Rescuers are urging mountain bikers to be aware of the dangers of their sport after a significant increase in callouts to accidents involving off-road cyclists in recent years.

http://www.grough.co.uk/magazine/2014/02/12/sharp-rise-in-rescuers-callouts-to-mountain-bikers-prompts-danger-plea

nah. not me.

Nope, I don’t crash 8)

“One of the common injuries we see is lower leg injuries where bikers have come off on boardwalks, which are **** lethal deathtrap pits of despair.”

Mr O’Brien said: “Wearing protective head gear and having good skills is an absolute must.”

Bugger, that’s me out then!

Not sure how ‘good skills’ will save you from a slippery boardwalk of death, unless by that they mean the skills to choose not to ride onto one at full pelt on a frosty morning.

Bowland MR have had an axe to grind about Gisburn for some time – they were moaning in the papers last year about having to traipse out there. TBH they ought to formally hand it over into CRO’s patch, considering CRO do most of the callouts anyhow.

Nah ,I don’t fit that demographic.
Safe as an old bloke on a fat bike me 🙂

combination of long downhill stretches, trees and speed can create all sorts of problems

Pah if I sit on my arse heart disease and diabetes has a better chance of polishing me off, if I go for a ride on the road Audi’s and HGVs have a pop, MTBing is relatively safe and most of us do wear helmets and pads and judge risks vs skill.

Fair enough some exceed their abilities, but painting it as a deadly sport is a bit much, everything in life carries risk.

How many people need rescuing after tramping off in the peaks unprepared each year?

Walkers respect the mountains!

And what about these nutters!

Sister in law is in the Rossendale MR.

She says most of the calls they’ve had to Lee Quarry are to bikers who’ve fallen off the seesaw. 😀

Sister in law is in the Rossendale MR.

She says most of the calls they’ve had to Lee Quarry are to bikers who’ve fallen off the seesaw.

Fallen off, or blown off? Never known Lee Quarry not to be windy.

I got blown off on a seesaw once

I got blown off on a seesaw once

What was his name?

Assume the ‘significant increase’ in call-outs is due to the ‘significant increase’ in mtb’ers in the area?

If you took Grough seriously you’d never leave the house. If a walker stubs a toe it”s a news story on there. Most of their news section is sensationalist guff about minor rescues and MR call-outs: Walkers Risk Death In Puddle Crossing!, Climber Hurts Finger! Rescue Teams Warn That Rain Is Wet! Etc

They like nothing better than a good old mountain fatality. Remember kids, the hills are deadly etc. bonkers.

And don’t forget those deadly back-country river crossings…

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fv6sbijY2tg[/video]

One of my best mates was killed on Skiddaw a few months ago in a simple OTB crash. He broke his neck. So DO be careful out there.

Anyone else shouting at the guy in the vid to get his bike out of the river?

“There is little doubt that this is principally due to the increased popularity of the sport and the number of participants.”

Logically you would expect that to be a factor; but I wonder if the “statistics officer” tried to analyse if it was truly the main reason.

I would expect to have seen the following have some sort of impact:

– widespread mobile phone use, especially since becoming small enough to slip in a pocket, making it easier to call for help
– improving mobile phone coverage in rural areas.
– GPS/smartphones make it easier to pinpoint your location – in the old days you might have had to get to a road/house to have a good landmark by which time you are no longer a ‘mountain rescue’
– changes in culture in the emergency services (not necessarily bad): where an ambulance crew might have got a casualty down a mile of loose path to a vehicle on their own in the past are perhaps more likely to now call for help.
– a general change in public attitude to calling 999.
– a change in equipment (better suspension; better brakes, bigger wheels !!!) which make it easier to go faster but likely to be messier when it goes wrong.

widespread mobile phone use, especially since becoming small enough to slip in a pocket

Eh? My phone has fitted in my pocket for almost two decades – hardly a recent phenomenon. The rest of that list is somewhat suspect too. Mine would be:

Far more mtb-ers in general, and in this area specifically.

bigyinn – Me, i suspect he has subsequently learnt why that’s bad.

Not sure how ‘good skills’ will save you from a slippery boardwalk of death, unless by that they mean the skills to choose not to ride onto one at full pelt on a frosty morning.

I think that’s exactly what they mean yes 🙂

Pah if I sit on my arse heart disease and diabetes has a better chance of polishing me off,

Or, you could MTB and not crash horribly, and be even safer still!

From the BPRMT website, 70 incidents in the last year
15 mountain bike related (21%).
8 of which were in Gisburn (11%)
4 of which they weren’t needed (6%)
2 of which they were on site for anyway (official opening day and one incident where one of the team was already in the forest).So 2 out of 70 incidents (given the numbers now using the forest, not a lot really).

For balance, 36 callouts to missing / injured persons (many described as vulnerable), 16 callouts to walkers / fell runners and 3 call outs for paragliders (including one fatality). I would have thought the number of callouts for the last group as a ratio of those participating is massive compared to the mountain bikers ratio.

