Bikes Are Medicine: A Backpack Inspired By The Healing Power Of Two-Wheeled Adventure
Nearly all products are conceptualised in the same way, they seek to plug a potential gap in the market in the hope of maximising sales in the process. The story behind this bag is quite different. It is the product of Nils Amelinckx‘s incurable cancer diagnosis combined with a longstanding connection with a brand and a shared passion for adventure, riding bikes and a desire to ‘pay it forward’. This product launch is not just another version of Ortlieb’s iconic Velocity rucksack, but a symbolic testament to the healing powers of two-wheeled adventures and the camaraderie of the bicycle community.
At the age of 30, Nils was told that he had no more than five years left to live. Upon learning of his life-limiting prognosis, he began to find solace in cycling and photography, particularly around sunrise and sunset. He did not want cancer to dictate how and to what extent he lived his life. He discovered that riding bikes fostered mental clarity and resilience that in turn helped him cope with the difficult times he faced.
Nils set up Rider Resilience, a not-for-profit community interest company designed to inspire others to turn to the humble bicycle during times of hardship. Nils was convinced that continuing to ride bikes throughout his cancer journey had extended his life and that pedalling had a host of healing powers that could not be replicated through conventional medicine. Rider Resilience would nurture resilience through a growing collection of inspirational stories told through articles, interviews and film, whilst the sale of merchandise would generate funding to donate to like-minded projects and movements.
The hard times Nils faced were made more bearable by the relationships formed through years of work, which had cultivated a sense of extended family within ORTLIEB. Like any friends and family, when someone you care dearly for is going through hard times you do anything to try and help. For ORTLIEB, they wanted to do what they do best and use their global platform to spread the message of Rider Resilience. The idea was born to create a limited edition run of backpacks, of which a proportion of profits would be donated to Rider Resilience.
With its hard-hitting graphic designed by Scotsman Graeme Stewart, better known as ‘Stormstatic’, the bag’s artwork attempts to visualise the concept of a dawn raid analeptic, a drug that restores a person’s strength yet one that is solely derived by bottling the endorphin charged euphoric feeling of having ridden to the top of a mountain in time for sunrise. The blood bag is a nod to sharing this feeling with people who are most in need and the camaraderie of the bicycle community known for helping each other to ‘ride out’ the harder times.
The Velocity Design Rider Resilience bag will be sold on the Rider Resilience website, via ORTLIEB stockists and the ORTLIEB website. Some of the proceeds of the bag’s worldwide sales will be donated to Rider Resilience, helping the community interest company to inspire more people to get in the saddle and to create a global movement.
For more information about Rider Resilience or Nils’ journey, head to the Rider Resilience website.
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