Say “Alumni Patroller,” many NSP members picture a grey-haired patroller who moves slowly and has little left to contribute because their knees have given out. On the other hand, say the phrase “Bike Patroller,” and many members picture someone young speeding down a black diamond, dodging trees, and launching off gap jumps.
These images are drastically different! But here’s where these trails cross: bike patrolling allows an alumni patroller to stay active and involved. How can that be? Both images described are ridiculously outdated stereotypes. Read more to see how this relationship helps bike patrols and alumni members.
There are many ways in which bike patrols operate. Some support the typical lift-served, downhill mountain bike parks, functioning like any traditional alpine patrol. Others serve gravel paths or cross-country mountain bike trails, like Nordic or backcountry. Some patrols serve on paved bike paths that meander along rivers or lakes, offering a different experience from winter patrols. Finally, some bike patrols only provide medical support for events such as bike races.
The slower speeds when riding roads, gravel, or cross-country trails make it a perfect fit for many alums who might already be doing these activities to stay fit and active. Some bike units even allow members to use pedal-assist e-bikes, making the experience more accessible and enjoyable.
You can become a bike host as an alumni patroller with a paid NSP membership. Your alumni status remains your primary unit, while your bike host unit becomes your secondary. To become an alumni bike host, the unit you want to join must have a host program. You must also have the bike skills relevant for that unit, take the hybrid courses for your patrol (such as Bike 1), be up to date with medical, and refresh your CPR. In host units, Outdoor First Care (OFC) is sufficient medical training. If your OEC has expired, you can take NSP’s much shorter OFC course. Once you’ve met these requirements and become part of the bike patrol, your education record is updated.
Our personal experience shows how this can work. Our trails crossed when we met through our local bike unit, GROC Mountain Bike Patrol, and we’ve since become good friends. Our patrol supports cross-country mountain bike trails and events and has OEC-trained and OFC-trained host members. Skip, a retired patroller with over 50 years of experience, is our region’s alumni advisor who keeps his OEC/CPR current. Before joining, he rode his bike for his health, like many people do. Tim, an active bike and ski patroller, is a testament that you don’t need to be a daredevil to be part of a bike patrol. We often patrol together and sometimes even ski during Tim’s winter patrol shifts (though Skip is retired from alpine work).
Skip Millor (Alum!) & Tim Franz (not Alum!) patrolling together as part of the GROC Mountain Bike Unit. Image credit: Tim Franz
