Youth bike patrol great experience

Earlier this year in order to spend more time with my daughter, ride my bike more and do something beneficial for the community, we signed up for youth bike patrol through Whitefish Legacy Partners.

We often ride mountain bikes from the Lion Mountain Trailhead to the Beaver Lakes Trailhead along roughly 8 miles of the Whitefish Trail. We also frequent the Swift Creek Trailhead for shorter rides.

The Whitefish Trail Youth Bike Patrol program has been a great summer experience for our growing teen (and me). She has performed valuable and tangible community service while cultivating a strong connection to our public lands — all while she’s been riding her bike. She has learned how to interact comfortably with curious Whitefish Trail enthusiasts at the trailheads as we strap on our bike patrol “license plates.”

We are happy to give back to a trail system that has provided so much to our community, and as parents, we are pleased Whitefish Legacy Partners has provided such a great opportunity for youth in service — right here in Whitefish, outdoors and doing something together.

Our bike patrol job is simple. We count user data along the trail corridor, track number of vehicles at the trailheads, report downed trees, and check for trash. Sometimes we answer questions about the trail or Legacy Partners, often we provide directions or talk about our favorite section, and if users need basic first-aid or bike maintenance help, we are equipped and ready to lend a helping hand.

We’d also like to thank Flathead Electric Co-op for supporting the youth bike patrol through its Roundup for Safety grant. The grant helped purchase more first-aid kits and funded valuable CPR and first-aid training for youth patrollers. We are thankful that the broader Flathead community supports the program, and we look forward to signing up again next year.

James Bowland, Whitefish