I was out cycling alone the other day. I had'nt seen a sole in hours and it got me thinking just how unprepared I was in case of an emergency.

I had told me mum where I was going and when I reckoned I'd be back but with no mobile signal I did feel 'exposed'.

Doe anyone else go out alone? And what emergency kit do you carry with you?

Thanks

Tell someone where you are going and when you are coming back. Thats all I do. I don't own a mobile and they are not to be relied upon in the mountains. I winter I might have a jumper and a space blanket but not always

When you say wilderness where were you? No wilderness in teh UK south of perth

I recommend reading about Joe Simpson in 'Touching the Void', and about the adventures of Ernest Shackleton, then comparing their situation with you poncing about down a country lane without a mobile signal, and get a sense of perspective…

If out in the outdoors I carry a mountain first aid kit, space blanket, emergency whistle, more bike tools and spares than normal, a GPS and lights just in case. No penguins in the larder for me though 🙂

Wilderness?
Are you based on the edge of the Gobi Desert?

What is this "wilderness" of which you speak?

glenncampbell – what gear do you carry when cycling indoors?

I think its a wee bit unfair to say that, crikey, Its still just as possible to die of hypothermia/exposure after a crash in some ill-trodden gully, as on some difficult ascent of Aconcagua or wherever (and I often think these posh adventurer-types are askin' for it in a way that someone riding their bike for a bit of solitude isnt)

Yes, you're right, I'm sorry.

Perhaps his mum could read the books to him?

….(it's riding a bicycle in England, FFS)

by himsen up on the moors broken leg job ****.

ok ok I realise I'm not cycling in the Australian's outback here, but being stuck anywhere alone with no means of communication or passers-by to help you poses a problem.

Crikey obviously this problems never crossed you mind.

With temperatures as low as they have been in Scotland it wouldn't take a big off to land you in a serious situation.

Yes but to be fair Joe was prepared for the conditions he was in, no reason you should not also prepare for the conditions you encounter while riding in the UK. Simon and he only got into trouble as they ran out of gas (maybe an aspect of carrying enough of the right stuff) so had to move when they should have/wanted to wait out the storm.

Though MTB in the UK is not alpinism in Peru there is no reason not to prepare for the conditions. Hypothermia, trauma or weather dont really care who or where you are.

Now,Now, crikey, some of us do get away to places in Scotland where there'll be no-one along that trail for possibly days or weeks.
I try to take the most basic repair/bodge stuff , but dont have a phone, and dont usually tell anyone where I'm going either
(probably the only folk that'd be interested would be my slave-masters, and it'd be worth dieing to know they'd be even more in the s**t without me ) 🙂

It's something I think about a lot. Whenever we don't have people out I cycle by myself and it can be very remote. There are places I spend a lot of time where nobody else has been for a long time and where I wouldn't be found until the vultures had had their fill! A lot of time I'm trail finding too so I'm not sure exactly where I will be.

I try to tell my gf where I'm going, either an exact trail or a general area. I try to ride within my limitations but sometimes get carried away. I normally would walk anything that I'm not 100% sure I can do but I can get a bit cocky so some days that doesn't exclude much! I carry spare clothes, mobile and a full tool kit. I don't really carry first aid if it's just me. GPS, whistle and that's about it. I think that's all you can do. Be sensible obviously, when you're alone it's not the best time to do 'that drop' that you've been looking at for ages!

Well the OP is based in Glasgow so he's not far from proper wilderness is he?

Basic common sense applies as in hill walking. Take suitable clothing based on where you route goes and sufficient water/food. Basic multi-tool, chain tool, spare tubes & pump. Make sure someone knows where you're going. If you don't have a sound knowledge of the area you're riding then an OS map (and compass) is useful.

If your ride may extend into the hours of darkness then offroad lights should be left on the bike or at least a headtorch taken along.

I guess the difference with biking is the greater likelihood of accidents. I do a lot of riding by myself and tend to throttle back to about 90% on fast downhills or tricky technical bits coz I know that if I come a cropper there's only the dog to help me.

Despite knowing all this I came to grief recently by ignoring several of the rules whilst riding in an unfamiliar place. 2 punctures and a mechanical put me way over schedule and darkness came down, then snow. Didn't have any lights or a map. Got totally lost and cold(ish). Eventually located a road by climbing down a gully and fording a river then hiking through a dense wood. Then figured out where I was and rode back to the car. The dog loved it though…..

On most of my rides I never see another soul – one of the beauties of living in the north of Scotland and one of the perils.

One of the most important things is having enough food/energy drink.
Theres nothing more depressing than blowing up knowing you're miles from anywhere, especially if you're not sure of your exact location.

anyone know if a gps tracker like googlelatitude works outwith mobile network coverage? might be quite a useful feature to turn on if riding in an isolated area

some pedants/up their own bottoms type people on here… seem to be all based in scotchland too…

while not 'wilderness' per se, there are lots of places, for example, in NY, where i certainly wouldn't want to have an accident, especially at this time of they year, in the conditions which are present out there.

just cos it may be 'only' 3 miles to the nearest house, try walking that with a broken leg, or after hitting your head. its more than imaginable that people wouldn't come across you within an hour.

there ARE areas south of the boarder which do not see people from day to day, and just because they aren't in scotland it doesn't make them any less dangerous.

anyone know if a gps tracker like googlelatitude works outwith mobile network coverage? might be quite a useful feature to turn on if riding in an isolated area

It doesn't – it uses a data connection to report your location. Those Breitling watches with a geo-location system do though.

http://www.breitling.com/en/retailers#/models/professional/emergency/

Best get a mortgage first. Also might be overkill for Llangdella 🙂

hungry monkey, I'm in Scotland,I am probably 'up my own erse'admittedly, 🙂 but was putting that point across.
I was on a nighttime roadride last winter, totally blown and borderline hypothermic and nearly steered into a drainage ditch three miles from my house (on a main road). If i'd gone over, my body wouldn't have been found for weeks.

