Meet The Board

Eric and his wife Missy own Kokanee Inn in Joseph. After riding his first Century in 1978 wearing cut-offs and tennis shoes he slowly morphed into a road cyclist complete with wool jerseys and shorts. Eric tried racing but decided to just stick to long distance rides after lots of road rash and broken bicycles. Over the years Eric has ridden several centuries, double centuries and rides with lots of climbing. He and Missy have just started to mountain bike and found that this is like learning how to ride a bike again. His goal is to promote road and gravel riding in Wallowa County and hopes to learn from experts in the area how to mountain bike.

My first time mountain biking was in Park City, Utah. I was probably 18 or 19 and a very experienced rider/friend offered to take me. I had no idea that if I slammed on the front brake I was going sailing over the handlebars. Only needed to learn that lesson once. All my fake nails broke off and I sat there completely bruised calculating how much it was going to cost to fix them. I’m originally from New York but basically grew up a Valley Girl from Southern California so maybe that explains that. But from then on I was hooked. This is all pre-shocks and disc brakes so riding has only gotten better since then. When I was single I would only date guys that LOVED mountain biking. That was my biggest filter and that’s how much I love it to this day.

Since 1985, Mike has held leadership roles within Oregon’s non-profit community working in the sectors of health, social impact, housing, early childhood development and sustainability. Mike is principal for MMercer Consulting with a focus on supporting B Corps and aspiring B Corps in delivering on their stakeholder capitalism aspirations. Prior to launching his consulting practice, as Executive Director of the NW Earth Institute, Mike and team inspired more than 170,000 citizens to act for a positive, sustainable future. Over the last 40+ years, as a bike commuter, cyclocross/gravel athlete and snow/Mtn biker, Mike has spent more time on a bike than in his car….now, if it only showed!

Patrick was born and raised in Wallowa County, Oregon. While he has many fond memories of exploring the backroads of the county on his bmx bike as a kid, his love of bikes was truly born while ripping around the streets of Eugene during his time at the University of Oregon. Patrick returned to Northeast Oregon in 2017 right around the same time that he started mountain biking. He works as a science and technology teacher at Enterprise High School and part time as a rafting guide in the summers. In addition to riding bikes, Patrick enjoys whitewater kayaking, reading, running, and bowhunting. He is excited about bringing more singletrack opportunities to the folks of Wallowa County, especially the youth.

When Chip Andrus moved to Wallowa County over a decade ago and was seen biking any gravel road, dirt road, trail, or snowmobile track with promise, his sister – a long-time resident – wickedly noted that only people with DUIs rode bikes here. Not true, of course, and he continued to explore the Wallowa Mountains and Hells Canyon on two wheels, often with overnight gear to prolong the adventure. Off-pavement riding is his passion and he has dabbled in multi-day and multi-week bikepacking races in remote places – just because. More often now, he wanders the landscape at a slower pace looking for new vistas and inconvenient places to get a flat tire. It is a solitary type of adventuring at times and so appreciates becoming a WMBC board member and to be in touch with local riders of like mind who share this odd passion. He splits his time between Hood River County and Wallowa County but prefers the wildness of northeast Oregon and the sober cyclists who wander its terrain.

Ali was born and raised in Wallowa County. After high school, she attended the University of Oregon and then moved down to San Diego where she enjoyed road riding, hiking, beach activities, and rock climbing. She moved back to Wallowa County in 2020 with her husband Scott where they took over the family screen printing business, Moonlight Graphics. In her free time she enjoys quilting, crocheting, knitting, hanging with her cats, hiking, road riding, and playing gigs with her 90s cover band, Napster Disaster. A graphic designer by trade, Ali is excited to contribute to WMBC through visual design and marketing.