Sorry Matt to go off topic, but this just *has* to be replied to.
AndyN wrote:
>
> ???????? Saying nothing..............Sorry can't resist I've got to
> say
> something IRRISPONSIBLE! If you are in the position where you are in a
> position of " definitely a matter of survival" you have not planned
> your ride appropriately. I don't wish any harm to you or others but
> PLEASE think about what you are doing!
Andy,
It's nice of you to be worried about this, but I don't think I was in
any way irresponsible. Firstly, I've been walking and climbing big
hills and mountains and camping since I was about 8. I think the first
time I went on a proper bike tour I was 12. I've navigated off Scottish
mountains in blizzards and no visibility having climbed up the other
side in perfect sunshine, with a great weather forecast. I've also done
a lot of night riding, and very long distance rides on unicycles,
including London to the south coast at night, 100 miles in 10 hours,
Nottingham to Stockton and a bunch of random 60-90 milers from home.
I'm not inexperienced as far as either mountains or long rides go, I've
had days when I've not taken people up due to the weather not being
right, and if that had bene the case I wouldn't have gone on this ride.
I've never been rescued, and no-one in a group I've been leading has
ever been rescued. I'm not dead yet (as I'm sure Danny will be pleased
to know!).
The particular time I mentioned, I was on a hillside in Wales at low
level, under shelter of trees, in a dip out of the wind. I'd got the
mountain weather and bbc forecasts the afternoon before, and it was
forecast to be a minimum of 5 degrees C. I'd used the same equipment
before at that kind of temperatures, which was fine, so I knew I had
some scope for the weather being worse without killing myself. I know
people who have survived in those bags in high bivvis in the alps. I'd
phoned my wife before I went and told her where I was going to camp. I
was camped only about 3 miles away from the nearest town, so in the
worst case, I could easily have got myself there. There was an early
morning train from there in case I needed to bail out completely and
head home.
So, once I was camped and asleep, I was woken by various forms of
weather, snow, sleet, hail, torrential rain and the temperature dropped
way below what the forecast had said (puddles were frozen up), meaning
I had to really dig deep into the bivvi bag and close everything up. It
wasn't comfy, or easy to sleep, but there was no point I was worried
about hypothermia or dying. If I had got really cold, I could have got
up and ridden or walked to the town. The next day I got up and rode 35
miles of technical muni and all was well.
On any kind of mountain activity or long ride, there's *always* a point
where you could be in a survival situation. It would be irresponsible
to go on a ride and not consider that a possibility. For example, at
Mountain Mayhem in 2001 (or was it 2002), Tall Claire fell off and hit
her head quite badly, about half way round the course, whilst on a
practice lap, before there was medical cover. Fortunately we'd come
prepared with a space blanket and spare clothes, so were able to wrap
her up and keep her warm while waiting for an ambulance to come and
look at her head. That was about 3 miles away from the car-park, at a
place in the middle of Birmingham. The support crew couldn't have
driven there, because it wasn't on a public road though.
Whilst having a support crew is great, I honestly don't think they make
that much difference to the survival of a rider, especially in a group
ride, where there are other riders around to perform basic first aid.
They definately add convenience, particularly in a situation where you
have to reach a fixed point in a certain length of time, or carry a lot
of gear, or you're not sure if everyone can make it, and they're also a
real nice thing to have in terms of general comfort and home baked cake
and stuff. I never said support crews weren't nice to have, but like
Steve said, there's definately a greater sense of achievement in just
getting on your unicycle and riding somewhere without having the
tour-de-france team car following you. It's the difference between
using your unicycle as a mode of transport, and just an athletic
endeavour.
Joe
--
joemarshall
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