The American River Bike Patrol (ARBP) is an all-volunteer team that provides emergency medical and mechanical assistance to walkers, cyclists, equestrians and other users of the 32-mile American River Parkway's Jedediah Smith Memorial Trail (Old Sacramento to Folsom Lake), one of the most heavily-used recreation trails in North America (8 million users), the 37-mile El Dorado Trail (Folsom to Camino) and City of Roseville Bike Trail.
ARBP is a unit of the National Ski Patrol (NSP) and its National Bike Patrol (NBP). To be certified by the NSP/NBP, all ARBP bike patrollers undergo rigorous and ongoing training in first aid, CPR, bike repair and trail etiquette.
Unlike ski patrols, the ARBP has no ski area to underwrite the cost of first aid supplies, equipment and training and receives no funding from the County of Sacramento, California State Parks, the County of El Dorado, City of Placerville or City of Roseville, which manage the trails on which it patrols.
Prior to 2020, there was no bike patrol on the American River Parkway, and until 2022, there was no bike patrol on the El Dorado Trail. Since then, hundreds of instances of emergency care have been provided by the bike patrol. In one case, an ARBP bike patroller used his CPR training to save the life of a parkway user who was in full cardiac arrest. The patroller was awarded an American Red Cross Medal of Merit and the California Civilian EMS Award for life saving.
Since the ARBP began patrolling in 2020, its bike patrollers have conducted 5,902 patrols, ridden over 16,476 hours (avg. 2.79 hours per patrol) and 107,169 miles. During those patrols, they assisted 12,192 parkway users, repaired 763 bicycles and provided emergency first aid to 1,298 cyclists, pedestrians and equestrians. And they did this all as volunteers without anyone being paid or the patrol receiving any subsidy.
In partnership with UC Davis Trauma Prevention and Outreach, the ARBP gives bike helmets to kids whose families are otherwise unable to afford them. This program seeks to prevent and reduce the #1 cause of death and disability among children - traumatic brain injuries from riding a bicycle while not wearing a helmet. In 2023, we initiated a Junior Patroller program which trained 17 at-risk teenagers in cycling, leadership, first aid and community service, awarding each graduate a brand-new Trek bike and related equipment; in 2024 the Junior Patroller is mentoring over 30 young students with a public graduation ceremony planned on November 10.
The bike patrol serves as safety ambassadors along the trail, positively and gently informing trail users of trail etiquette, providing directions and assistance to those in need, being watchful for public safety and actively looking for people who need medical or mechanical assistance.
The mission of the American River Bike Patrol is to assist trail users of the American River Parkway and El Dorado Trail by providing emergency medical and bike repair assistance, to provide directions and information about the trails and their Trail Rules and Regulations and to assist the County of Sacramento, California State Parks, County of El Dorado and City of Placerville and their park rangers with improving safety along the entire the length of the Jedediah Smith Memorial Trail and El Dorado Trail.
The American River Bike Patrol is almost entirely self-funded. Individual volunteer patrollers pull from their own pockets to pay for medical training, required certifications and equipment (patrol packs and tools) needed to be qualified as bike patrollers.
They purchase liability insurance required by government agencies and their own first aid supplies, bicycle tubes (which they install on bikes with flat tires - at no cost to the parkway user), CO2 cartridges to inflate flat tires, Stop the Bleed kits and CPR masks, energy bars, electrolytes and other supplements given to people suffering from exhaustion, and all of the costs of outfitting themselves to help others.
Patrollers fund the printing of trail etiquette cards and parental guides to fitting helmets for kids. They set up and supply water stations on hot summer days and serve hot cocoa on cold winter days - all at their own cost - to help parkway users avoid environmental exposure.
National studies document that brain injuries are the #1 cause of death and disability to children. Not wearing a helmet that meets CPSC safety standards is the leading reason so many children die or are disabled because of TBIs.
In response, the ARBP cooperates with UC Davis Trauma Prevention to distribute free bicycle helmets to children who don't have them. Many of the families served by this program are Black, Indigenous or People of Color (BIPOC) who lack the resources or in whose culture helmet wearing is not common.
To reach more BIPOC kids and encourage their use of life-saving bike helmets, the ARBP plans to purchase better and more attractive helmets which it can more immediately and effectively distribute in local communities where children of limited means reside.
Inherent to a proactive Diversity, Equity and Inclusion effort, the ARBP seeks to attract volunteer patrollers from financially challenged communities. Donations will help underwrite training and outfitting of these patrollers so that lack of financial resources does not block people from helping our community as bike patrollers.
Big Day of Giving donations will help underwrite the aforementioned costs and others related to improving safety along the American River Parkway.
American River Bike Patrol Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Policy
The American River bike patrol values the diversity of its members and all our valuable community partners. We recognize the power of harnessing collective similarities and differences that help educate our organization and our members to deliver on our missions of training and service in a sensitive and culturally competent manner. We will continue to demonstrate our dedication to DEI, valuing the diversity of thought, backgrounds, experiences, gender identities, sexual orientation, and cultures. This commitment allows us to work locally to deliver high-quality training and services to the diverse communities we serve.
Our DEI Mission:
The American River Bike Patrol will consistently deliver its training and services in a culturally competent manner, valuing diversity, equity and inclusion.
Our DEI Vision:
The American River Bike Patrol aspires to be an organization fully committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion by creating and maintaining a diverse, high-performing membership who reflect the communities we serve; by cultivating a collaborative, inclusive, and respectful volunteer environment that empowers all contributors; and by leveraging diverse partnerships – all of which helps to ensure culturally competent service delivery supported by effective community leadership and engagement. Our efforts will be strengthened through guidance provided by a collection of our own leadership who value our DEI goals as well as those of the National Ski and Bike Patrol organization.
One step in advancing our goal: In 2023, we initiated a Junior Patroller program which trained 17 at-risk teenagers in cycling, leadership, first-aid and community service, awarding each graduate a brand-new Trek bike and related equipment. In 2024, we plan to expand the program to additional at-risk teens.
Organization name
American River Bike Patrol
2020
Mission Category
Recreation & Sports
Operating Budget
$0-$50,000
Organization Need
Funding: Unrestricted
Demographics Served
General population
BIPOC Leadership
Executive Director/CEO
Local Counties Served
El Dorado, Sacramento
Equity Statement
Equity Statement
Address
PO Box 2773Sacramento, CA, US
El Dorado, CA, US
Placer, CA, US
Yolo, CA, US