So second week on the trot at Chicksands today and I witnessed something quite…amusing, from my point of view. A rider got it a bit wrong on the dual slalom and struggled to pull himself off the trail for a few minutes, the marshals and those around proceeded to shout ‘rider down, stop, slow down’ to those coming down but most of them seemed to ignore it, why?

Other than my off at the end another great day out with the boys.

Broke my collar bone on that dual slalom course… Sort of put me off Chicksands for a while.
Plus it was 6 weeks before my wedding. The missus was not happy!

I crashed yesterday quite bad, feeling it today at work but we all know our limits/the risks involved…

why didn’t one of the marshalls/riders just stand in the middle of the course and force oncoming riders to stop ?

why didn’t one of the marshalls/riders just stand in the middle of the course and force oncoming riders to stop ?

Marshalls? Its not a race. And tbh people crash all the time at Chicksands. I use to take my son and the ambulance/paramedic would be onsite a couple of times a day at the weekend.

But why folk don’t pay attention to a crash, average folk therefore half will be paying no attention to anything that’s going on around them.

b r – Member
Marshalls? Its not a race.

[quote] bradley – Member
the marshals and those around proceeded to shout ‘rider down, stop, slow down’[/quote]
Since “its not a race”, oncoming riders should be stopped if there’s a daner of hitting someone injured on the floor, no ?

If it were a race it would be stopped. In the end there are some selfish ****s out there who thought they were on the run of their life and would also never crash. Just hope for kama

to those coming down but most of them seemed to ignore it, why?

because they are either completley deaf or dont give a s#1t about anyone else but themselves!

I find it quite a comon occurence at swinley too!

scaredypants

Unless it was an event on, there aren’t ‘marshalls’ at Chicksands – just bystanders/parents/friends/riders-not-riding.

We use to just stop the track usually by there been enough of us helping someone and/or putting the crashed riders in the way.

But the OP used the term marshals – ergo Scaredypants’ post was entirely understandable!

Marshals/staff, same thing no?

In regards to Ambulance, someone crashed early in the morning and broke his collar bone too…lots of offs at Chicksands it seems…

Nick – true, which is why I followed up with an explanation.

Perhapse they did hear you and just slowed down to a pace they thought they could comfortably stop in the distance they could see, etc.

If they’re not trained first aiders, there’s already a crowd of gawkers/helpers/first aiders and they’re not running the guy over, seems little point in stopping?

So huddled in a bruised damaged mess on the floor you’d be happy for people you don’t even know to hammer towards you with hot brakes, sharp chain rings etc…I don’t think so.

A member of staff did eventually stop people from descending from the top but was still a good 5 people who didn’t even stop…

It’s common practice on our rides for folks to jump on you and pummel you if you fall off.

I don’t think so.

Unless they were a first aid genius and I was actualy dying I’d be failry indeifferent about them passing.

Unless they actualy hit me, in which case I’d get medieval on their ass.

It’s common practice on our rides for folks to jump on you and pummel you if you fall off.

It looked more like a hug from where I was standing.

Mountain biking is a dangerous sport….etc etc. even more so on a DS where people are “hammering it” . If your riding the course and you know there’s little or none “official” marshals, then yeah you’ve got to expect everyone else to carry on around you really. How many of the oncoming riders were first aid trained, and even if they were, would you expect them to come to your aid given that you’re riding a track with all the dangers I’ve pointed out.

If you’re not prepared to ride without that aid instantly available should you crash, then find a suitable location/ event more to your taste, if not ride at chicky and accept the consequences of your actions

even if they were, would you expect them to come to your aid

Well, yes? That’s just common decency, I was refering to the habbit people have of stopping to gawking at others missfortune, usualy with cameraphone in hand. If you could actualy be of some assistance then stopping would be a good thing!

Well, you would hope they’d come to your aid out of common decency, but you wouldn’t “expect” them to, surely?

My view ” oh look a rider down…are there people there?” no? Stop and offer aid, yes? Get out if the way.

That’s what I’d expect most people to do

but you wouldn’t “expect” them to, surely?

That’s what I’d expect most people to do

I spent a week in hospital with a spiral fracture right ankle, and broken right wrist, thanks to Chicksands.

so what’s left at Chicksands now?
DJs, 4X, dual slalom… anything else?
Bull run still there?

Bull run and Snake run are there as the downhills now. DJ, 4X and Dual slalom are also there plus 2 quite different XC routes down.

It wasn’t my actions raised in the OP lol, I crashed at the end of the day about 4pm and had 4 friends to drag myself/bike off the trail but there was no-one around so it was pretty irrelevant.