Mountain Biker Breaks His Neck

Accidents will happen



« Previous « PreviousNext » Next »View GalleryPublished Date: 27 July
2008
By Ruth Walker
WITH just a sliver of fibreglass between you and oblivion, it's no
wonder that many of us are too scared to take our bikes out on the
roads. No matter how experienced you are, accidents can happen –
sometimes with fatal consequences.

Former Commonwealth Games cyclist Jason MacIntyre died in January this
year after he was in a collision with a van while training near Fort
William. Then, in May, scientist Dr Iain Wilson was killed when his
bike collided with a lorry in Edinburgh.ADVERTISEMENT

Olympic champion Chris Hoy has said he takes his life in his hands
every time he goes out on the road. "Every ride I do, there is at
least one incident with a motorist, whether it is a car door opening
or a car at a junction failing to spot me. You can't relax for a
second. You must stay on your guard."

And the risks are not just confined to the roads. Brian Beattie, 39,
who lives in Peebles, was mountain-biking in nearby Glentress forest
in November 2006 when he suffered the kind of injuries that would put
most people off travelling on two wheels for life. "I attempted to go
over a jump and didn't quite do it properly," he says stoically. "I
went over the handlebars at great speed and landed, head first, on the
ground about 15 or 20 yards in front of me."

Although he had suffered compression fractures of six vertebrae in his
spine, a broken neck, a broken back, a fractured skull, a depressed
eye socket and a broken nose, at first he had no idea how serious his
injuries were. "When it first happened, I didn't actually think I had
a broken back," he says, "I just knew I had a sore back. There was
blood coming down my face, but I didn't twig I had anything more
serious than a cut or a graze. I expected to get out of hospital that
night – which didn't happen, obviously."

The ambulance crew attempted to put him on a spinal board – "but it
was too painful to lie down, so they just took an arm each and walked
me into the back of the ambulance," says Beattie.

Fortunately he was wearing a helmet at the time – "I've still got the
actual helmet I had on that day. I keep it as a reminder – it's the
worse for wear, shall we say. If I hadn't been wearing it, I wouldn't
be here. It definitely saved my life."

It took six weeks in hospital, another six weeks in a full body cast –
encasing his torso from his chin to his pelvis – then a final six
weeks recuperating before he was able to go back to work. "My wife and
I have a wee boy, and Caroline's mum had to come down and look after
him while she came to the hospital every day. But I have made a full
recovery," he says.

"I've been back to Glentress several times since then – though I was
full of trepidation to begin with. I'm one of the leaders of the local
kids' club, and I went up with them and rode at their backs. Kids
restore your confidence, because when they fall off they tend to
bounce rather than break."

Twenty-nine-year-old Chris Herraghty from Edinburgh has broken both
collarbones while out on his bike. "It took about three months to heal
properly each time," he says. "My parents despair of me because it has
never put me off. Every time I've broken something, it has been sore,
but the biggest pain is not being able to get out on the bike."

His most recent injury was a broken ankle, which he sustained while
riding downhill on the mountain bike world championship course in Fort
William. "I was in a cast for… too long," he says.

It could have been worse, however. "I know I'd certainly not be alive
now if I didn't wear a helmet. I've smashed three helmets into small
pieces, and it's pretty undeniable when you get home and look at the
bits: 'If that hadn't been my helmet, it would have been my head,' I
tell myself."

But if any of this risks putting you off cycling for good, it's worth
considering the fact that you'd be worse off playing football. Even
just sitting at home on your sofa carries more health risks. A 1988
survey in Australia found that, for every 50 cycling injuries admitted
to hospital, there were 600 football injuries and 1,300 caused by
playing squash. Another study, in 2000, found that people who cycled
for three hours a week or more decreased their overall mortality rate
by 40%, compared with a sedentary group. So those who did nothing were
likely to die earlier than those who got on their bikes.

"Cycling isn't a high-risk activity, and it's low-impact," says Jim
Riach, Cycling Scotland's training and education manager. "Because
you're sitting on the saddle and pedalling, it's not having the kind
of jarring effect that running has, and you don't have the same
rotational effects on your joints as you do playing squash, for
example, when you're constantly changing direction."

