I'm going to own up to being pretty badly prepared...I carry nowt with me. Only stuff in my camel back is sqaush, few energy bars including an emergency gel, multi tool, tool for my Cane Creek shock, tyre levers, patches, spare tube, mini pump and a shock pump. On wetter days I'll take a gillet or a jacket with me. When I'm riding locally, I don't even take this...just my phone and car key.
My lack of preparation was shown up a couple of weeks ago though. I was in Hopwas on a Sunday morning and bumped into two guys who I needed up riding with. I showed them a line that they'd not ridden before. Nothing too major; short run of three jumps and a table top at the bottom.
Everything was hunky dory, we all did a couple of runs then one of the guys blew his tyre off is rim. Fixed it so we thought we'd have one last run before moving to a different one...this didn't go so well.
The guy who had been having issues with his tyres pinned the line and overshot the landing for table top...big time. He put his front wheel down as if to hit the landing but he was so far past it that he nose wheelies into a nearby tree at high speed with most of the impact going through his head / neck.
Almost immediately it was apparent that he was in a bad way complaining about his neck – his full face was toast. The other chap and I managed to get his bike untangled from him without moving him. We called an ambulance but only I knew where we were so directed agreed to meet the ambulance at the nearest main road. I met the crew and helped them carry their stuff in to him. By the time we got there he was in a bad way; white as a sheet, shivering, struggling to take deep breaths and in a lot of pain. As riders we had naff all to put over him to help keep him warm.
The ambulance crew tried to arrange for an air ambulance when they realised that he was pretty badly injured but there was nowhere suitable for it to land. Another crew were dispatched who I had to go and meet and guide in. A specialist crew were then sent with an offroad buggy (they described themselves as the ground version of the air ambulance) to retrieve him.
All of this took a fair amount of time - but the crews were fantastic (two of them were MTBers so were not surprised, but gave us some stick for mucking about on DH stuff). The chap is OK - four broken vertebrae but will walk / ride again.
I often ride on my own and have ridden this line so many times - not sure what I would have done if I had been the injured rider and was on my own. It does make you think a bit - all of this was no more than 15 minutes from the main road but the lines there are generally quite hidden.
I think I'll be rethinking my lack of first aid equipment (not that it would have helped much in this situation - but it would have helped my knee when I came off at Cannock the other week. Cleaning a deepish hole in my knee up after finishing my ride was pretty painful).
I had an off on my own many years ago in Hong Kong on Lantau whilst searching for rideable routes on the peak - opened my left leg up from Knee to ankle. On my own - and with no phone. Long story short I struggled out - the wound had swelled so much it could not be stitched and I have been left with a very nasty scar....
Since then I have seen this as a 'lucky escape' and I really do think about what extra I need to take for each ride in addition to the standard kit I leave in my pack at all times.
Things I to add the general list of items people have been offering up - a wooly hat in the winter, good head torch (torches have been mentioned). Leg warmers for a man down in shorts / cover a bad cut.
Here's a bit of a follow-up, including the use of 999 and 112.
http://www.mcofs.org.uk/emergency-procedures-card.asp
IIRC the anti-foil-blanket thing revolved around "ambulances don't carry them". Which is not useful info, because we're not ambulances. "Better than nothing" is still useful- they can keep a bit of rain and wind off, they keep a small amount of warmth in, and they're very visible.
At the end of the day, you're never going to regret having one. You might wish you had a survival bag though.
I've stopped popping as many pain killers in now as I go through proper customs too often...
But Tramadol for the OH **** moment when you have to sit it out waiting for rescue trying not to scream
Nice clean bandages are better than a plaster/jumper and some would closure strips, not a pro but dome some first aid and normally take a vet (the missus with us)
However she broke her ankle in the presence of a Vet, Anaesthetist and an acupuncturist who had nothing between them 🙁
I would also suggest that for those who are not carrying anything or know anything they go on a first aid course for them and their mates. I have seen enough and helped enough to be glad of what I have learned. Being careful doesn't count. Shit happens. A friend once complimented me on my calmness and organisation getting a mate an ambulance and bikes off a mountain and someone in the ambulance with the mate and all arriving at the hospital at once. It's skills/knowledge I wish I didn't have but it comes in useful.
The foil blankets are, however, very fragile. I've seen someone unpack one and be left holding two small handfuls of plastic foil with the rest disappearing in a gale 🙂
reminds me of when my mate had my emergency shelter for about 8 months, ended up giving it back which was when I realised I had lost my emergency shelter and he had been carrying a small and not very waterproof jacket round with him 🙂
