Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 47 total)
  • Club Road Ride – recovery of broken bikes and injured people
  • bigsurfer
    Free Member

    I am just wondering how other road cycling clubs manage the recovery of people and bikes if and when a serious mechanical or a crash happens. Obviously if an ambulance is required it goes without saying that this will be called its the middle ground where people either don’t want to or can’t ride on.

    Every rider has an emergency contact and the group leaders have this information.

    We are considering setting up a Whats App group that would allow anybody to post a request to the group for available people that have not ridden to come out and help in cars if an incident happen.

    Any other suggestions would be very well appreciated.

    kilo
    Full Member

    If it’s a mechanical they go to a station or they phone home for a lift, we had one phone a cab, Serious crash bikes usually seem to be left with households near by.
    TBH we have had big discussions re ride leaders and the consensus is the ride leader is just the navigator with no onus on them to get anymore involved than that- they’re volunteers on a club run, stuff having to be responsible for everyone’s contact details

    scotroutes
    Full Member

    Isn’t it the responsibility of each rider just to call a family member/friend? I can see that the latter might be an issue with many roadies.

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    Nobeerinthefridge
    Free Member

    Clubs. Fun Vacuums.

    wwaswas
    Full Member

    We have a private facebook group – everyone’s put an emergency contact on there ‘just in case’.

    tjagain
    Full Member

    I’d hope my the chaps I was riding with would help out but ultimately its my responsibility

    geoffj
    Full Member

    Isn’t it the responsibility of each rider just to call a family member/friend? I can see that the latter might be an issue with many roadies.

    😆

    perchypanther
    Free Member

    bikebouy
    Free Member

    Recovery ?

    Cake shop and coffee usually.

    Failing that, leave em’ by the roadside if it’s mechanical, if its physical then the prairie hounds will mop them up after dark.

    Other than that, we find a phone excellent form of communication, plenty of people to reach by pressing a few simple buttons. There’s a search engine loaded to smartphones even.. some of these can direct the user to any number of support functions including taxis, coffee houses, Zoos, trains, family and friends (but I guess if you ride a road bike you have no friends, correct ?)

    Self support with a little assistance from fellow riders, a kindred spirit act of karma.

    theotherjonv
    Full Member

    as above:

    mechanical – we wouldn’t abandon someone but basically it’s your problem, phone a friend / taxi / limp to the nearest station.

    crash incurring ‘don’t want to continue but not an emergency’ situation. Again depending on severity it’ll be as above but with the proviso that if in any way concerned I’d wait with the casualty until they are collected.

    Major crash – ambulance job, and we’d either call a friend (victim’s or if not possible, one of our own) to collect the bike, or we have asked a nearby house to hold it for collection. People are generally honest.

    On an MTB ride it is generally easier to repatriate the bike ourselves, we tend to meet somewhere central and wiggle all around so even if it’s a ‘long’ ride you are often not much more that a few miles from the car park and if necessary someone can be back to a car and have the car back to the crash within half an hour or so.

    bigsurfer
    Free Member

    Thanks for the input, riders are responsible for themselves and it works really well. I was just after other peoples thoughts really.

    atlaz
    Free Member

    Any time I’ve ridden with groups, as long as we’re sure someone can get home, it’s their responsibility. Proper injury (including concussion), make sure someone is with them until ambulance, bike is secured then you can roll on. I even drove someones car back from Cymcarn after he did his collarbone as he was off in hospital (although, randomly, when I dropped the car off, his brother asked me if I’d brought the bike too, like I’d have nicked it).

    SammyC
    Free Member

    We had something like this at the weekend with one rider getting five punctures over half a mile due to a 1cm cut in his tyre.

    We hung around with him and rode the next few miles back to Bath train station so he could get home once the tyre seemed to hold but it was incredibly frustrating to be hanging around for an hour getting cold (I’m usually not dressed for loitering when on the roadie).

    I’m not sure he knew where he was and it would have taken him a couple of hours to walk from where we were to Bath.

    Absolutely no ones fault but what are you supposed to do in that situation?

    scotroutes
    Full Member

    I’m not sure he knew where he was

    I’m guessing you don’t mean due to concussion?

    twisty
    Full Member

    Absolutely no ones fault but what are you supposed to do in that situation?

    Patch the tear with a used gel sachet so it doesn’t keep puncturing 😉

    oldnpastit
    Full Member

    Those that fall behind are left behind.

    reformedfatty
    Free Member

    You point them to their phone, google maps and a taxi firm. No reception = walk till you find some.

