Or just use your other arm to hold it in place, it's the easiest way as people find they need to move them a few times.

Flask of tea and a stiff upper lip will see you right

Oh, i was a little suprised at how low people rate the foil blankets. I havent used one before but do tend to have one with me on winter rides.

The thinking is that a foil blanket doesn't help in typical hill (esp. UK) conditions, for 2 reasons:

1. They are good at preventing heat loss due to radiation. This is fine in somewhere like, say, the Alps in winter on a sunny day where the air is clear, still and very cold. However in the UK, typically you're going to lose heat through convection, not radiation, because it's wet and windy. Foil blankets don't help, the old-school orange survival bag is much better because it keeps the wind and rain off.

2. If you try to use one in the hills, it WILL get utterly shredded, from your own efforts as well as the wind. Seriously, has anyone even unwrapped one indoors? They're hopeless.

The survival bag with foil blanket taped-on that Doug and I refer to is the recommended method on all the outdoor leadership courses (hill walking, climbing, etc. as well as biking) because it solves both of the problems above.

All that said, I carry a group shelter most of the time when I'm guiding, which is far better than either option above!

I've got a gigantic old Dixons plastic bag – the size you can climb into – and a tinfoil blanket. The Dixons bag lives in the boot of my car, but I think I'll take it with me on big rides now.

My first aid training is waaay out of date, and specific to being a dinghy instructor, but the advice back then was to use a jib as a survival blanket – heavy (especially on a sailing school boat) and windproof. We also were advised to use duct tape for big gashes, preferably cut into butterfly stitches. I've used this last a couple of times, and if you have the time to cut it into butterflies, it does come off a load easier than a big old strip, with less damage to the edges of the wound.

I'm doing a 2 day adventure first aid course this weekend. I'll have the full SP on monday

Mountain bike injuries fall into 3 categories IMo –
1) – properly broken – call for help asap. Strong painkillers if you want – keep em comfy and stop bleeding. All the kit can be improvised. Knowledge is the key thing here

2) – minor wounds – MTFY and carry on riding. First aid kit might make it more comfy but will make no real difference to outcomes

3) trail side repairable – this is the only category where a first aid kit will make a significant difference. Stuff like moderate full thickness cuts that can be steristripped back together where having the kit and the skills might make the difference between being able to contine the ride or have to cut it short.

I carry steristrips, film dressings for this and a bandage as it makes improvising slings easier. I also carry a foil blanket as a full bivvy bag is cumbersome but I am aware its usefullness is limited.

Knowledge is absolutely the key thing.

+1 for the knowledge, but I prefer my algorithm;

Is the injury fixable with duct tape?

if yes, fix it.

if no, call for an ambulance.

2 small dressings
Small roll of Micropore tape
8" Strip of fabric plaster
Scissors
Tweezers
Vitamin N (neurofen)
Safety pins
Floss and needle
Foil blanket
2 antiseptic wipes

Inner tube*
Gaffer tape*
Hip flask*
Buff*

SSP

*not strictly 1st aid kit but can be used 🙂

Not so great on technical singletrack: