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Backcountry Lifeline is the organization that brought first aid awareness and emergency preparedness into the mountain bike community limelight. In only its second year of operation, the organization is launching into 2017 with more trainings, an expanded team, and more industry support than they could have hoped for.
THE SEASON TO DATE
First and foremost, what’s in store for 2017? While the team’s schedule continues to evolve, the following trainings/events have already been confirmed:
Wilderness First Aid for Mountain BikersTM camp with Big Mountain Enduro
Curt Gowdy State Park WY, April 21-23
Wilderness First Aid for Mountain BikersTM camp with Trailhead Athletics
Bellingham WA, May 5-7
First Aid for Mountain BikersTM with The Sacred Cycle
Carbondale CO, May 20
First Aid for Mountain BikersTM with NICA
Georgia, June 3-4
Wilderness First Aid for Mountain BikersTM camp with Salem Area Trail Alliance
Salem OR, June 9-11
First Aid for Mountain BikersTM with Yeti Cycles (private event)
Golden CO, June 20th
First Aid for Mountain BikersTM with Vail Rec District
Vail CO, June 21
Community First Aid event with Crested Butte Devo Team & Alpine Orthopaedics
Crested Butte CO, July 1-2
Medical Support/Incident Command & First Aid training for Yeti Tribe Gathering
Crested Butte CO, July 21-23
Big Mountain Enduro/EWS race
Aspen Snowmass, July 29-30
Conference speakers & First Aid training, with Breck Epic
Breckenridge CO, Aug 14-18
Sponsor village first aid support with Big Mountain Enduro & Alpine Orthopaedics
Crested Butte CO, Aug 19-20
Additional information and course registrations can be found at backcountrylifeline.com/learn.html. Or, to request a training for your group/team, email [email protected].
INDUSTRY SUPPORT
As a whole, the mountain bike industry agrees that more can be done to educate riders about safety and preparedness, how to respond to emergencies, and the importance of being able to help each other on the trails.
“Our sponsors are incredible,” commented BCLL co-founder Bonnie McDonald. “They want to know what they can do to help, how they can spread the word, when they can get their own teams trained, and what support they can offer. They believe in the cause.”
Our founding sponsors have returned in bigger ways, and NEW sponsors have been added to the roster.
Many of BCLL’s efforts will be brought to riders from top-level supporters Specialized and Maxxis in 2017. “It’s just the right thing to do,” noted Bicycle Brand Manager, Andrew Bartek of Maxxis’ sponsorship. “We’re glad to be part of this.”
At the second tier of support are industry legends Yeti, Smith and Shimano; and new to the effort this year are hydration pack experts Osprey, and bike maintenance geniuses Muc-Off.
Thanks to these organizations, BCLL will really be able to grow this season. “We’re doing more trainings, for more people, in more states,” explained BCLL co-founder Flynn George. “We’re expanding the services we provide, we’re getting into merchandise, we’re going to host two raffles this year, and we were able to expand our team. We’re beyond stoked.”
In addition to looking forward to providing training for Yeti, Specialized and other sponsors’ corporate teams, McDonald said she’s excited for the group’s fundraising events. “Last year’s event was a huge success, so this year, we’re doing two! We have bikes to give away from both Specialized and Yeti, along with products from Maxxis, Smith, Osprey, and Muc-Off. BCLL fans definitely won’t want to miss these events!”
IT TAKES A VILLAGE
Carrying the “rider safety” message alongside Backcountry Lifeline, are three well-known, influential organizations: Big Mountain Enduro (BME) and Enduro World Series (EWS) have returned as partners, while the National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA) has signed on for their first full season.
Of the partnerships, the groups have this to say:
Chris Spencer, Director of Risk Management, NICA – “We know that there is ‘inherent risk’ in mountain biking. Our goal is not to obliterate that – we can’t… Our goal is to be as confident as possible in our response – from our medical support to our coaches.”
Chris Ball, Owner, Enduro World Series – “Backcountry Lifeline is offering an incredible service to the mountain bike community. As the sport’s boundaries are pushed and people find themselves in more and more remote locations, this kind of first aid training can prove to be invaluable.”
Brandon Ontiveros, Owner, Big Mountain Enduro – “We love seeing riders go big and go fast, but we want to make sure they’re safe too. Things can happen fast out there. We encourage our racers–and all riders–to learn what they need to know to be able to help each other out.”
Big Mountain Enduro and Backcountry Lifeline will even be joining forces for one of the first trainings of the season. On April 21-23, BCLL will be hosting one of its hallmark Wilderness First Aid for Mountain BikersTM camps at Curt Gowdy State Park in WY, specifically (though not exclusively) aimed at BME racers.
For their part, BME is offering one FREE regular-season race entry* to any rider who successfully completes the course (*excludes the EWS race). “This is something we’re really committed to,” said BME Operations Manager Mike Day. “We want to see our racers get trained. We’re hoping this will incentivize them to do so.”
A GROWING TEAM
Last, but FAR from least… BCLL has ambitious goals for 2017, and to execute them, they need an ambitious team.
At the company’s annual meeting in January, it was decided that it was time for a fourth amigo to join original founders McDonald (whose official title is Chief Happiness Officer), George (Dirt Monkey), and Heidi Dohse (Inspirationalist). The group could not think of a better fit than SOLO-trained, backcountry and first aid whiz, Courtney Lewallen.
Lewallen, given the title Marketing Guru & Instructor Extraordinaire, has worked with BCLL since its inception, as principal trainer for the organization’s Level 2 course, Wilderness First Aid for Mountain BikersTM. Lewallen states she “fell in love with the organization, its mission, and all things mountain biking,” from the very start.
Now part owner, and as her title suggests, Lewallen will be spearheading the team’s marketing efforts and social media presence moving forward.
“We couldn’t be more fortunate to have found Courtney,” commented George. “Not only does she have a ton of experience as a wilderness first aid trainer and backcountry leader, but she is a marketing whiz. She’s also pretty damn fun to work with. We have a great team.”
Check Backcountry Lifeline’s website often this season and/or follow the team on Facebook… There will be additional classes, giveaways, merchandise and more coming soon!
April 10, 2017
Courtney Lewallen | [email protected]
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