I suppose another dimension to cycling alone in Scotland is our Scottish outdoor access laws.

All the more likely to be off the beaten track.

Johnboy, stop rubbing it in for the English STWers 😉

oh, don't panic, i live in scotland (for now)… i just know about the massive chip you scotch-eggs have to carry around on your shoulders all the time… 😈

i know there is more 'wilderness' up here, but the typical comments that the scotch's bang on about how good old england is far too densely populated for you to ever be in danger, is total bollocks.

fact is, there are many many places in england where, if you fell off your bike and hurt yourself, you would be alone for quite some time.

while strictly not 'wilderness', perceptions of what constitutes wilderness are gonna change late in the afternoon atop a windswept moor when you've a broken leg, trust me…

i knocked myself out a couple of years ago in a quiet bit of woodland which i know people hardly go through. i wasnt that far from the road to eventually stumble out on. still it got my wife thinking, she insisted i highlight any possible bit of woodland i could be in on a OS map. so when i say 'just popping out for a couple of hours' at least theres a vague idea where i am.

OMG….. I'm quitting this dangerous madness right now. I'd never realised what a massive risk I was taking by riding a bike outside of mobile phone coverage areas….

Jesus wept…

Aye, crikey, but Jesus still told his mum where he was going, and look what happened to him 🙂

Frankly, I'm surprised I've lived so long…

just to clarify my position… i'm far from saying that noone should go into the wilderness, i love it myself – nothing better than a few days out camping/bothying.

but as an englishman, the whole scottish attitude of going on about how much more dangerous and 'extreme' scotland is is pretty boring…

I carry the same in a group as I do on my own. Suitable clothing for the weather, food, water and tools etc.

Be sensible, riding solo in the "wilderness" is something to be enjoyed not feared. It can be very different compared to riding in a group where you have a safety net of people to help.

Naw, hungry, I think that you're just taking our natural chip-on-shoulder and raising it with your inferiority complex 😉

but as an englishman, the whole scottish attitude of going on about how much more dangerous and 'extreme' scotland is is pretty boring…

But it is more extreme!!! How many people have died in the last month in the 'wilderness' in England?

Several people have perish in the Scottish mountains in the last month!!

No ones belittling England, I think the problem is you Hungary monkey.

Funny, I was thinking about this very point yesterday.

There I was, on my own, out the back of Ben Wyvis, on a track that obviously had had no traffic for some time. As I was lying with my face planted in the snow, my front wheel spinning 2 inches from my nose, and unable to get up because it appeared my shoulder had dislocated, I thought "Shit, I'm in trouble with the missus if I end up dead, I should have told her where I was going."

Luckily, I wasn't too badly hurt. After swinging from a tree my shoulder got sorted (eye watering stuff, not fun) I then had a trudge through about a mile of virgin snow pushing my bike.

I now have a map up in the kitchen and favourite routes marked (and named). Once bitten, twice etc…

hungry monkey – Member

oh, don't panic, i live in scotland (for now)… i just know about the massive chip you scotch-eggs have to carry around on your shoulders all the time…

i know there is more 'wilderness' up here, but the typical comments that the scotch's bang on about how good old england is far too densely populated for you to ever be in danger, is total bollocks.

Like this comment below, from that well-known Scotchlander???

TandemJeremy – Member

When you say wilderness where were you? No wilderness in teh UK south of perth

I've just been to the corner shop, no phone, no bivvy bag, nothing. I didn't even take a coat.

I like living on the edge, me.

Once, I even had a poo without checking if there was any toilet paper…

I've just been to the corner shop, no phone, no bivvy bag, nothing. I didn't even take a coat.

I like living on the edge, me.

Once, I even had a poo without checking if there was any toilet paper…

TJ is a well known die-hard scotchland immigrant… 😉

crikey, you should be more careful 😉

hungry monkey – Member
TJ is a well known die-hard scotchland immigrant…

I hope you have a map for all that back-tracking….

"how much more dangerous and 'extreme' scotland is is pretty boring… "

Bits of the highlands ARE very empty and rough – nice! That slightly scary feeling of isolation is a good feeling IMO. But know your limits eh?

>Doe anyone else go out alone?<

Yup – some of us were even cycling over big hairy arsed mountains before moble phones 😉

Don't go out alone anywhere you wouldn't seeing anybody come by for a while – I broke my leg in summer in that situation and it was pure luck that the bone stayed inside my leg – if it was open, I'd be dead. It's quite easy to immobilise yourself and if you don't get mobile coverage, you can die very easily. Having to seriously think about my options at the time was traumatic to say the least, and I was 'well prepared' (like a first aid kit and a whistle helped my floppy leg).

There are a few places where you'd not be found for a while in England, you could be lost practically minutes from your house if you were knocked out properly and just a littl hidden from view. It's just in scotchland you're more likely to be miles from people and in even more rugged territory, thats just the way it is. Thats why I prefer living here instead of England.

i ride alone often. Sometimes at night, and in snow. I usually take a phone, but I also take some spare clothes and kit to patch me up if needed. If I die, I die. It's the feeling of exposure and "wilderness" that makes it all for me.