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Two popular survival stories from modern times (one with a sad
ending, and the other a more upbeat ending) involve Christopher
“Alexander Supertramp” McCandless and Aaron Ralston. Christopher
ultimately met his demise in the pursuit of solitude in the Alaskan
wilderness (the story made famous in John Krakauer’s book Into the
Wild). Aaron had a chalkstone fall on his arm in a canyoneering accident
and was forced to amputate his arm after being trapped for five days
(this event was depicted in the movie 127 Hours). Both adventurers have
something to teach mountain bikers, and we are not talking about eating
poison berries or hacking off limbs.
LEAVE BEHIND YOUR PLAN
McCandless and Ralston both broke the most fundamental rule of
wilderness travel: not telling anyone where they were going. Always tell
someone where you are going, even if it’s on your regular after-work
loop on the local trails. Leaving your loved ones to guess your
potential whereabouts if you go missing will delay any search-and-rescue
attempt. Using today’s technology, there is no excuse for breaking this
rule. A post-it note, phone call, text message or e-mail takes all but a
minute and may be the difference between survival and a memorial
service.
IN THE PACK OR POCKET
Toss your cell phone in your
hydration pack or jersey pocket (and be sure it’s fully charged).
Advancements in communication technology are constantly making it
tougher to lose contact with the outside world. It is surprising how
often you will get phone reception in areas far off the beaten track.
And even if you don’t get reception, that phone can be a lifesaver. If
your phone happens to be shiny or glossy, it could double as an
emergency signaling mirror. With GPS growing in popularity and
smartphones being GPS-enabled, it would be wise to learn how to read GPS
coordinates off your device.
If in a worst-case scenario you suffer a gnarly crash that leads to a
broken bone and you are 13 miles from the trailhead, reach for your cell
phone and GPS. If you have reception, you can give the 911 operator
your GPS coordinates, then the pilot of the Life Flight helicopter will
know exactly where to find you.
TAKE INVENTORY
When bad things happen, be they a mechanical or physical problem,
the first thing to do is take a complete inventory of what you have at
your disposal. When Aaron Ralston was trapped, he mustered the
wherewithal to carefully lay out the tools he had at his disposal. This
isn’t limited to what is inside your hydration pack or jersey; your bike
is a vast resource for tools, weapons and even shelter.
QR TIRE TOOLS
If you suffer a flat tire in the middle of the wilds and break your
cheesy plastic tire lever trying to get the tire off the rim, don’t
panic. Remove your quick-release skewer and use the quick-release lever
as a tire tool. It will work in a pinch.
GRASS MAT
You’ve suffered a flat tire and have run out of tubes and tube patches.
Pop the bead off the rim, leave the tube in there and start stuffing the
tire with grass. It will take half a meadow to get the tire to feel
like there is 15 psi in there but it will get you home. This will work
with tubeless tires, too.
DOUBLE UP
Carry both a mini tire pump and an CO2 inflator with a couple of 12-gram CO2 cartridges. If one doesn’t work, you’ll have a backup ready.
THE BUCK STOPS THERE
If a rock rips the sidewall of your tire, you can fold a dollar bill and
use it inside the tire to cover the hole. The dollar will keep the tube
from herniating out of the tire until you get back from your ride. This
is a temporary trick to get you back home. The tire will need to be
replaced.
TRUE THAT WHEEL
Now that most bikes run disc brakes, a tweaked wheel doesn’t give the
brake pad clearance issues like it did in the past. If a wheel ever gets
so badly bent that you can feel the wobble when riding, it needs to be
fixed. Center the area of the rim that is bent out facing against a tree
trunk. Lunge into the wheel and push against the tree on either side of
the wobble. Take your time, frequently checking progress. As soon as
the rim spins mostly straight, it can be fine-tuned true using spoke
tension.
If a rim is dinged so badly that it splits at the seam or a spoke pulls
out, compensate for it by loosening the opposing spokes. The rim will
grow a hump where the spokes are loosened, but you’ll still be able to
ride it home.
D.I.Y. FIRST AID
First aid is all about being creative with available resources. A bike component and some calm-minded creativity may get you home. If you break a bone, try to immobilize the limb. Carrying emergency splints in your hydration pack is a bit impractical. Between your bike, clothing and hydration pack, you have a wealth of resources to create an improvised splint. Clothing items that are long and stretchy work as great fasteners, so pull off your socks and arm warmers and get to work. The odds of riding out with a broken wrist or hand are slim, so your saddle has the potential to make a great splint for that scenario. For an arm or a leg, your seatpost is a promising choice.
YOU ARE A VISITOR
As we ride our favorite trails, we can never forget that we are visitors in an environment that is not our own. We are all aware of the various predators (more notably bears and mountain lions) that we may encounter. These incredible animals are not out to hunt humans, but if threatened or startled they may attack.
The first tip for avoiding a potentially deadly encounter is to never ride alone (admittedly, we break this rule all the time). When coming across a predator in the wild, the first thing you must do is assess the situation. Ask yourself: does it seem interested in me? Is it feeding? Are there cubs within view? Bears and mountain lions are going to pose a bigger threat to humans under these circumstances.
Making plenty of loud noise while riding in bear country will lessen the likelihood of an encounter. Also, if you ride in bear country, investing in bear mace wouldn’t be a bad idea.
Mountain lion encounters are rare as well, and many of the same rules apply. If confronted by a mountain lion, make yourself appear big by lifting your bike overhead while backing away slowly. Ultimately, you have to show the mountain lion who is in control. Never crouch, turn away or run from a mountain lion; these actions make you seem like prey for the animal.
If attacked by a mountain lion, fight for your life. Instinctively, mountain lions aim for the neck while attacking, so a hydration pack may serve as added protection. Use anything and everything to fight back (e.g., sticks, stones and your bike). Fortunately, encounters like this are extremely rare, but it always helps to be prepared.
Depending on which part of the country you ride in, encountering snakes on the trail can be a common occurrence. Unless you’re the next crocodile hunter, don’t try to handle a venomous snake on the trail. This is how the majority of bites happen. If bitten by a venomous snake, get away from it and try to identify the species if possible. Call 911 immediately, as a dosage of anti-venom is the best means of preventing serious soft-tissue damage. Try to stay as calm as possible and avoid excessive movement, as this will increase your heart rate and allow the venom to spread quicker. Try to keep the bitten extremity below your heart; do not elevate a snake bite.
Remove any constrictive clothing or jewelry. If help is more than 30 minutes away, wrap a bandage (socks or arm warmers will do the trick) about 2-4 inches above the bite. Do not overtighten this bandage; a finger should be able to fit in between. A venom suction device, such as the Sawyer Extractor, may be a valuable first-aid tool. Do not cut the bite marks and try to suck the venom out with your mouth. This old myth increases the risk of infection. Never use a tourniquet above the bite site. This will worsen the swelling.
BE PREPARED, NOT SCARED
Did we just scare you away from mountain biking? That was not our intention. The odds are against you ever being attacked by a mountain lion or having to cut off a limb that’s stuck between your wheel and chainstay. Collectively, the MBA wrecking crew has thousands of hours on the trail, and we have never encountered anything that we couldn’t laugh about later. Knowing your options, planning ahead, being well prepared and using common sense will allow you to ride with more confidence and enjoyment. You may also end up the hero of the day when you save someone less prepared and less knowledgeable.
به نقل از: Mountain Bike Action
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