Yarra bike path incident and current danger - watch out!

Watch out for a big clump of bamboo between Chapel Street and Herring
Island, closer to Herring island, about 20 meters on the Chapel St
side of a fixed sign? on the river side of the path. The stalks are
long and droopy. I was riding along the path at about 1:30 on Saturday
afternoon when a gust of wind caused one of the bamboo stalks to swing
violently down and the leafy/stalky bit at the top hit me on the head.
It was like a giant fly-swatter from the sky. One of the stalks spiked
me through a helmet air vent. Two guys who were passing (thanks guys)
pulled a couple of the stalks off, but they may not have got the
culprit. I'll be having a quiet word with the council on Monday and
they should do something about it. In the mean time, be prepared to
duck.

I got a bit woozy [1] and the guys phoned for an ambulance. But I
quickly felt OK and we cancelled the call. I waited for a few minutes
and then tried to stand up. Woozy again. Friendly passers-by (Sandra
and Julian) called the ambulance and looked after me. Paramedics to
the rescue. Feeling OK again and tried to sit up to get into a chair
for transport to the ambulance. Cramps and woozy again. MICA
paramedics to assess the case and insert the drip. Carried off on a
board and a trip to the Alfred.

[1] Woozy is non-medical for very low BP and HR. Vision darkens and
legs get rubbery. Can't stand up. Feeling sick.

Sandra is a nurse and realised quickly that I was not 100%. She took
good care of me until the paramedics arrived. Sandra and Julian
rescued my bike, took it to one of the nearby boat sheds and made sure
it was held securely. Since there's no way I could afford to replace
it at the moment, even with insurance, this was a big worry. They
stayed with me until I was in the ambulance and Julian helped carry me
on the board. As a result, they missed watching their son start in the
Head of the River? boat race through looking after me. These are good
people.

Conclusions:

Make sure you're a member of the ambulance scheme. It could have been
a very expensive afternoon. Knowing I was covered was one worry
removed. It helps spread the cost too.

The ambulance paramedics were/are very good. Very very good. We're
lucky we have people like this in Melbourne.

I was surprised how quickly I was attended to at the Alfred. Since I
wasn't an urgent case, (and given what I've read in the papers and
heard on TV) I was expecting a wait on a trolley of several hours. No
such thing. A quick check for insurance details and off into a room.
First nurse ten minutes later. BP and pulse taken. Doc about 5 mins
later. Quick (but not rushed - I never got the sense at any time that
they didn't have enough time for me) assessment and then a 5 minute
wait for treatment by the doc. Ten minutes later - tetanus jab, all
cleaned up, tubes removed and I'm on my way.

Dehydration. I was OK, I think. It was warm, but not really hot. About
30C. I'd only done 60 km. I was drinking about 1 Ltr/hr. Mostly water
and some gatorade. I slowed down on the trip back from Black Rock
because of the head wind. I rode slowly to make sure my HR didn't get
too high. I was about 200 mtr from the next water tap. I was OK, but I
didn't have any reserves. I wouldn't have had any problems if I'd gone
another 200 mtrs. maybe it's a good idea to carry more water than you
need :-)

Regards,
Richard.

From: Richard Sherratt
Organization: Brunsley Pty Ltd
Reply-To:
Newsgroups: aus.bicycle
Date: Sun, 30 Nov 2003 07:59:49 GMT
Subject: Yarra bike path incident and current danger - watch out!

Watch out for a big clump of bamboo between Chapel Street and Herring
Island, closer to Herring island, about 20 meters on the Chapel St
side of a fixed sign? on the river side of the path. The stalks are
long and droopy. I was riding along the path at about 1:30 on Saturday
afternoon when a gust of wind caused one of the bamboo stalks to swing
violently down and the leafy/stalky bit at the top hit me on the head.
It was like a giant fly-swatter from the sky. One of the stalks spiked
me through a helmet air vent. Two guys who were passing (thanks guys)
pulled a couple of the stalks off, but they may not have got the
culprit. I'll be having a quiet word with the council on Monday and
they should do something about it. In the mean time, be prepared to
duck.


snip

I know this clump of bamboo well, since it is only 200m from where I live. I
have often cut down strips of it when they overhang the Yarra path. I'm
almost 2m tall and on a large-framed MTB I sit up very high. Overhanging
obstacles on my regular routes really annoy me -- I've been known to put a
pair of long-handled secateurs in my backpack and go on a mission to cut
down low-hanging tree branches along the Yarra Trail... but that's another
story

Anyhow, I really feel for you after your accident. IMO that little stretch
of the Yarra Trail between Herring Island & Church St Bridge is a shocker.
The asphalt has been patch heaps of times, leaving a patchwork of ridges and
bumps; there are blind corners; the bamboo; potholes; the muck which
collects in the dip in the trail after it emerges from the east side of the
Church St bridge; plus a thick, prickly bush which is very rarely trimmed
and usually sticks out a fair distance onto the path at a blind corner.

