MALIBU : Volunteers Sought for Mountain Bike Patrol

The National Park Service is seeking volunteers to pedal through the Santa Monica Mountains on mountain bikes, bandaging cut knees, offering water to thirsty hikers and calming frightened horses.

An orientation meeting and introductory bike ride, scheduled for 9 a.m. Saturday in Malibu Creek State Park, will kick off 32 hours of training over the next six weeks. Once certified, volunteers spend eight hours a month patrolling in bumblebee-yellow jerseys.

Volunteers must be in shape and must have their own mountain bikes.

Established four years ago, the mountain bike troupe consists of 65 volunteers who choose when, where and with whom they patrol each month. They join rangers in almost a dozen state and national parks, including Cheeseboro Canyon, Point Mugu and Malibu Creek and Topanga state parks.

“When you get back from patrolling, you feel good inside because you’ve been exercising, and you also feel good because you’ve helped people,” said volunteer Joe Dillman, 69, of Thousand Oaks who handles scheduling for the mountain bike unit.

Whether helping a heatstroke victim, handing out maps or pointing out an especially beautiful wildflower, the volunteers act as assistant park rangers. Trained in first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation, they also give impromptu nature talks and make sure visitors obey park rules.

“They are our eyes and ears in the parks,” said Jean Bray, a spokeswoman for the National Park Service.

For more information, call patrol member Ross Blasman at 378-5100, Darryl Gray at (818) 706-1366 or Dillman at (818) 706-2789 during the day or 495-3995 at night.