Tahoe City man dies while on charity bicycle ride in Nevada(Sierra Sun)

What's your point? He died of natural causes- could have happened
anywhere.


On Nov 7, 11:11*am, wrote:
http://www.ng2000.com/fw.php?tp=bicycle-ride

From what the article says, the cause of death is unknown at this time. If
it was a heart attack or some other stress or over-exertion-related
incident, then I'm not too surprised.

For a number of years, I served as a marshall for a charity ride sponsored
by one of the country's most prestigious not-for-profit research
organizations. My understanding of a marshall's job was that I was
responsible for ensuring that all riders got through the route safely and
that nobody packed up and went home before the last rider made it to the
finish line.

Each year, I became more and more outraged at how lax the planners were.
This ride attracts about 2000 cyclists annually, the majority of whom count
it as the one time they get on their bike all year. Many have bikes that
are improperly sized for them or are in poor condition. Many do not bring
water bottles for the twenty-mile trek that takes place while the summer sun
still beats down on the roadway. Most do not stretch and do not eat a
proper breakfast before the ride.

The committee that organized the rides I marshalled was consistently made up
of non bicycle-riding volunteers who made no effort to train the marshalls
(me and one other guy who apparently thought his job was to race to the
finish line before everybody else!) or to educate riders as to how to get
through the ride without bonking or having a stroke. When I gently
questioned this policy after the first year, the response from the
organization was "Well, we include a waiver in our registration form so that
we're protected in case a rider suffers any kind of injury or health
episode." I was tickled to hear that the organization had protected itself
and its volunteers (me, included) but I was quite put off by the lack of
responsibility they assumed for participants.

As disenchanted as I was with this event after the first time out, I
continued to marshall it for another three years. I am not exaggerating
when I say that each and every year, I ended up taking between five and
seven hours to do the twenty-mile ride, looping back and forth to check on
the very last riders in the pack. Throughout the line of old Schwinn
10-speeds and rusted Huffy's, I continually saw faces that were pale from
dehydration and eyes that were clearly spinning from the effects of the
heat. I perpetually raced back and forth looking for the ever-elusive
support vans that were supposed to be available to supply water or provide
emergency medical care, but they were rarely anywhere to be found. I can't
tell you how many riders I had to turn around and escort back to the
starting line over the years - sometimes physically pulling them while on my
own bike - only to find the organizers and EMT staff scattered about the
grounds indulging in free donuts or posing for photos while the emergency
stations were unstaffed.

Each year, I stayed with the very last rider, who was always either an
elderly gentleman, an overweight kid on a Worksman tricycle, or a group of
teenage girls who thought the biggest challenge of a twenty-mile ride was
tryng to steer and talk on a cell phone at the same time. In each case, the
rider(s) were within a hair of collapsing and/or losing total control of
their bikes by the time they arrived at the finish line. Typically, nobody
was even there to ask if they were OK. In fact, in three out of the four
rides I did, by the time I arrived with the last riders, just about all the
organizers and emergency staff had gone home. Ultimately, I resigned as a
marshall, but the ride has gone on just the same without me.

My point is that organizations need to view these rides as more than just
families taking their bikes out of the basement and having a few hours of
fun. Charity rides attract all kinds of people, many of whom might be
fueled with more passion than they have ability or physical health. If
requiring a physician's note of permission is asking too much, then the ride
organizers should, at least, make safety and support top priorities during
these events. Based on my experience, I would imagine the doctor who tried
to save the Tahoe rider's life was the only one around for several miles.
And he may have been a dentist or a chiropractor. I might also venture to
guess that the rider didn't have enough water with him.

Given the shattered economy, chances are the country's charity organizations
will have to step up fundraising efforts in the coming years. This may mean
more charity rides and more underinformed riders taking to the streets
without the proper equipment and support. I'd propose that any organization
sponsoring a cycling event be required to complete a course in preparing for
such an event and that all volunteers participating behind the scenes be
required to undergo standardized training.

What do ya think of that?????

Papa Tom wrote:
From what the article says, the cause of death is unknown at this time. If
it was a heart attack or some other stress or over-exertion-related
incident, then I'm not too surprised.

For a number of years, I served as a marshall for a charity ride sponsored
by one of the country's most prestigious not-for-profit research
organizations. My understanding of a marshall's job was that I was
responsible for ensuring that all riders got through the route safely and
that nobody packed up and went home before the last rider made it to the
finish line.

