Patrolling on Mountain Bike
Posted on Tuesday, June 15th, 2010
The people one surrounds oneself with are one of the largest predictors of job satisfaction. What one does also clearly plays a large role. I enjoy mountain biking. I enjoy helping people. And I enjoy the people who mountain bike.
Therefore, predictably I enjoy being part of the International Mountain Bike Association’s National Mountain Bike Patrol. This sounds scarily close to the logic section on the LSAT. Really, it comes down to civic engagement, helping one’s community, and doing what one loves.
I became a National Mountain Bike Patrol member last fall, when I completed my emergency medical technician training. This spring I volunteered as a patroller at the first mountain bike race of the season in Rochester, N.Y. IMBA was founded in 1988 to keep mountain bike trails open to riders, and its current mission still stands to “… create, enhance and preserve trail opportunities for mountain bikers worldwide.”
With all the threats to close state and national parks, this is a great chance for mountain bikers to volunteer time and energy to keep these parks open to riders and also open areas that formerly were off-limits to mountain biking. NMBP members assist in medical and mechanical emergencies as well as educate trail users of proper etiquette.
NMBP members are ambassadors for the sport of mountain biking, ride mountain bikes, and if the situation calls for it, help fellow cyclists with injuries or mechanical problems — really, things we all would do for fellow riders even if we weren’t patrollers.
There are IMBA members in all 50 states and 40 countries who annually contribute more than 1 million hours to trail work projects on public land. To date, members have created more than 5,000 miles of new trails on public land worldwide.
Check out these videos on becoming a National Mountain Bike Patroller or starting a branch in your area. Hey, if you join I will have more people to ride with and more places to ride, and logically that equals a lot of fun and adventure.
Andy Fleming is a Cloudveil Mountain Ambassador and NMBP member. He rides his cyclecross bike daily to high school, where he works as a counselor, prepares for the fall cyclecross season and has attended multiple senior proms.
Do you have to have any sort of special training to become a patrol member (like the EMT training you mentioned that you had)? Also, does this mean you have to tote around a ton of extra gear (water, First Aid kits, &c.)? Just curious…
Hi Mark,
Great to see you are interested. You have to be first aid and CPR certified and you have to take an online quiz on the IMBA website. Often you can become First Aid and CPR certified through your local IMBA Patrol Group.
The expectation is to provide help on the trail- this means to carry a multi-tool, water, food (gel or bar), a small first aid kit, knowledge of land use rules, and really- just generally a positive attitude. The best part is- this is what we are all prob. doing anyway. I hope you join up- the mountain bike community is great.
Thanks,
Andy