Ortlieb and Rider Resilience have joined forces to launch a special edition Velocity Design bag.
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 long standing connection with a brand and a shared passion for adventure and riding bikes.
This product launch is not just another version of Ortlieb’s Velocity rucksack, but a testament to the healing powers of two-wheeled adventures and the camaraderie of the bicycle community.
At the age of 30, Nils Amelinckx was told he would have 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.
Nils Amelinckx
Amelinckx set up Rider Resilience, a not-for-profit community interest company designed to inspire others to turn to the bicycle during times of hardship.
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 Amelinckx faced were made more bearable by the relationships formed through years of work, which had cultivated a sense of extended family within Ortlieb.
To support Amelinckx, Ortlieb wanted to use its 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 a 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 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.
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.
The Velocity Design Rider Resilience will be sold on the Rider Resilience website, via Ortlieb stockists and via the Ortlieb website.
