Volunteer Bike Patrol

[hatterby]

Anyone who would be interested in joining the Patapsco volunteer bike patrol you are invited. We are having an organizational meeting this Saturday 8/18 from 2 until 3PM at Pavilion 33 in the Avalon area (near lost lake).

I will try and give you a quick rundown as to what is required and what is done by the VBP.
First the VBP is an aid to the park rangers, we wear uniforms (well, really just
shirts (provided) and colored clothes) and ride around the park and offer aid to
people who are lost or need directions we also note trail conditions which
require attention. We are not allowed nor should we engage persons who are
performing illegal activity, that is to be reported, via your cell phone, to
park headquarters, and they will dispatch the appropriate authorities.
There is a requirement (goal) of 100 hours per year. If this is met then for
the next year you will get a Maryland State Park Pass for free (a $75 value).
The service hours can be met at any time of the day, week, year that the park is open, in any of the three areas of Patapsco (Hilton, Avalon, McKeldon). Before you go on your ride you need to check in with headquarters and when you are done you check out. Again cell phone is the best means of communication. C.P.R. and first aid are prerequisites which count toward your 100 hour requirement. There is 1 mandatory class which occurs on a Saturday (all day) in March. This class is offered once a year (crazy) and if not attended you cannot participate in the program. You need to provide your own bike. You can only ride by yourself or with other VBP members when on patrol.

I hope this answers most of your questions. Please email me with any additional
questions.
Geoff at patapscovbp@comcast.net

[hatterby]

If you are interested in joining the volunteer bike patrol (VBP) for Patapsco Valley State Park there is a MANDATORY meeting on March 8th that you must attend. As a VBP member is required to donate 100 hours of volunteer time patrolling the trails and roads in Patapsco. Training counts towards your 100 hour requirement. Let me know by 2/27 if you are interested in attending the meeting and joining the VBP.
Thanks.
Geoff.

Geoff Calderone
patapscovbp@comcast.net

[RubberSideDown]

I was just first aid and CPR ceritfied elsewhere, will that be acceptable? Or do I need to attend the course offered.

Thanks

[hatterby]

The course is a volunteer course and is in addition to first aid/CPR. I am checking to see if they will accept Red Cross first aid/CPR.
Geoff.

[escatmore]

Not sure if it helps since I'm not part of this particular endeavor however, when they ran the patrol last time they allowed those of us that were already certified to skip the CPR/First Aid bit as I recall. That may have changed and I defer to hatterby since he's actually talking to whoever is running it. Good luck!

eric

[BikerMiker]

I'd be interested but it seems very odd to have all of these restrictions. You have to ride by yourself? Really? _After_ a year you get a park pass? Do you have to swear to ride only on maintained trails too? I'm asking seriously.

It doesn't look like you are getting much interest in this (I could be wrong) and I think some of these restrictions/requirements are the reason. I've been super active in Patapsco for almost 10 years and I don't think I'd be able to officially be involved although I might like to.

Color me confused... More power to those who can pull all of this off! 8 hours a month of riding by yourself at Patapsco... Anybody who does this I will provide with free tubes!

mike

[riderx]

I'd be interested but it seems very odd to have all of these restrictions. You have to ride by yourself? Really? _After_ a year you get a park pass? Do you have to swear to ride only on maintained trails too? I'm asking seriously.

It doesn't look like you are getting much interest in this (I could be wrong) and I think some of these restrictions/requirements are the reason. I've been super active in Patapsco for almost 10 years and I don't think I'd be able to officially be involved although I might like to.

Color me confused... More power to those who can pull all of this off! 8 hours a month of riding by yourself at Patapsco... Anybody who does this I will provide with free tubes!

mike
I tend to agree with Mike, there are an awful lot of restrictions to make this appealing for anyone to step forward. Although as I read it you either ride by yourself OR ride with other patrollers. Problem is, if your ride buddies aren't patrollers then you can't patrol and get hours while you are out riding with them. That will make really difficult for a lot of people to hit 100 hours. The check-in/check-out requirement seems like it would be a burden too.

[jon_baler]

yeah, I'm with riderX and BikerMiker.

[RubberSideDown]

I tend to agree with Mike, there are an awful lot of restrictions to make this appealing for anyone to step forward. Although as I read it you either ride by yourself OR ride with other patrollers. Problem is, if your ride buddies aren't patrollers then you can't patrol and get hours while you are out riding with them. That will make really difficult for a lot of people to hit 100 hours. The check-in/check-out requirement seems like it would be a burden too.

I think that is part of the catch. If you can get your buddies involved with you, you can get your riding in together AND be part of the patrol. The park can get more people involved. For some of us who live close enough to the park, I think it's a good way to get involved. Yeah I'm not 100% sold on the required clothing and check in, but hey, that may be a sacrifice in order to give back.

Maybe the meeting is a good place to start to maybe work with the park and provide some feedback to them to maybe evolve it into something that everyone could agree on. Yes maybe the restrictions aren't appealing for anyone to step forward, but if you leave it to someone else, sometimes it will never get done.

Geoff, is there a way we could discuss the program with the park? I don't want to turn this into a debate or blow this way out of proportion, but maybe some of the conditions could be altered a little to help bring in more (not necessarily MORE) people?

