[BigLarry]

Here's my list of all I made happy on the trail today:

My Bike: Got some long neglected routine maintenance this morning. But it meant I got out late in the Santa Teresa heat.

Equestrians: A group of equestrians were trying to get through a barb wire gate by the IBM parking lot. But none could hold the horse reigns with one hand and untangle the barb wire wrapping around a pole with the other, so I ended up doing it for them. Then as other equestrians came up, I kept opening the gate for them, until they tapered off after 20 minutes. Then I got stuck behind them on the trail for a distance. But they talked with me and were saying how mountain bikers were pretty nice after all.

Power Hiker: On the climb up to Coyote Peak, he passed me as I was pushing up my bike. He apologized for passing me but I said no problem - I already accepted reality. I'll watch the TdF at home today rather than try to win it.

Hiker Lady with two Chi-Chi dogs: Yep, got passed by her,.. and her little dogs too.
She's now posting with glee on www.chichidoghikerlady.com about how she devastated a mountain biker passing him on the hill climb.

Biker Dude: I stopped to rest my wrists on Rocky Ridge and he had the pleasure of zipping down past me.

Me: Oh, yeah, I had a great ride too. Rocky Ridge used to be a breeze but is getting tougher than ever now. I need to practice it more.

 

[ssulljm]

Welcome Back Hombre.....We missed ya man!!

 

[TheMachinist]

Equestrians: A group of equestrians were trying to get through a barb wire gate by the IBM parking lot. But none could hold the horse reigns with one hand and untangle the barb wire wrapping around a pole with the other, so I ended up doing it for them. Then as other equestrians came up, I kept opening the gate for them, until they tapered off after 20 minutes. Then I got stuck behind them on the trail for a distance. But they talked with me and were saying how mountain bikers were pretty nice after all.

You rule! Thank you for improving our image.

 

[cohenfive]

hi larry, glad to hear you are riding around again....

 

[Dion]

Hey Larry,

Sorry I missed you yesterday, I ended up kinda getting lost in Alamden Quicksliver and riding the big loop. I ran out of food and started to bonk from calorie deficit, so going home was the best thing to do instead of hitting up STP. I'll catch you on the trail sometime!

 

[bikesbeerandgrub]

Ride on Larry!

Here's my list of all I made happy on the trail today:

My Bike: Got some long neglected routine maintenance this morning. But it meant I got out late in the Santa Teresa heat.

Equestrians: A group of equestrians were trying to get through a barb wire gate by the IBM parking lot. But none could hold the horse reigns with one hand and untangle the barb wire wrapping around a pole with the other, so I ended up doing it for them. Then as other equestrians came up, I kept opening the gate for them, until they tapered off after 20 minutes. Then I got stuck behind them on the trail for a distance. But they talked with me and were saying how mountain bikers were pretty nice after all.

Power Hiker: On the climb up to Coyote Peak, he passed me as I was pushing up my bike. He apologized for passing me but I said no problem - I already accepted reality. I'll watch the TdF at home today rather than try to win it.

Hiker Lady with two Chi-Chi dogs: Yep, got passed by her,.. and her little dogs too.
She's now posting with glee on www.chichidoghikerlady.com about how she devastated a mountain biker passing him on the hill climb.

Biker Dude: I stopped to rest my wrists on Rocky Ridge and he had the pleasure of zipping down past me.

Me: Oh, yeah, I had a great ride too. Rocky Ridge used to be a breeze but is getting tougher than ever now. I need to practice it more.

Way to keep the smiles to miles ratio high and share the love out there on the trail!

 

[mrtoadsc]

You rule! Thank you for improving our image.

+1 :thumbsup:

 

[Jorgemonkey]

Sweet! I need to get back on my MTB more in the next 2 weeks since I'm leading a group of boy scouts up there.

And seriously, the equestrians up at ST are the nicest I've ever met (well not as nice as the 2 I met while riding up in UT)

 

[BigLarry]

hi larry, glad to hear you are riding around again....

