and Canada including:Rapid City, South Dakota; Grand Junction, Colorado; Hood River, Oregon; Coquitlam, British Columbia; St. Charles, Missouri; Surrey, British Columbia; Anderson, Indiana, and East Burke, Vermont. The grants helped build freeride features on trails, as well as building dirt jump parks in parks.

For 2008, Kona sponsored the IMBA Epic Rides program, helping fund four new rides throughout the United States and Canada. The trails set aside as Epic rides for 2008 were the Mid Mountain Epic in Park City, Utah; Comfortably Numb in Whistler, British Columbia; the trails sponsored by PAMBA outside of Peoria, Illinois, and the Loon Lake Epic in Tamarack, Idaho.