Each year, I became more and more outraged at how lax the planners were.
This ride attracts about 2000 cyclists annually, the majority of whom count
it as the one time they get on their bike all year. Many have bikes that
are improperly sized for them or are in poor condition. Many do not bring
water bottles for the twenty-mile trek that takes place while the summer sun
still beats down on the roadway. Most do not stretch and do not eat a
proper breakfast before the ride.

The committee that organized the rides I marshalled was consistently made up
of non bicycle-riding volunteers who made no effort to train the marshalls
(me and one other guy who apparently thought his job was to race to the
finish line before everybody else!) or to educate riders as to how to get
through the ride without bonking or having a stroke. When I gently
questioned this policy after the first year, the response from the
organization was "Well, we include a waiver in our registration form so that
we're protected in case a rider suffers any kind of injury or health
episode." I was tickled to hear that the organization had protected itself
and its volunteers (me, included) but I was quite put off by the lack of
responsibility they assumed for participants.

As disenchanted as I was with this event after the first time out, I
continued to marshall it for another three years. I am not exaggerating
when I say that each and every year, I ended up taking between five and
seven hours to do the twenty-mile ride, looping back and forth to check on
the very last riders in the pack. Throughout the line of old Schwinn
10-speeds and rusted Huffy's, I continually saw faces that were pale from
dehydration and eyes that were clearly spinning from the effects of the
heat. I perpetually raced back and forth looking for the ever-elusive
support vans that were supposed to be available to supply water or provide
emergency medical care, but they were rarely anywhere to be found. I can't
tell you how many riders I had to turn around and escort back to the
starting line over the years - sometimes physically pulling them while on my
own bike - only to find the organizers and EMT staff scattered about the
grounds indulging in free donuts or posing for photos while the emergency
stations were unstaffed.

Each year, I stayed with the very last rider, who was always either an
elderly gentleman, an overweight kid on a Worksman tricycle, or a group of
teenage girls who thought the biggest challenge of a twenty-mile ride was
tryng to steer and talk on a cell phone at the same time. In each case, the
rider(s) were within a hair of collapsing and/or losing total control of
their bikes by the time they arrived at the finish line. Typically, nobody
was even there to ask if they were OK. In fact, in three out of the four
rides I did, by the time I arrived with the last riders, just about all the
organizers and emergency staff had gone home. Ultimately, I resigned as a
marshall, but the ride has gone on just the same without me.

My point is that organizations need to view these rides as more than just
families taking their bikes out of the basement and having a few hours of
fun. Charity rides attract all kinds of people, many of whom might be
fueled with more passion than they have ability or physical health. If
requiring a physician's note of permission is asking too much, then the ride
organizers should, at least, make safety and support top priorities during
these events. Based on my experience, I would imagine the doctor who tried
to save the Tahoe rider's life was the only one around for several miles.
And he may have been a dentist or a chiropractor. I might also venture to
guess that the rider didn't have enough water with him.

Given the shattered economy, chances are the country's charity organizations
will have to step up fundraising efforts in the coming years. This may mean
more charity rides and more underinformed riders taking to the streets
without the proper equipment and support. I'd propose that any organization
sponsoring a cycling event be required to complete a course in preparing for
such an event and that all volunteers participating behind the scenes be
required to undergo standardized training.

What do ya think of that?????

I think it's about time. Waivers aren't iron-clad, a certain amount
of "due care" is still to be expected.
I rode two charity rides this year. One (the Utah MS ride) was
superbly organized and a ton of fun. The other one (I won't name it by
name, but it rhymed with schplulcer) was poorly organized, and it turned
out, devoid of SAG support. I doubt that I'll ride that one again.
Sooner or later, what can happen, will happen. Some badly run ride
will strand some flatted riders on the course in the heat or the rain,
or get in legal trouble because they have no portapotties and people use
the bushes, or they'll have some other kind of debacle. I can see it
doing harm to the reputation of other rides, some of which do a lot of
good.
Is there anywhere a ride-rating web page?


Bill

__o | The nice thing about elections is that afterward, the
_`\(,_ | politicians will shut up for a while. If your conscience does
(_)/ (_) | too, then you voted for the right person. --Robert Kirby

Is there anywhere a ride-rating web page?

