Sunday, March 23, 2008
City trying out bike patrol program
Mark Taylor
Mark Taylor's Outdoors column and notebook appears regularly in The Roanoke Times.
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For skiers and snowboarders, the sight of big white crosses on bright red jackets is a familiar one on the slopes.
A small group of Roanoke-area mountain bikers wants it to become the norm on the trails of Mill Mountain and, eventually, the region's other public trails.
Roanoke city leaders recently approved a pilot program to launch a mountain bike patrol program at Mill Mountain.
The group will be called the Roanoke Valley National Mountain Bike Patrol. It will be affiliated with the International Mountain Bicycling Association, which oversees about 150 NMBP patrol groups around the world.
Mountain biker Dick Howard, the driving force behind the effort, said organizers will review the Mill Mountain program next fall to gauge if it was successful.
"If so, we'll talk about expanding to the greenways and Carvins Cove," said Howard, a 63-year-old retired registered nurse who lives in Salem.
While ski patrollers spend lots of time urging slope users to slow down and be careful -- and are known to yank lift tickets from repeat violators -- the mountain bike patrol will be more about assistance and outreach than enforcement. And that outreach will extend to all trail users, including hikers, Howard said.
So, in a larger sense, they will be high-profile ambassadors for responsible -- and fun -- trail use.
And they will be easy to spot with their special, logo-covered jerseys, packs and jackets. They'll even carry business cards, Howard said.
"We want the people we meet on the trail to know who we are, what we're doing and why we're there," Howard said.
Patrollers riding on the mountain's eight miles of multi-use trails will be available to assist other trail users, be it by answering questions or helping with basic bike repairs or first aid.
They'll also keep a close eye on trail conditions so potential hazards or obstacles such as fallen trees can be quickly addressed. And while they won't be authorized to deal with any law-breakers they might encounter, it won't hurt to have those extra eyes and ears out there.
Howard started working on the idea about a year ago, mentioning it to Mill Mountain Park recreation supervisor Paul Chapman when the two were working on some trails on the mountain.
Chapman loved the idea of having a formal group helping with the trails, so he started working the idea through city channels.
"The city has been enthusiastic from the beginning," said Howard. "And they've backed up their enthusiasm with some funding."
The city will provide the required first aid and CPR training required of all patrollers. It will cover the cost of jerseys for 10 patrollers. East Coasters, a Roanoke bike shop, will pick up the tab on 10 more jerseys.
This isn't the first attempt at establishing a mountain bike patrol in the Roanoke Valley.
In 2000 a group of riders launched a patrol at Explore Park. The program drew quite a bit of interest early on, but fizzled within a few years.
"For one reason or another, that didn't work," Howard said.
Having a supporter such as Chapman, himself a cyclist, on the city staff certainly should help this effort.
And it's tough to imagine a better trial ground than an easily accessible park within the city.
"A lot of us ride on Mill Mountain anyway," Howard said. "It's a best-case scenario."
Patrolling isn't as simple as signing up then just going out for a ride.
First, patrollers need to register as volunteers with the city, and they need to join the National Mountain Bike Patrol, which costs $50 annually.
Those without first aid and CPR certification will need to take and pass those classes. All patrollers will have to take a NMBP certification exam, and participate in local orientation and training meetings.
Both Howard and Chapman said the group plans to hold a mock rescue drill with local fire and rescue squads.
Howard said patrollers will be asked to log at least five hours on the trails per month. After each ride they'll fill out a report through an Internet-based system.
So, it's a commitment.
Howard wants to get a core of about 15 good volunteers to get the program rolling. Through e-mails to local cyclists, he's gotten off to a good start.
He's asking volunteers to register with the city within the next week so aspiring patrollers can complete their first aid and CPR training soon. He hopes to get the bulk of volunteers trained, outfitted and ready to start patrolling before summer.
But it won't take that long for the patrols to start. Several volunteers are already qualified, and are already spending time on the trail.
In fact, Howard himself has already logged about five official hours of patrolling.
In the past few years Roanoke has made impressive progress expanding its trail and greenways network, and the efforts have been rewarded by exploding use of the resources.
Having a recognizable group of volunteers out there keeping an eye on things makes great sense, so let's hope this mountain bike patrol effort sticks.
For information on how to volunteer for the Roanoke Valley National Mountain Bike Patrol, contact Dick Howard at rehoward1@verizon.net.
