A pro-bicycling group rising on an arc of political influence in recent years, Cascade Bicycle Club (CBC) is now in the throes of a magnificent implosion: Longtime executive director Chuck Ayers was fired on October 4, to the dismay of his supporters. In retaliation, a contingent of members is trying to recall the entire board of directors—the board who ousted Ayers for being too gutsy—but their success would result in the once-powerful group being under entirely new (and untested) leadership.

"The current board has handled this whole situation poorly," says Kelli Currie, a five-year CBC member leading the recall effort with a handful of insurgents calling themselves the Bike Club Rescue Squad. "I don't trust them to guide or direct the executive director."

Technically, while the firing of Ayers is the genesis of the conflict, insurgents say the 11-member board broke the nonprofit's own rules for electing new board members at a meeting on October 21. Board president Chris Weiss neglected to inform the club's 13,000 members of the nomination process back in July, giving them the four months' notice required in the bylaws. This essentially cut members out of the election.

Weiss didn't return repeated requests for comment, but board vice-president Peter Morgan says, "The board acknowledged the mistake," adding that it's in the middle of rescheduling the election process for March.

"It's a clear dereliction of duty," argues Currie. "Why [Weiss] is not resigning is beyond me."

Instead of resigning, Weiss—who was up for reelection on October 21—was asked by the board to retain his position until the new election.

"That's not acceptable for us," says Currie. "The members don't have a voice right now. We have no power."

Members may feel powerless, but this club of casual cyclists and commuters wields considerable power in the state—thanks in large part to Ayers's leadership. The organization has grown from 4,500 members to over 13,000 in his 13-year tenure. Also credited: advocacy director David Hiller's seven years of work. Hiller helped establish multiuse trails as "essential public facilities" under the state's Growth Management Act, helped pass Seattle's Complete Streets ordinance, launched a full-time lobbying program in Olympia (and is pushing legislation to penalize drivers who recklessly hit cyclists and pedestrians), and has pushed CBC to the forefront of elections to reject highway projects and support the city's growing light-rail network.

At the root of the friction is an ideological conflict: The milquetoast board prefers field trips to exurban trails, while Ayers and his staff are comfortable throwing elbows around to pass stronger laws. Hiller also has a colorful vocabulary and no fans on the CBC's board of directors. In January, when referencing the careless-motorists bill he was pushing, Hiller told The Stranger, "I'd love to hang these people up by their toenails at the edge of town and paint 'killer' across their chest and let them hang there until the buzzards peck their eyes out." The board voted unanimously to recommend that Hiller be fired. But Ayers refused.

In early October, Ayers says the board offered him the choice of resigning with six months' severance pay or being fired with four weeks' pay. "Based on my feelings of not doing anything wrong and the integrity of the organization," Ayers says, "I told them I would not resign."

Morgan downplays the backlash and the accusations that the board is out of touch with the membership base and with the power both Ayers and Hiller wield in the community. "That's a matter of perspective," he says. Nevertheless, the board reinstated Ayers as interim executive director for a period of six months until a new director can be found.

Currie says her group needs 5 percent of the total membership—690 signatures—in order to trigger a board meeting that would address a full-board recall. Even if Currie's push is successful and the board is overhauled, Ayers says he's out of CBC for good. "I have a gentlemen's agreement that I will step down regardless of the new constitution of the board," he says. "Right now my focus is on helping my staff formulate a strategic plan for the future and search for a new director. Beyond that, I have no idea what happens next."

This story has been updated since its original publication.