I've mentioned these things once before in an email to the Council & Parks
Victoria. It's actually Parks Vic who has authority over the riverbank & the
Yarra Trail -- not sure if they would also look after the bamboo, or whether
it is high enough up the bank to be on Council land. When you contact the
council, make sure you also contact Parks Vic. The person to contact is:

Vin Wright, Ranger in Charge - Yarra River
Email:

They didn't seem to take much notice when I contacted them, but since you
have been injured they might take the problem a bit more seriously now.


Good luck & Safe riding
Juz

Richard Sherratt wrote:
Watch out for a big clump of bamboo between Chapel Street and Herring
Island, closer to Herring island, about 20 meters on the Chapel St
side of a fixed sign? on the river side of the path. The stalks are
long and droopy. I was riding along the path at about 1:30 on Saturday
afternoon when a gust of wind caused one of the bamboo stalks to swing
violently down and the leafy/stalky bit at the top hit me on the head.
It was like a giant fly-swatter from the sky. One of the stalks spiked
me through a helmet air vent. Two guys who were passing (thanks guys)
pulled a couple of the stalks off, but they may not have got the
culprit. I'll be having a quiet word with the council on Monday and
they should do something about it. In the mean time, be prepared to
duck.

I got a bit woozy [1] and the guys phoned for an ambulance. But I
quickly felt OK and we cancelled the call. I waited for a few minutes
and then tried to stand up. Woozy again. Friendly passers-by (Sandra
and Julian) called the ambulance and looked after me. Paramedics to
the rescue. Feeling OK again and tried to sit up to get into a chair
for transport to the ambulance. Cramps and woozy again. MICA
paramedics to assess the case and insert the drip. Carried off on a
board and a trip to the Alfred.

[1] Woozy is non-medical for very low BP and HR. Vision darkens and
legs get rubbery. Can't stand up. Feeling sick.

Sandra is a nurse and realised quickly that I was not 100%. She took
good care of me until the paramedics arrived. Sandra and Julian
rescued my bike, took it to one of the nearby boat sheds and made sure
it was held securely. Since there's no way I could afford to replace
it at the moment, even with insurance, this was a big worry. They
stayed with me until I was in the ambulance and Julian helped carry me
on the board. As a result, they missed watching their son start in the
Head of the River? boat race through looking after me. These are good
people.

Conclusions:

Make sure you're a member of the ambulance scheme. It could have been
a very expensive afternoon. Knowing I was covered was one worry
removed. It helps spread the cost too.

The ambulance paramedics were/are very good. Very very good. We're
lucky we have people like this in Melbourne.

I was surprised how quickly I was attended to at the Alfred. Since I
wasn't an urgent case, (and given what I've read in the papers and
heard on TV) I was expecting a wait on a trolley of several hours. No
such thing. A quick check for insurance details and off into a room.
First nurse ten minutes later. BP and pulse taken. Doc about 5 mins
later. Quick (but not rushed - I never got the sense at any time that
they didn't have enough time for me) assessment and then a 5 minute
wait for treatment by the doc. Ten minutes later - tetanus jab, all
cleaned up, tubes removed and I'm on my way.

Dehydration. I was OK, I think. It was warm, but not really hot. About
30C. I'd only done 60 km. I was drinking about 1 Ltr/hr. Mostly water
and some gatorade. I slowed down on the trip back from Black Rock
because of the head wind. I rode slowly to make sure my HR didn't get
too high. I was about 200 mtr from the next water tap. I was OK, but I
didn't have any reserves. I wouldn't have had any problems if I'd gone
another 200 mtrs. maybe it's a good idea to carry more water than you
need :-)

Regards,
Richard.


Gee Richard was that you? Sorry we didn't stop. I thought I recognised
you but Ian said, "not a scapin" Sorry mate We were following a boat
in the race. (no 80)

Dave

On Sun, 30 Nov 2003 10:10:20 GMT, Juz wrote:

snip

I've mentioned these things once before in an email to the Council & Parks
Victoria. It's actually Parks Vic who has authority over the riverbank & the
Yarra Trail -- not sure if they would also look after the bamboo, or whether
it is high enough up the bank to be on Council land. When you contact the
council, make sure you also contact Parks Vic. The person to contact is:

Vin Wright, Ranger in Charge - Yarra River
Email:

They didn't seem to take much notice when I contacted them, but since you
have been injured they might take the problem a bit more seriously now.

Thanks for the info. It's ironic that the only reason I was on the
bike path in the first place was to avoid the very heavy traffic
around the Swan St bridge (because of the Davis Cup, I presume). I
felt that the bike path would be safer :-) I was looking for a
convenient place to get back on the road.

Regards,
Richard.

On Sun, 30 Nov 2003 22:31:35 +1100, dave wrote:


Gee Richard was that you? Sorry we didn't stop. I thought I recognised
you but Ian said, "not a scapin" Sorry mate We were following a boat
in the race. (no 80)

That was me OK. I didn't spot you or Ian either. My mind was somewhere
else :-)

Regards,
Richard,