Don’t know if you are on STW buddy, but hope you enjoyed the air ambulance ride out of Gisburn today 🙂

I had to ride about a mile before I could get a mobile phone signal and call for an ambulance for you, but then saw the air ambulance fly over later to pick you up. Hope the shoulder and knee heals and all is ok. Cheers.

Ohh, sounds nasty, hope he’s OK

I take it Hully Gully is back open then?

Ouch, hope the guy is ok.

BTW if there is ever need to call emergency services then you don’t need coverage from your own provider just as long as there is coverage from one of them. Easiest way is dial 112 and you should get through to emergency services

Gisburn coverage is notoriously patchy. There are only a few points on the loop (top of the Hope Line is one) where I get any kind of signal.

It is officially open, so many people were ignoring the barriers the FC gave up and openned it again. Hope the rider is ok.

Dudes I’m good now. Thanks for the shout to ambulance. Was pretty much out of it when they popped the dislocated shoulder back in. Fortunately no broken bones. Those flipping loose shingles!

The chopper was awesome! Well worth chuckin yourself over bars for ha

Ianr, Good to hear you are ok and hope you fully heal asap.

I tried 112 and 999 but couldn’t get any signal until I was a good mile away.

After riding down Hully Gully en route to make the call, I can see why you came off, that first 100m section is marbles on top of hardback, so is pretty sketchy.

first 100m section is marbles on top of hardback, so is pretty sketchy.

That’s because people insisted on riding it before it consolidated despite barriers etc. Glad you’re ok.

We, the trail builders, kept asking people to not ride it. It needed time to bed plus addressing issues like the loose bits.

Unfortunetly, people ignored the signage and even moved barriers to have a go. The FC grudgingly opened it, whilst disappointed at the few that spoil things for others.

I am personally disappointed at those that told people it was open, and to just ignore the signs as ‘they just haven’t removed them yet.’

Also disappointed at the people that listened to them.

Yeah. Maybe those idiots are reading this. At this point in time in my mind I am poking you in the eye with a rusty QR skewer!

Why did the FC give up and take down the barriers? Either it’s ready to be opened or it isn’t.

I wouldn’t ride a section with ‘closed’ signage, however many muppets I saw doing it, and I wouldn’t be happy if I hit a treacherous unconsolidated section on an apparently open trail that should still be closed and had a nasty off as a result.

martinhutch – Member

Why did the FC give up and take down the barriers? Either it’s ready to be opened or it isn’t.

Can’t fight gravity tbh, they obviously don’t want people to ride it but it reaches the point that people ignore it and cause damage and make it pointless to keep it closed. Constant problem with trailbuilding, at glentress they’ve started using wooden fences because orange barriers sometimes just last hours before they’re torn down. ****s basically, ****s everywhere.

Northwind has it, however we’ve used wooden barriers, piled brash across the trail, used Harris fencing, the tall 7ft mesh (that got kicked to pieces), even felled trees but left them attached to the stump. Nothing will stop some riders. Our current tactic is to hide the new trail, once people know it’s there it gets ridden, really annoying mid build when you come back to find the first half of the next dig day has to spent repairing the damage.

It must severely piss you off – I guess my point was that even a sign would stop me (and I suspect most riders) riding it, and if there is some extra risk from an unexpected trail surface and you’d rather we didn’t ride it, I’d rather know this and head down the red instead.

I imagine those ripping up barriers will be the same tools who complain that Hully Gully is trashed again next spring.

Very odd how they make decisions on when to get an air ambulance. I’m guessing it’s because it was miles from any where?

Getting the Air Ambulance out can be for a number of reasons: speed; remoteness of incident; availability of vehicular ambulances.

Sometimes it just seems odd – I was at an incident a couple of years ago on a fell race, a runner thought he’d broken his ankle – though it turned out to be a sprain. He was on open ground about 400 metres from the end of a track (easy for 4WD and not too bad for 2WD) so we could have carried him to the track to meet mountain rescue or the race organiser who had a 4WD, but the air ambulance was called out.

Getting the Air Ambulance out can be for a number of reasons… …availability of vehicular ambulances.

