Meet the 2014 Blackburn Rangers

Blackburn (www.blackburndesign.com), designer and developer of innovative cycling products and accessories, announced today the induction of four new adventure cyclists into the 2014 Blackburn Ranger “Out There” program. Created in 2012 to embody the culture of adventure, the Blackburn Ranger program supports cyclists that the brand admires on their journeys along the Pacific Coast and the Great Divide.

To continue the legacy and spirit that Founder Jim Blackburn built in 1975, the Ranger program is created from a simple and effective people-and-product-first approach with everything it touches. This no-nonsense style provides in the field product development feedback that gets fast-tracked for future innovation and also places community first; which has always been a fundamental tenet of the brand.

According to Robin Sansom, Brand and Product Manager, “The Rangers are on the front line with our products on a daily basis for months. Their level of focused feedback is instrumental to our product innovation, validation and testing.  We are approaching our third year of the Ranger program and our team is all so proud of the cyclists for stepping up to share their adventures.
Ultimately, the program encourages everyone to ‘get out there.’

Blackburn sent out a smoke signal to cyclists asking for participation into the Ranger program from January– March 2014.  There was an overwhelming response as hundreds of applicants created videos and wrote essays explaining why they wanted to embark on the adventure and become a Blackburn Ranger.  The end result was the Blackburn team choosing four new Rangers that they felt symbolized the sprit of the brand and would carry the torch of the proceeding Rangers.

Introducing the 2014 Blackburn Rangers

Name:  Chas Eberle
Route: Pacific Coast

Chas has been chasing adventure for a long time.  He is currently a student but the majority of the time you can find him at Mt. Baker during the winter teaching snowboarding and in Alaska during the summer supervising a zip line course.   Chas is not in a hurry to complete the journey and has his sights set on epic surf stops and finding as much dirt connectors as possible along the tour.

Name: Eiry Bartlett
Route: Pacific Coast

Eiry calls the beautiful land of Vancouver home and one of her passions is designing leather goods for her company AARAWORKS.  Her other drive is to embark on the road less travelled and have adventure bike/camp become a daily ritual during the long ride to Mexico.

Name:   Sam Harney and Kurt Williams
Route:  Great Divide

Sam and Kurt are long time friends and will be joining forces during their adventure.  The duo will be carrying 100lbs of climbing gear in order to pick off routes during their endless summer ride.  They both live in Bishop, CA and climb as much as humanly possible and plan to continue this lifestyle by bike.  They are in absolutely no hurry to finish the route and their personal success gage will be a combination of miles and how many routes they knock down along the way.

Name:   J.D. Pauls
Route:  Great Divide

J.D. is a returning Ranger, who successfully completed the Great Divide last year and told some fantastic stories along the way.  We welcome J.D. back this year for another adventure, this time along the Colorado Trail, which intersects the Great Divide and is incredibly story worthy.

Name:   Jennifer Schofield
Route:  Pacific Coast

Also a returning Ranger, Jennifer’s journey in 2013 helped to inspire a career change and now she is embarking on a life journey that involves guiding others on their cycling adventures.  We’ll see what this iteration of travel by bike is like for her . . . ice cream will be a part of it.

To follow the Blackburn Ranger adventures go to: http://www.blackburndesign.com