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So, why the
change? Chris Broome January 1st, 2009 The bottom line is that the ‘Association of Associations’ concept of the IHPVA re-organization of 1999 just didn’t work as planned and the human-powered community was losing focus, direction and sense of community. The multiplicity of similar names was very confusing, even to those of us within the organizations and it was almost impossible to explain clearly to outsiders. Following the 1999 reorganization, the IHPVA was not a legal entity. It was not incorporated or registered and accordingly has not had legal funding or even the legal foundation for its name. As President of the HPVA at that time and an early Chairman of the IHPVA, I was deeply involved in the name changes and the reorganization. But it was extremely difficult to sustain sufficient enthusiasm to make even parts of the proposed IHPVA structure work. I was not successful in keeping the enthusiasm alive or in forming a legal entity and my successors have all suffered the same fate. The anticipated benefits failed to materialize. The enthusiasm for the concept dropped very quickly, as did the number of volunteers willing to help bring about the proposed change. As the years passed, even the proponents of the 1999 reorganization realized that the change wasn’t working and that substantive action was needed. As Alice Krause has written, HPVA board presented a proposal to re-establish the original name and change the bylaws to reflect the change at the annual HPVA membership meeting in 2006. The membership approval vote was unanimous. The organization has gone back to its origins and reclaimed the name established by its founders. The organization is incorporated as the International Human Powered Vehicle Association in the USA and is registered in the U.K. We plan to reaffirm our mission of promoting human powered vehicles and their technology by inviting the affiliation of the current national organizations into a larger unified community. We are improving our publication of information through a restructured ihpva.org website with an open archive of Human Power, the IHPVA technical journal. The website will also publish course records and race and event records, where the event organizers submit the observation and timing information. Online forums are now available to improve communications between individuals and organizations throughout the world. We invite all members of national organizations to become IHPVA members, to volunteer for any of a multitude of tasks in running events and the organization, to run for office if they wish, or to just enjoy the satisfaction of being on the leading edge of human power and its supporting technologies. Chris Broome Board member, IHPVA Former Chairman, IHPVA Past President, HPVA |
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| Our Latest Issue’s Featured Article | |
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Editorial: Alice Krause, Eureka, California, USA - August 2008 The wait is over! If you hadn’t noticed the masthead already, please look again. Our organization has gone back to its roots and reclaimed the name given us by our founders. We are officially the International Human Powered Vehicle Association! While some of our members had never realized there had been a change in our name, many did. During our attempt at re-organization we gave the original IHPVA name to the newly formed committee that was to oversee the “association of national clubs” and our original club assumed the HPVA moniker. Like many ideas this one was founded in enthusiasm and the feeling that change would be a benefit to all of us. As the enthusiasm waned the lack of benefit became increasingly apparent. With vague guidelines, lack of volunteers to fill yet even more positions and no legal funding source the association of National Representatives had dwindled down to about 6 with only about 4 communicating regularly. With the passing years members felt alienated from the process of decision making about rules, events read the whole story |
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KB's Cab Bike The E-Mails by Kelsey (KB) Bower, Ashland, OR, USA Al and Alice, You guys did it again and kept the Challenge alive. A new European record (go Damjam), and some new to me riders. Wish the Tri-sled machine were running gut (good). Glad to see Larry had a streamliner up and gehen (going). So much for my once a week Deutsche lessons, occasionally I can say something out loud. Half the week I am in Frankfurt and the other half I am in Giessen. I get to buy the old cab-bike no. 11, which has been ridden by maybe 500 riders. And every new part has been tested on it. One more day of epoxy and I can paint the inside and I (mit Bernd`s help) can start to reassemble it, with some of the upgrades that have evolved. Two weeks into it, I patched most of the holes and crashed areas. Bernd Krieger is very supportive of my rebuilding no. 11 (German thinks there will be near 100 cab-bikes built by the end of the year). I think I may have picked out the last piece of gravel from my read the whole story |
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| The Nissan Dempsey–MacCready One
Hour Challenge Alice Krause, Eureka, California USA The Nissan Dempsey–MacCready One Hour Challenge lived up to all the preparation and anticipation by providing suspense and surprise up to the final moments on Sunday July 2, 2006. Beginning June 29, with a 5:00 am advance viewing of the track located at the Nissan North American Technical Center outside Casa Grande, Arizona. Riders were given a tour of the track in vehicles provided and driven by Nissan employees. The three-lane 5.67 mile (9.12 km) oval was steeply banked in the turns and had some very large surface cracks throughout with turn three having a very uneven surface due to some older paving. Riders requested stops to check specific aspects of the track condition and discussed optimum lane usage. Damjan Zabovnik rider and builder of Eivie stated the track was much rougher than he had anticipated and did not think he would ride on the first day, preferring to see how the other vehicles performed before attempting the course. Mike Bourne, Operations Manager at the track arranged for everyone to assemble at the front gates at 4:45 am Friday, June 30. We were to come and go only as a group, waivers were signed by all attending to be allowed on the premises and the OK was given for use of cameras during the record attempt. read the whole story |
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