    If they haven’t brought a phone, then point them to a phone box and send them on their way.

    scaled
    Free Member

    too many windows open…

    antigee
    Full Member

    utopia down under – i carry my myki (like an oyster) and get on the train – yep just walk on with my bike – no booking no hassle only rule is not in first carriage that’s wheelchairs only – we also have RAC V cover less than 30 of your english pounds per year and they will fix your bike or put you in a cab home with it

    https://www.racv.com.au/on-the-road/roadside-assistance/bike-assist.html

    so get training and keep riding south for a long way (dark at 5 today though and raining) here’s hoping Richie Porte doesn’t need his myki next week

    FuzzyWuzzy
    Full Member

    Unrepairable mechanical = up to the rider to sort out a lift, occasionally someone might volunteer to abort the ride and get their car to pick them up. (usually a few people will attempt a bodge job first but it rarely helps…)

    Illness (not serious) or something meaning the rider can’t keep up (e.g. multiple punctures, over-estimating their fitness) so is disrupting the entire ride = they are generally advised to make their own way back, sometimes a mate on the ride will accompany them. We obviously wouldn’t just abandon someone in the middle of nowhere if they weren’t sure/capable of getting home themselves.

    Serious accident = ambulance + we have emergency contact list for virtually everyone (and laminated cards we’re supposed to carry…). Bike is usually left at the nearest house (assuming the householder consents) and then collected later by someone else on the ride (or the person injured’s family member/friend or even the person injured themselves if able).

    thomthumb
    Free Member

    hasn’t happened to us (but we are pretty small)

    taxi, train or a partner would be the first options I guess.

    mechanicals the roadies just ask the MTBs to sort it out. usually works.

    Are roadies less mechanically minded? some of the ‘road only’ guys i know have paid the bike shop to fit new tyres. I’d never dream of it!

    jonba
    Free Member

    As a group we make sure they get back home. If they can we get them to phone for help. Not everyone has someone who can come and rescue them so people work out who can. Worse case, they wait at the cafe and someone comes back for them later.

    If they are slow someone steps up and takes them home cutting their ride short. I’ve pushed a few people where that has been easier (burned on the homeward leg).

    I’ve pushed a guy who’s freewheel went. We were close enough that it was the quickest way back.

    When we’ve had an ambulance required we’ve had people come and pick up bikes, left them with farms/houses or just hidden them in a hedge (Northumbria isn’t a hot bed of rural crime!).

    In general – assist in anyway we can. No-one wants to get stuck and we are a friendly social club.

    antigee
    Full Member

    ….mechanicals the roadies just ask the MTBs to sort it out. usually works.

    Are roadies less mechanically minded? some of the ‘road only’ guys i know have paid the bike shop to fit new tyres.

    could be a variation on the “why don’t roadies wave” theme – too much in the zone to fit tyres….was asked to sort a bike out before an event as a favour…had a bent presta valve 😆

    amedias
    Free Member

    Are roadies less mechanically minded? some of the ‘road only’ guys i know have paid the bike shop to fit new tyres.

    Nope, but some people are, I’ve known MTBers who have paid for the same service…

    kcr
    Free Member

    Nope, but some people are

    Absolutely. I think the recent growth in popularity of cycling (in all its forms) means there are a lot of new, older cyclists who never learned any mechanical tinkering as impecunious kids. Even basic repairs are a mystery to them, and they are happy to pay someone to sort their bikes, or phone a taxi if they break down.

    thisisnotaspoon
    Free Member

    Same as on an MTB ride?

    Not sure why it’d be any different.

    family/friend? I can see that the latter might be an issue with many roadies.

    Yea, that’s the problem with roadies, they actually ride bikes, so all your friends are with you in the group………

    rene59
    Free Member

    If I was out mountain biking with friends and one of them got suitably injured or broken their bike to such a degree that they couldn’t finish the ride, the I’d stay with them and help them out. Glad I’m not a roadie or in a club.

    surfer
    Free Member

    If I was out mountain biking with friends and one of them got suitably injured or broken their bike to such a degree that they couldn’t finish the ride, the I’d stay with them and help them out. Glad I’m not a roadie or in a club.

    No particular axe to grind as I ride both but if somebody was injured then of course I would always stay with them etc but if someone had say a mechanical and our ride was say 75 miles long and we were mid point then it would probably be reasonable to expect said rider to call mate/mum/partner etc to arrange for help. if that wasnt practical I would probably leave them, ride home and arrange to go back and collect them, alternatively the taxi idea is ok.
    Wouldnt leave anyone high and dry though just use some common sense

    atlaz
    Free Member

    If I was out mountain biking with friends and one of them got suitably injured or broken their bike to such a degree that they couldn’t finish the ride, the I’d stay with them and help them out. Glad I’m not a roadie or in a club.

