never go out riding/ offroading alone...

[dnchevyman]

Even though its common sense (i think) i figured id tell everyone a pretty good story about going out alone...

Sunday, at 3 oclock, i got a call, a co-workers banshee got sand in the carb and wouldnt run, needed someone to come town his quad back to his truck, which was about 5 miles away, too long to push. I got out there an hour later with some water for him since he doesnt have a camel pack or water bottles with him here in the desert of nevada :bang: . tow his quad back to his pickup and send him on his way. go home and ended up falling asleep around 10 oclock. now heres the Good story......

I wake up at 1:15 A.M., a buddy is calling, here is the following conversation, his name is doug....

me- hello?
doug- dont hangup
me-ok, whats wrong?
doug-come get me im 40 miles out in the desert in my pre- runner, it broke down
me- WHAT??!!! ITS 1:15 IN THE MORNING!!
doug-ive been walking since 4:30 p.m. i this is the first time
i got cell phone reception.

ends up, he was out in his ford pickup pre-runner ALONE :bang: , and got 40 miles out in the desert when the motor just died, we are both mechanics, couldn't figure out what happened, something electrical. He had no cell phone reception so he started walking towards town. he ended up walking almost 17 miles before he got reception and called me, i was able to find him becuase he happened to be on a power line road i knew.he walked from 4:30 to 1:15, THATS ALMOST 9 HOURS!!! he had no food, no water, no emergency medical kit :bang: . it gets down to about 40 degrees at night here also. He was severely dehydrated and pretty hungry, not having eaten for 10 or 11 hours. He also could not walk, his legs had all but given up on him from walking so long and the dehydration. his dad was with him in the truck and we got back there to find him sleeping in the truck using the floor mats for a blanket. So use this as a lesson, dont go out alone, even if you are within walking distance of people, if you break your leg or hips, you wont be able to walk to them, and dont always count on your cell phone. sorry for being so long, but had to tell the whole story.

 

[mx547]

back in the early 90's, a friend went riding by himself at the 500 in stillwater, okla. (some of the dirtweek regulars know the place). he crashed on an uphill jump. he was the only person there and he laid there for a reported four hours before anyone showed up. he ended up with a ruptured spleen, which can be lethal. to this day, that jump is called "the spleen jump."

he was a pro rider so don't think it can't happen to you.

 

[ellandoh]

even if your out with a friend choose wisely, ive run across more than one set of guys when one is seriously injured the other one either has no idea which way to get help or is too retarded at the moment to decide to get the guy out to a road

 

[Sandjunky]

I went riding alone once and I'm still lost! :think:

 

[kdx200chick]

I grew up riding on the track where there always are a ton of people therefore going out "alone" wasn't such a big deal since everyone knew everyone....It wasn't until about 4 years ago that we started riding the trails and desert which of course means less people. We always go w/ friends or each other but, I am going to make my son (he's 15) read this email so that he never gets a wild hair up his _$$ to head out on his own. Especially since he'll be getting his drivers license this summer!! AAARGGGH! It's a hard lesson to learn but an important one. What an amazing, lucky man NOT to have been found dead the next day.

 

[GETMETOCA]

Good reminder. I'm too chicken to ride alone anyway, but you never know who might think its a good idea.

 

[trevor9a]

It is always best to ride with at least one partner but if no one is available are your really going to blow off riding? If you do ride alone you have be careful of where you go and what you do. Also, the subject guy in the original post has issues other than going alone. He was with his father. They left totally unprepared for an emergency AND split up in the desert. No deep thinking going on there.

 

[Treejumper]

It is always best to ride with at least one partner but if no one is available are your really going to blow off riding?

No, you dont blow off riding but you do let others know where and when you plan on being back. Most of my friends know my trails and i let my parents know I'm going riding and when i plan on being back( my riding area starts on their farm). That way if anything happens they can call my friends and know where to atleast start looking. Of course this wouldnt of helped alittle over a year ago when i went riding alone and got pinned under my bike in a creek. Luckily the water wasnt another 2" deeper i wouldnt be typing this.

 

[TemeculaTim]

I often ride alone because I have the luxury of riding directly from the house. I always carry the same stuff, wether riding locally or in when going on a long desert ride. A cell phone (with a fully charged battery), water, a powerbar or two, tools, spare tubes and a small first aid/survival kit, and a lightweight windbreaker. All this stuff fits into a camelback and fanny pack. I also let my wife know where I will be and when I plan on getting back. One thing I do do when riding alone is use common sense. I do not try to do anything beyond my abilities and ride cautiously. Sometimes riding alone is a good way to unwind and it can be fun if you do it right.

