They’re in! After weeks of working with our local trails association, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and three great sponsors, our Rescue Boxes are in place and ready to help riders get around the singletrack safe and sound, no matter what trail catastrophe might strike.
It’s been a really cool process that’s allowed us to connect with a lot of influential and passionate people. Our friends at Northern Michigan Mountain Bike Association helped us identify some of the highest-trafficked intersections that would allow the Rescue Boxes to be visible and accessible to riders where they need it most. One was always destined for the Vasa Singletrack Trailhead on Supply Road, one of the major hubs of mountain bike trails in the area. We’ve all needed a quick tweak or tighten after rushing from work and hitting the trail, and having a full toolbox waiting there is a huge help.
The Vasa Singletrack offers up 16 miles of trails, so picking where our other two Rescue Boxes would go meant balancing sections of trail people ride consistently, but also getting them deep in the woods where a mechanical is the hardest to fix and where help is the hardest to get to. Pretty quickly we identified Post 7 and Post 13. Both of these signposts are located where the Vasa Singletrack intersects with the Vasa Pathway, a wider and very popular mountain bike and running trail.
This will be especially handy for fat bikers and skiers during the winter months, when NMMBA’s grooming efforts offer groomed trail that crosses ski trail. Spring, summer, and fall, we’ll have these stocked with bike repair tools. Once the snow falls, we’ll also add in space blankets and warmers to keep our winter athletes safe in cold temps. These are the two spots the offer the maximum benefit to the most trail users, and we’re really thankful that the DNR, NMMBA, and TART have all worked together to make it happen.
We also got to meet three local outdoor companies that sponsored the boxes themselves. Avery from The Happy Trails Company really pioneered this project and even made the first sponsorship offer. We also recruited Mitten Outfitters, a trail guide service in northern Michigan that offers mountain bike trips, paddle board excursions, and a lot more. Finally, kolo t.c. sponsored our box on Post 7, since so many of their rides and fundraisers go right by that spot.
The Rescue Box is a product, but it’s also something that we really think adds value and safety to the trails, and we’re working with other trail associations to bring them to singletracks, bike paths, and cycling areas around the country. Interested in taking this project blueprint and applying it in your next of the woods? Let us know!