Bike Maine used to have some good fund raising tours. The long weekends of the Maine Bike Rally have been gone for years. Co-hosted by bike clubs in Maine these rallies offered twenty routes each day. These rides got me going to Maine to ride. More recently the week long tours were diluted into long weekends and now even these are history. I thought getting out of staters to come to Maine for a tour that generated funds for local bikeped activities was a great strategy. Now I visit Maine just for a day for the Lighthouse Ride.
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BCM stopped supporting the Maine Bike Rally weekend which brought cyclists from all over Maine together. Much of the work was done by one of three large bicycle clubs in ME making BCM a beneficiary with reduced expenses. The week long Bike Maine does not meet the need cyclists had for a long weekend experience. BCM needs to be more inclusive in its programs for cycling in Maine.
It has a wonderful mission and I appreciate any organization that focuses on cycling. I also know that it's not easy running a non-profit. However, I have two concerns. (1) their rating on Charity Navigator is a failing score, which indicates problems (https://www.charitynavigator.org/ein/010483786). (2) the cancelation policy for their Bike Maine weekend seems unfair. In my case, I had to get surgery due to a sudden injury (which I told them I can verify from my surgeon) and they wouldn't let me give my registration to another cyclist nor transfer it to next year's event. I understand that due to budgeting the latter may not be possible but really, they won’t let me gift it to a friend? (I had registered both my partner and myself, so close to $500). That seems unkind and does not create a positive feeling about this organization. I get that they have a small staff, but this takes minimal effort and would build goodwill. I did Bike Maine some years ago and enjoyed it, but doubt I will return in the future.
Go B. 01/18/2021
In the eight years since this event was mutually retired by all groups involved, the BCM has introduced numerous new events, with some more on the way in 2021! Events are just a small portion of what the BCM does, as the non-profits primary mission is to make Maine better and safer for pedestrians and people on bikes.