The article is a shame really as many of the team are supportive and in fact ride themselves. Gisburn has also done a lot to improve safety, volunteers getting qualified to provide cheap skills courses, the skills loops to allow people to self assess their skills, PMBA paying for First Aid training for trail builders and volunteer coaches.

Interesting also to note that many of the incidents reported happened on the Hope line or Leap of Faith, not the XC trails……

Simple fact is this. In a lot of cases (and I know people will say they are the exception) riders are not as well equipped for the hill / remote countryside than a lot of walkers are. Shelters, spare clothing, warm drink, full body cover waterproofs, route cards and first aid kits are standard for hill walkers, but not for many bikers. This is despite the fact that bikers are probably more likely to injure themselves

franksinatra – Member
Simple fact is this. In a lot of cases (and I know people will say they are the exception) riders are not as well equipped for the hill / remote countryside than a lot of walkers are. Shelters, spare clothing, warm drink, full body cover waterproofs, route cards and first aid kits are standard for hill walkers, but not for many bikers. This is despite the fact that bikers are probably more likely to injure themselves

Are they bollocks! Most walkers go out with minimal anything, only serious walkers carry what you’ve listed and then only for fairly big days out whereas ‘most’ bikers carry a means of repairing punctures, broken chains and loosening bolts even round trail centres. That’s akin to walkers carrying spare laces and shoes with them.

I would be interested to know where you get your evidence for that simple ‘fact’. My experience is the opposite to be honest.
Also, on a bike you can get off the hill and to safty much quicker than when walking, should the weather turn bad.

Simple fact is this. In a lot of cases (and I know people will say they are the exception) riders are not as well equipped for the hill / remote countryside than a lot of walkers are. Shelters, spare clothing, warm drink, full body cover waterproofs, route cards and first aid kits are standard for hill walkers, but not for many bikers. This is despite the fact that bikers are probably more likely to injure themselves

I think this is spot on. I’m sure why it’s the case but definitely true in my experience. Regulalar will walkers would normally have at least a 25l bag with a decent range of kit. A lot of experienced bikers will head to hills with a camelback, an innertube and a spare windproof. I guess it might be because cycling with a big-ish bag isn’t very comfy.

IME most walkers are either hopelessly ill equipped, OR geared up for an arctic expedition while ambling around the shops in Windermere. 🙂

…and the combination of long downhill stretches, trees and speed can create all sorts of problems

No shit!

From the BPRMT website, 70 incidents in the last year
15 mountain bike related (21%).
8 of which were in Gisburn (11%)
4 of which they weren’t needed (6%)
2 of which they were on site for anyway (official opening day and one incident where one of the team was already in the forest).So 2 out of 70 incidents (given the numbers now using the forest, not a lot really).

I was looking at that last night Jon. One of the eight was an orienteer as well, wasn’t it?

I think they had a little spike of MTB casualties in 2012/13, but looking at it that way, one every 6-8 weeks doesn’t sound too bad, does it.

bigyinn
Anyone else shouting at the guy in the vid to get his bike out of the river?

No, like the guys in the vid, i’m too busy laughing my ass off! 😉

I don’t find the article offensive.

On the other hand I’m thinking well ‘duhh’ of course the number of incidents is increasing there is a larger number of mountain bikers and they doing increasingly technical riding.

It’s just like saying ‘Oh crap more food is needed because the population is growing’.

However these are the guys who will come and get us if we have a bad fall so I have huge respect for them.

Apologies if I’m missing something obvious but where is the “briefing note” they refer to?

“Our briefing note aims to raise awareness so that participants, and those looking after dedicated cycling trails and popular routes, can take steps to reduce the likelihood of future accidents, he said.

The briefing note and statistical data were pulled together at the request of Phil O’Brien of the Bowland Pennine Mountain Rescue Team. “We have an area called Gisburn Forest in Lancashire that over the last few years has seen a massive increase in MTB activity,” Mr O’Brien said.

I’m genuinely interested as it’s something I’d happily share across our (SingletrAction) various media, if it was of worth.

I’m generally positive about the message of the article regarding being prepared (whatever your personal take on “prepared” is) and exercising a bit of caution / common sense.

Then again, people that need telling that are unlikely to be the ones reading grough, STW or anything else much I imagine.

Number of guys I see riding at Stainburn without a lid always puzzles me. I wouldn’t as my perception is that all the big rocks we’ve built features with, around and over are a bit of a risk to the unprotected barnet. Hey ho, at least they’re riding bikes 😎

All of the call outs at Gisburn were accident related, limbs and joints, not necessarily head injury. With the exception of better riding skills I don’t think there’s much can be done to avoid those crashes. Helmets and pads don’t stop ankles getting broken. You could also argue by riding at a trail centre the rider is better prepared as they are riding a way marked trail. A number of the walkers (and ironically the guy at Gisburn orienteering) was lost suggesting they may not have been so well prepared.

We’ll all be safer with independence.