    I wouldn’t feel the need to stop and wait with someone who was in an area they knew well, on the side of a road where they could call a friend/family/cab if their bike was broken or they pulled a muscle. Similarly I’ve ridden over a mountain in the pouring rain to get my car to fetch a mate who wrenched his back so badly he could barely walk on a descent in the alps (to be fair, I was a bit of a ****, I had to stop at the chalet and get a shower to warm up and get dry clothes, the weather was so bad).

    It’s all about the severity of the situation.

    theotherjonv
    Full Member

    If I was out mountain biking with friends and one of them got suitably injured or broken their bike to such a degree that they couldn’t finish the ride, the I’d stay with them and help them out. Glad I’m not a roadie or in a club.

    As long as i wasn’t in danger / dying / had no means of self-rescue I’d be mortified by the idea of everyone else having to scrap their ride just to wait with me.

    Most recently somehow managed to lose brake pads on my road bike. Station 2 miles away, why would I force someone to go back with me for that?

    bensales
    Free Member

    rene59 – Member
    If I was out mountain biking with friends and one of them got suitably injured or broken their bike to such a degree that they couldn’t finish the ride, the I’d stay with them and help them out. Glad I’m not a roadie or in a club.

    There’s a vast difference between a ride around the woods with your mates, and a club Sunday run with over 50 people on it.

    The former, you all pitch in to help. The latter, you’re primarily on your own, as the needs of the many far outweigh the needs of the few.

    thisisnotaspoon
    Free Member

    As long as i wasn’t in danger / dying / had no means of self-rescue I’d be mortified by the idea of everyone else having to scrap their ride just to wait with me.

    Most recently somehow managed to lose brake pads on my road bike. Station 2 miles away, why would I force someone to go back with me for that?

    Obviously fits in with the “obvious means of self rescue” You’re 2 miles form a station with a bike that’s ride-able with one brake. That and it sounds like poor maintenance (you forgot to put the pins in didn’t you?) which is always going to get less sympathy than a cracked frame.

    As opposed to (hypothetical example) snapped frame halfway round the HT550 route a days walk from anywhere with bad weather forecast. In that situation leaving someone might be a bit shitty as there’s more potential for things to get worse.

    Ditto any sort of injury. I’d expect the casualty to have someone with them until they were either in an ambulance or had a good plan for getting home (on a train, in a taxi) not just left on their own.

    Depends where in the ride too, last few miles you’ll be left for dead as everyone has things to be getting home for, just before a cafe stop people are more inclined to help as there’s more slack in the timings. Everywhere else there’s always someone struggling and happy for a rest (and a short cut home) or someone fast who’s happy to tow you back to the group/home afterwards. I don’t think I’ve ever been on a club-run* where someones just been abandoned with a shrug.

    *chain-gang’s being an entirely different kettle of fish with everyone expecting to be dropped at some point before / during the final sprint.

    theotherjonv
    Full Member

    you forgot to put the pins in didn’t you?

    You weren’t there, you don’t know what it was like.

    But yes. Or rather the funny clips on Avids.

    kcr
    Free Member

    Glad I’m not a roadie or in a club

    All the clubs I’ve chosen to join have been really friendly and a good laugh, but I know that sort of thing is not for everyone.

    wilburt
    Free Member

    I’d hope my the chaps I was riding with would help out but ultimately its my responsibility

    This, the type of bicycle only matters in the minds of simpletons.

    TiRed
    Full Member

    It varies in order of severity:

    1) Simple mechanical – fix on road, and finish ride.
    2) Complex mechanical – e.g., non-sealing tubular and no spare: direct to nearest easy route home via public transport
    2) Accident with injury – call clubhouse for assistance/bike collection, club mate accompanies to hospital
    3) Fatality – stay at scene until interviewed by Police, call home for a lift as my Fly 6 light was impounded and I couldn’t face getting on a bike anyway

    Our club rides follow the same route in different paced groups. If it’s too fast you back off and join the next. Nobody gets left behind the last group.

    njee20
    Free Member

    3) Fatality

    😯

    Generally does this process really need documenting? Is it not common sense? I’ve been called out twice by friends to get broken people/bikes. Actually I was on the ride the second time, but was only 5 miles from home so I went and got my car. Were there suitable public transport that would be viable, or partners/friends

    ghostlymachine
    Free Member

    Club i used to ride for quite often had a car following. They have enough crashes to actually make it worthwhile.

    I’ve joined another club.

    TiRed
    Full Member

    Generally does this process really need documenting?

    I think you need to have some form of process in place for when the poo hits the fan.

    We have a rider sign-in sheet with emergency contact details, a manned club house and a procedure for dealing with accidents. Come inquest time, it showed that we are a diligent club who behave responsibly and treat rider safety as important. As opposed to a bunch of reckless lycra-louts who had it coming.

    trail_rat
    Free Member

    a manned club house

    Nice do you take it in turns to man the bat phone. Bit of. A strange concept if you ask me.

Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 47 total)

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