BM, if I do get involved, how can I take you up on your free tubes offer?:D

[bikerRob]

There is a requirement (goal) of 100 hours per year. If this is met then for
the next year you will get a Maryland State Park Pass for free (a $75 value).
The service hours can be met at any time of the day, week, year that the park is open, in any of the three areas of Patapsco (Hilton, Avalon, McKeldon).

02/29/08 >> The 100 hr. requirement is a little steep. Now if they threw in a free lunch ( on days over 6 hrs ) and a couple other goodies like free bike maintenance (just basic stuff ) than this might look a little better. If you wanna draw some bees you got to spill some honey. ;)

[BikerMiker]

It seems like there are a lot of us who COULD become involved but just can't pull all of that off. It seems odd to kick out a few people who can't commit to 100 hours of solo riding or mandatory clothing.

There has GOT to be a better way to get this going. I know that the park has been reluctant to work with the National Mountain Bike Patrol but that might be a good idea as well. Eric and I are certified with them...

mike

[hatterby]

I've talked with the park about using the NMBP program and they have no interest in that since they "already have a program". I said if no one is using the program how good is it and they don't really care. So I'm going with their program. Some of the restrictions I can understand and live with. Uniform - we are volunteer rangers we will wear the standard issue tan uniform shirt the only difference being on one shoulder we have a volunteer patch and not a ranger patch. (the shirts are coolmax). Check in/check out - its a phone call to a call center that is always staffed. Riding alone - their thought is that if you are riding with your buds then you won't be doing your job of patrolling or be willing to leave your group to assist others. Don't forget the 100 hours includes about 20 hours of training time.
What do we get back - goodwill with the park. Whats that worth? who knows? a new trail?
In my opinion they really don't want the VBP but they have to do it since we are going to follow their rules and their policies call for a VBP if there is interest.
I need to know by tomorrow who, if anyone, is interested and willing to commit the 100 hours, so I can sign you up for the March 8th MANDATORY class.
Call or email me if you want.
Geoff
410-456-8378
patapscovbp@comcast.net

[riderx]

I've talked with the park about using the NMBP program and they have no interest in that since they "already have a program". I said if no one is using the program how good is it and they don't really care. In that same vein, I really see no need for the program. Most MTBers already give directions, help injured riders, help people that are lost and report trail conditions as well as notify the park of illegal activity like ATV use and dumping. I prefer a
more low-key, self-governing approach. Speaking as someone who does a lot of volunteer hours at Patapsco, I'd say MTBers earn a lot of good will already. Not that more isn't good, but this program is not for me.

Note: I had refrained from posting this opinion earlier so as not to derail the thread, but since the door got open I figured I'd chime in.

[Welsh1]

Sounds good to me I'm in!!!!:D

[RubberSideDown]

I've talked with the park about using the NMBP program and they have no interest in that since they "already have a program". I said if no one is using the program how good is it and they don't really care. So I'm going with their program. Some of the restrictions I can understand and live with. Uniform - we are volunteer rangers we will wear the standard issue tan uniform shirt the only difference being on one shoulder we have a volunteer patch and not a ranger patch. (the shirts are coolmax). Check in/check out - its a phone call to a call center that is always staffed. Riding alone - their thought is that if you are riding with your buds then you won't be doing your job of patrolling or be willing to leave your group to assist others. Don't forget the 100 hours includes about 20 hours of training time.
What do we get back - goodwill with the park. Whats that worth? who knows? a new trail?
In my opinion they really don't want the VBP but they have to do it since we are going to follow their rules and their policies call for a VBP if there is interest.
I need to know by tomorrow who, if anyone, is interested and willing to commit the 100 hours, so I can sign you up for the March 8th MANDATORY class.
Call or email me if you want.
Geoff
410-456-8378
patapscovbp@comcast.net

I really appreciate your efforts on this and checking in with the park. For one, I thought the upcoming meeting was more of an informational meeting, but after carefully reading you original post (which I should have done in the first place); I see I missed that meeting last August. I have to agree with the rest and say that I think the program needs a little tweaking of the guidelines. Not to beat up the messenger, but it looks to be a bit much. They are what they are.

I think I will give back in other ways this year. I've already signed myself up for the first two Patapsco trail maintenance for this year and hope to make more of them. Also pitch in on the official MORE Trail Maintenance days too.

Geoff, do you have any further information or details on the "Adopt-a-trail" program? Do you know if they are still going through with that? If you don't have any details, no worries. I thought of maybe giving back that way too.

Again, thanks for your efforts on this. I hope to see you on the trail during your patrols.

RideOn!

[hatterby]

Larry Martin the volunteer coordinator at Patapsco just sent me this info.
Also NEW this year, we are bringing back a program called Adopt-a-Trail. This program provides an opportunity for individuals or groups to routinely maintain & care for a specific trail or section of trail. Details of the program are included in the attachment and will also be in the park’s newsletter that will be published at the beginning of April. If you would like to Adopt-A-Trail, please let me know and you will be sent an application when they become available later in the spring. You can reach him at 410-465-3287 or lmartin@dnr.state.md.us.
Hope that helps.
Geoff.