I really hope not, seeing as they receive zero funding for their work from official sources

Bearing in mind the speed of response, I’d guess that the air ambulance was in the local area anyway, or transiting past.

The cost of runnning an air ambulance is mainly having it and staffing it. Using it adds fuel and additional maintenance but gives staff experience. The additional number of callouts helps justify existence and you never know how busy the normal ambulances are.

It’s pretty remote to the top of Hully Gully, easy to get to in a 2wd car, if you know where you’re going.

Yeah I was waiting for a while but I guess as soon as the call was made they lifted. We’re apparently sat having a break. Can’t thank them enough for what they do. Also massive thanks to the dudes that went signal hunting. Are there any provisions being put in to sort that loose gravel? I believe I got off lightly as I wasn’t tonking it. Someone may get seriously hurt.

iainr glad to hear you’re on the mend. I think I’ll leave it for a bit to bed in

Shocking to hear what some idiots will get up to though.

I really hope not, seeing as they receive zero funding for their work from official sources

I gather that even in the new all-singing Welsh air ambulance service, the aircraft and crew remain charitably funded.

Was pretty much out of it when they popped the dislocated shoulder back in. Fortunately no broken bones.

Just be glad no-one suggested relocating it with the Hippocratic method 😛

I went down Hully Gully today and was shown where you came off by the FC guy that you met. There wasn’t any loose gravel on that section, was just normal trail center surface.

No one was shown where I came off apart from the lads I went with. Unless it was cleared afterwards as it was gravelly as hell.

I thought Gravel was a main construction material of trail centre trails

Iainr I hope your on the mend
but cant get my head round the gravel being to blame

The thing about trail centres, rightly or wrongly, is that users expect certain types of surface and ride accordingly. Hully Gully is designed to be ridden pretty fast, and I can see how unconsolidated gravel lying on it could catch you out.

The lack of ‘bedding in’ was why the trail-diggers wanted it shut for a bit longer.

Best not ride follow the dog or monkey trail that has some right gnarly pebbles.

Think the lads showed the FC guy.

Apart from the very last 20/30m or so, there isnt anything abnormally loose that you wouldn’t find in other sections of the forest. The last bit (if you know Hully Gully, it is the sloping straight just before the last berm before the ruin farm buildings), does need caution when riding. But there is a clear line to the left.

lerk – Member

Getting the Air Ambulance out can be for a number of reasons… …availability of vehicular ambulances.

I really hope not, seeing as they receive zero funding for their work from official sources

A couple of years ago a teenager hurt himself on a jump on my local hill, and emergency services were called just before I came upon the accident. A very unfit paramedic came puffing up the hill after a while. (The hill in question is maybe a mile, at most two from the city centre. The accident was lower down, at most 60m of climbing up some stone steps, a 10 minute stroll from the car park.) The paramedic called for fire service help as there weren’t any ambulances available – why would there, 11am on a Sunday morning? 😯 The fire crew arrived, had a chat with the paramedic, had a chat with us, the dozen or so MTBers who were now standing around, and decided to call the air ambulance which eventually arrived and got the boy off the hill about 90 minutes after his accident. Luckily he had only a small amount of damage, nothing that was exacerbated by the lengthy wait.

There may not have been a mass amount of loose material but it was enough to throw me off guard. For those taking the piss I really hope you think back to this post when you (yes it is inevitable) have an off that wasn’t due to lack of skill or care. I was barely moving when I came off so for a more daring rider at speed this could have been far worse. Don’t criticise or mock unless you were actually able to witness what happened and hope that when you do fall, there are folk around as kind and understanding as those who helped me on Saturday. Keep tha opinions to thasen alreet!

Which bit was the loose stuff on?

I rode there on Thursday but didn’t really register anything unusual.

Not being a dick BTW, genuinely curious.

Was about 100m down just into a big berm to left off a very small step down. I hit a small patch of loose stuff and the wheel washed out. Must have caught a couple of small bits square on loosing all traction on the front. Like I said, it was a relatively small/slow off. Just caught my shoulder wrong.