Actually, I never stopped riding. I just stopped visiting MTBR entirely for several months to work on other things. I've been riding a lot this past year, with meremortals, friends, and family. I'm not up to MTBR speed, and also wanted to get my family in the sport.

Where have you been riding lately? Maybe some day you could go up to Tahoe and do a ride with Wherewolf?

 

[BigLarry]

Hey Larry,

Sorry I missed you yesterday, I ended up kinda getting lost in Alamden Quicksliver and riding the big loop. I ran out of food and started to bonk from calorie deficit, so going home was the best thing to do instead of hitting up STP. I'll catch you on the trail sometime!

I was running very late myself, as posted.

I did your Quicksilver loop last weekend and Santa Teresa this weekend. I don't understand how you could get lost in Quicksilver. Don't you do it frequently living so close?

I once did the combined Quicksilver and Santa Teresa loops in one day. I found that I do each of them so often, that doing a familiar loop after I'm tired from the first park made the hills seem twice as big.

I'm sure you'll run into me at some point. Try not to.

 

[BigLarry]

I need to get out and ride with you again. It's been way too long.

You mean like four weeks?

 

[shredchic]

Love this post - you rock Larry!

 

[BigLarry]

Part II

Weird today at SantaTeresa. I'd just got onto Fortini trail after it meets Stile Ranch. I hear a blood curdling scream saying "STOP!!" at the top of their voice. I quickly stop and look around and finally see an older lady running at a sprint down San Vicente, right toward me sitting on the Fortini singletrack. I'm looking around wondering if she's being chased or something. I see another older guy running, but he looks to be with her, not after her.

They get close and she screams about a "bloody horse" and some cuts and I need "to start riding 'that way' right now as fast as I can" as they point up the Fortini single track. I'm really sort of confused, and ask some more questions. I finally understand that a horse returned all cut up with the saddle broken off. But the rider wasn't with the horse and they want me to look for her ASAP.

I take off, and am thinking I'm glad I'd taken that 2-day wilderness emergency first aid course a couple years ago. I get around the hill to the part of the Fortini singletrack with the steep 30' exposure down to barbed wire fence, thinking this could be bad. Then I see a teen girl in short sleeves and shorts talking on a cell phone. I asked if she'd seen a rider who fell off a horse. She said "that's me". She didn't look too bad. (Isn't talking on cell phone the first sign a teen is OK?) So I escorted her back to the people looking for her.

I was very relieved it wasn't more serious and I didn't have to drudge up all that first aid in the back of my mind. I review all my first aid notes once a year. I know the ABCDs, but I can't quite recall right now what all the letters of SAMPLE mean. (Time for another review right now.)

Otherwise I went on to have a nice ride. The trails are getting harsh at Santa Teresa. Rocky Ridge seems harder than ever and now even Stile Ranch is getting tougher too. I almost secretly wish those sanitizing trail crews would come back and do a "refresh" of the trails. Maybe I'm just getting old. :skep:

Edit: It's SAMPLE, not SIMPLE

 

[GuruAtma]

You've lived up to your avatar--you're a hero! :thumbsup:

 

[BigLarry]

You've lived up to your avatar--you're a hero! :thumbsup:

Nah, I just tried to help. I'm glad I wasn't seriously needed. When they finally met up, the couple and girl didn't even look back or thank me. They were just so worried and happy to have it resolved they couldn't think of anything else. I just rode my bike off into the setting sun (to finish my ride before it turned dark).

My avatar is satirical, more of Mr. Incredible in the Jack Par days. I only rode bikes for years, and didn't own a car myself. One day I needed to borrow a friend's Honda Civic. My kids said I looked like Jack Par getting into the little car. Thus my Avatar.

 

[Gregg K]

I just had two really nice encounters. I'm flying down some singletrack and hitting some jumps when I see a group of hikers ahead. All quite old. I immediately come to a halt and lean against a tree. As they pass, they thank me profusely for stopping. Later as I'm climbing a fire road, I see a guy walking his horse with a girl on her horse following. And their dog. I ask if I should stop, and the man thanks me for asking.