 

[trevor9a]

I often ride alone because I have the luxury of riding directly from the house. I always carry the same stuff, wether riding locally or in when going on a long desert ride. A cell phone (with a fully charged battery), water, a powerbar or two, tools, spare tubes and a small first aid/survival kit, and a lightweight windbreaker. All this stuff fits into a camelback and fanny pack. I also let my wife know where I will be and when I plan on getting back. One thing I do do when riding alone is use common sense. I do not try to do anything beyond my abilities and ride cautiously. Sometimes riding alone is a good way to unwind and it can be fun if you do it right.

I second that. I also ad a GPS so I can give any would be rescuers an exact location...

 

[Danman]

Dirt Rider did a article the month before last on what to bring! Its a good read and there is a few things I didn't think of. We got seperated once and ended up looking for other folks for a while. They had wondered off the trail. After that we all got high pitch and powered whistles. Mine is in my pack, but one of my buddies put his on his chest protector. You can hear them from go distance away. It could be enough for somebody to hear you and possibly find you. I don't like to ride alone at all anymore.

My riding buds are pretty good. When I had my last big get off if I'd been by myself it would have been a while before made it back to camp. I feel I would have made it and maybe our land owner would have seen me stubling down the road. I passed out from lack of O2! I knocked the wind out of my self. I also dislocated a rib, Etc... I was in a flat field littered with rocks when it happened. I would have been long an painful ride back to camp. I also had a concussion. So I could have possibly rode off the in wrong direction. I was sure glad the guy behind me was a Fireman!

Some guys ride alone. I choose not to and go with a Buddy!

 

[tx246]

when my friends are too busy or claim its too hot to ride, i often head off to an mx track on a practice day instead of risking trails alone. the biggest benefits to riding an mx track are lots of people there and at some tracks, medical personel right there on the premise. even if you get dinged up, there is someone there to help load your stuff.

i dont think anybody ever plans to get lost, hurt, broke down ect. but it does happen and its a good idea to think of what you would do if you are in that situation BEFORE it happens.

 

[velosapiens]

i dont think anybody ever plans to get lost, hurt, broke down ect. but it does happen and its a good idea to think of what you would do if you are in that situation BEFORE it happens.

i ride alone alot, in the eastern nevada mountains. it is VERY unusual for me to see another human on a ride, but i get cellphone reception just about everywhere except in a few gullies.

i have planned out what i will do if i get hurt bad enough that i can't get myself out, and i don't have cell reception. i will just die there, and i'll be glad for a lifetime of getting out and enjoying the outdoors instead of staying home and knitting when i couldn't find a chaperone to come with me.

with that in mind, i avoid crashing on those rides.

-mark

 

[nikki]

Great story.... "don't ride alone" is a rule I stick by big time. I even have a tough time going to the track for an organized ride alone... because, if I break both legs or get knocked silly, who's gonna drive me home or be there while I get transported to the hospital. I know, those things don't happen often, but you never know what might happen.

I won't even ride the backyard track without someone else out there, or at least someone being responsible to listen for the bike, and check things out if needed.

Your friend is very lucky that things worked out. I can't even imagine being in that situation. :think:

 

[DWreck]

back in the early 90's, a friend went riding by himself at the 500 in stillwater, okla. (some of the dirtweek regulars know the place). he crashed on an uphill jump. he was the only person there and he laid there for a reported four hours before anyone showed up. he ended up with a ruptured spleen, which can be lethal. to this day, that jump is called "the spleen jump."

he was a pro rider so don't think it can't happen to you.

Homer Woolslayer! sp

The day I met him he was riding with a broken back. :ohmy:
I should have known that you knew him.

 

[DWreck]

back in the early 90's, a friend went riding by himself at the 500 in stillwater, okla. (some of the dirtweek regulars know the place). he crashed on an uphill jump. he was the only person there and he laid there for a reported four hours before anyone showed up. he ended up with a ruptured spleen, which can be lethal. to this day, that jump is called "the spleen jump."

he was a pro rider so don't think it can't happen to you.

Homer Woolslayer! sp

The day I met him he was riding with a broken back. :ohmy:
I should have known that you knew him.

A friend of mine broke his collarbone and knocked himself out on that same jump just a couple of months after Homer.

 

[squeaky]

The only time I've ridden alone is when PK had a small track that he slapped together in our back yard, but even then there was someone in the house that could listen and watch for me.

I am not experienced enough of a rider to ride alone, and even if I was, I still wouldn't do it. That's too much of a risk to take.

 

[CaNaDiAn,Eh?]

If I ever wanted to ride I pretty much had to do it alone. I rode with my dad a lot but he was very rarely home or had time to come with me. I always carried a cell phone with me, but it's true if I had crashed I don't know how anyone would have found me. My riding area spanned for miles.....you could go in any direction until you ran out of gas. Luckily nothing ever happened, I had a close one once but that was it. I would have killed for some riding buddies.

 

[Gary B.]

Thanks for the reminder!

 

[VintageDirt]

Good advice, all of it. But what if you'd rather be alone than with somebody?