I don't know of one, but I'm sure you will find one if you do enough
Googling. This sounds like a good idea, but I think many cyclists join
these rides (particularly the low-impact rides of 10-20 miles designed for
casual cyclists) on a whim and do not do any kind of research. They hear
their not-so-athletic friends bragging about how they did one and how much
fun it was (even though they might be exaggerating big time) and they think
"If Chubby Charlie can do it, so can I." A rating site would be great for
more serious riders like yourself, but I don't think the kinds of riders who
did the rides I was on would search for it.

"Papa Tom" wrote in
:
Is there anywhere a ride-rating web page?

I don't know of one, but I'm sure you will find one if you do enough
Googling. This sounds like a good idea,

Many (perhaps most) century rides these days post elevation profiles and
cumulative elevation gain statistics on their web sites. These are pretty
good ways for an experienced cyclist to judge the difficulty of a ride.

On the other hand, a lot of rides that are run by the big national charities
tend to attract much less experienced cyclists than the rides run by bicycle
clubs. The routes used by charity rides tend to be easier, but they can
still be very difficult to out-of-shape beginners who have never ridden any
signficant distance or hills.

The routes used by charity rides tend to be easier, but they can still be
very difficult to out-of-shape beginners who have never ridden any
signficant distance or hills.

My point, exactly. So how can we get this message across to ride organizers
and urge them to plan more effectively? OR, how can we get the message
across to "casual riders" that they need to prepare themselves properly for
these rides.

Is it even any of our business? :{

Papa Tom wrote:
The routes used by charity rides tend to be easier, but they can still be
very difficult to out-of-shape beginners who have never ridden any
signficant distance or hills.

My point, exactly. So how can we get this message across to ride organizers
and urge them to plan more effectively? OR, how can we get the message
across to "casual riders" that they need to prepare themselves properly for
these rides.

Is it even any of our business? :{

A lot of web pages are about things that are none of the host's or
the users' business.
I think it's fine that serious riders post elevation profiles for
their tough rides, but to the more casual rider, it may be equally
important to know how frequent the rest stops are, whether they are
well-stocked, how good the SAG is, or if there even is SAG.
It's funny how you can go to Amazon, for instance, and read dozens of
reviews of a CD or movie before deciding if you want to buy it, but when
it comes to sponsored rides where you could be stranded, injured or
conceivably even killed, you just have to get out the crystal ball.


Bill

-----------------------------------------------
| Americans will always do the right thing... |
| after they've exhausted all the alternatives. |
| -Winston Churchill |
-----------------------------------------------

On 10 Nov, 20:46, "Papa Tom" wrote:
The routes used by charity rides tend to be easier, but they can still be
very difficult to out-of-shape beginners who have never ridden any
signficant distance or hills.
My point, exactly. *So how can we get this message across ...

In case there is still one around, could a kind soul explain
concisely, albeit efficiently, to me what a Charity Ride is supposed
to be?
Do people join in and tire themselves to death to prove something, and
raise money?
Ultimately, who pays for that?

Sergio
Pisa

No offense, but I'm not sure if your question was sincere or sarcastic. I
will assume it was sincere and answer accordingly.

A "Charity Ride" is an event in which people sign up to ride a certain
route - usually a series of roads that are shut down (fully or partially)
for the event - and then bug all their friends and co-workers to sponsor
them for, say, $1 per mile. The money they raise goes to the organization
that put together the ride, which then proceeds to waste much of it on
printing and supplies that ultimately get thrown in the garbage. The rest
goes to the cause supported by the organization.

Many people join these rides out of an authentic concern for the cause they
are supporting. But many join for the comraderie, the bragging rights, or
to support some personal martyr complex. The latter type is the type that
often finds out way too late that a twenty mile bike ride is not something
to take lightly when you haven't been on a bicycle in twenty or thirty
years.

On 10 Nov, 22:58, "Papa Tom" wrote:
No offense, but I'm not sure if your question was sincere or sarcastic. *I
will assume it was sincere and answer accordingly.

Be reassured that, indeed,I was serious.
There is no such a thing over here.

A "Charity Ride" is an event in which people sign up
and then bug all their friends
and co-workers to sponsor
them for, say, $1 per mile.

Quite funny to my ears

Sergio
Pisa
*