Both of these made me aware of the mechanics of politeness. It's a give and take. I felt really good, as if surprised by how well it turned out. It really takes two to tango. I'm not sure how to put it. Both parties need to play responsible roles. The dog that didn't freak out at me. Same for the horses. And the hikers who didn't resent me, even though I ride that trail every other day. I guess it's social maturity.

 

[omanwurmi]

So....what do the letters in SIMPLE mean?

 

[Dion]

The trails are getting harsh at Santa Teresa. Rocky Ridge seems harder than ever and now even Stile Ranch is getting tougher too. I almost secretly wish those sanitizing trail crews would come back and do a "refresh" of the trails. Maybe I'm just getting old. :skep:

Nah, you're not getting old - they are THRASHED. I won't even ride them unless I'm on my full suspension bike, then they are fine. Descending either one of those on a full rigid is painful, doable, but just slow.

I've been doing intervals at STP on my SSCX bike.

The rocks have gotten so bad, the other day I pinched the front and wiped out hitting a u-turn.

 

[BigLarry]

5 Minute First Aid Summary

So....what do the letters in SIMPLE mean?

In general, upon approaching a person in need, you follow the steps below in this order.

Size up Scene
1. Size up scene - check for immedate danger - snakes, poisons, cliffs,...
2. Determine Mechanism of Injuiry (MOI) - crash, face plant, medical, allergy, dehydration,...
3. Establish Body Substance Isolation (BSI)
4. Determine number of patients - look for others, find out everyone who's hurt.
4. Form a general impression of the pateient.

Initial Patient Assessment:
Identify self, obtain consent to treat
Establish responsiveness and spine control - stabilize the spine
Check ABCDE=
Airway - check in mouth, clear obstructions
Breathing- look, listen, feel, check for chest injuries
Circulation - check pulse, major bleeding, treat for shock if needed
Disability - Maintain manual stabilization of spine
Environment/Expose - Asses and treat enviromental hazards, exose life threatening wounds.

Head to Toe assessment.
Go from head to toe, check all body parts and limbs
Check for bleeding, senstive wounds - expose as needed, listen, feel

Vital Signs
Level of responsiveness
Heart rate, Rhythm and Quality
Respiratory Rate, Rhythm and Quality
Skin color, temperature, and moisture

Patient History
Chief complaint
SAMPLE=
Symptoms
Allergies
Meds - prescription and recreational
Pertinent Medical History - heart, diabetes
Last food In/Out
Events - recent relevant activity

One of the biggest questions mountain bikers often face is if the person should be immobilized, especially since most people want to jump up and continue as soon as they've recovered from initial impact shock. In general, you need to use sense. Did they hit their head or bend their neck? Did they land on their back or head? Do they exhibit behavior or symptoms of head injury (racoon eyes, loss of consciousness, disoriented, irritable, combative, nausia, vomit, drowsy) In these cases, immobilize and prepare for evacuation. After checking everything above, it's possible to do a spinal check, moving down the vertebrate one by one checking for injury, and clearing the injured from immobilization. This requires careful movement of the patient without moving their spine. You really need the course below to understand this properly.

I only talked about assesment above. You need to understand treatment too, for injuries, broken bones, head and spine injuries, allergies, dehydration, hypothermia, shock, etc..

The above information is the very briefest summary to convince you that you should take a two-day Wilderness First Aid course. It could well be a life saver.

Check out the Wilderness Medicine Instutute. The most appropriate class for most mountain bikers is the fast paced two-day Wilderness First Aid course for $200. (They're coming to Saratoga nexext weekend.) They are great classes that don't just teach theory. You're broken into small groups and put into mock situations every couple hours and asked to apply each lesson learned. You realize how hard it is to remember everything, especially in stressful situations, and how easy it becomes to make errors in judgement. The courses are worth every penny.