The injuries sustained by cyclists are mainly caused by getting
knocked off their bike or by falling off, says Riach. "But compared to
car drivers or pedestrians presenting at hospital with these sorts of
injuries, it is quite rare."

To reduce the risks, he says, it's crucial to be alert and have good
road positioning. "Don't ride in the gutter or in the middle of the
road. Take up a position where other road users can see you and you
can see them."

Herraghty adds, "Don't ride really aggressively because that just
annoys other road users, and always be ultra-aware. I hate seeing
cyclists who wear headphones. I think, 'What are you doing? You can't
hear anything.' It's crazy."

Most common fears

Being hit by another vehicle

Solution: Make sure you can be seen, with good road positioning and
high-visibility clothing – reflective at night, bright yellow during
the day.

Sore knees

Solution: Get your bike set up properly. If you use cleats, make sure
they're positioned correctly.

Pins and needles in the hands

Solution: Again, poor bike set-up could be to blame. Make sure your
handlebars are in the correct position so you don't have to lean on
your hands so much.

Back or neck pain

Solution: Caused by the wrong saddle-positioning. If in doubt, pay a
visit to your local cycling shop for advice.

Mechanical failure

Solution: Regularly check your brakes and tyre pressure, and get handy
with the soap and water to keep your bike in optimum working order.
--
I am working on creating wildlife habitat that is off-limits to
humans ("pure habitat"). Want to help? (I spent the previous 8
years fighting auto dependence and road construction.)

Please don't put a cell phone next to any part of your body that you are fond of!

http://home.pacbell.net/mjvande

http://www.peninsulaclarion.com/stor...59071031.shtml


Friday, July 25, 2008 Story last updated at 7/25/2008 - 2:02 pm

Bear attacks hiker near lodge
By Mike Nesper | Peninsula Clarion
A brown bear attacked an employee of the Kenai Princess Lodge in
Cooper Landing late Wednesday night.

The victim, Abby Sisk, 21, of Ogden, Utah, was returning home after a
hike when the bear attacked, coming out of the woods just 25 yards
from the lodge, Beth Ipsen spokeswoman for Alaska State Troopers,
said. Soldotna dispatch received the 911 call at 10:58 p.m.

The bear, described as a male standing seven to eight feet tall and
weighing between 500 and 800 pounds, dragged Sisk for a few feet until
Wasilla resident Robert VinZant, a guest at the lodge, scared it away.
According to Ipsen, VinZant heard screaming and when he ran to the
window, saw the bear on top of Sisk with her head in its jaws.

A Cooper Landing ambulance took Sisk to the Central Peninsula Hospital
in Soldotna, Ipsen said. She has since been transferred to Providence
Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage and underwent emergency surgery to
repair major lacerations to her face and head Thursday morning. Sisk
was listed in critical conditon.

"It's very alarming because this happened so close to the lodge,"
Ipsen said. "People take this hike every day."

What prompted the attack is still unknown, Ipsen said.

Sisk is a housekeeper at the lodge. She started her summer job in
May.

"She's been having a good time, doing a good job," said Kenai Princess
Lodge general manager Dan Michels told The Associated Press. "She's a
great employee."

Lodge staff called all guests after the attack, urging them to stay
inside and to use shuttles to the main lodge.

The lodge is on 46 secluded acres on the Kenai River. There are no
guest rooms at the main lodge, and guest accommodations are spread
over the property.

As more guests arrived Thursday, the lodge staff was to urge them to
continue to use shuttles or at least walk in groups.

Several trails have been closed, including the one on which Sisk was
attacked.

Michels said no one saw any bear cubs in the vicinity and staff
members have no idea what provoked the attack.

Ipsen said it was not immediately known if Sisk had bear bells, worn
to alert bears that someone is coming, or pepper spray for protection
with her when she was attacked.

AP writer Mark Thiessen contributed to this report.

So what.

On Sun, 27 Jul 2008 10:40:06 -0700 (PDT), Siskuwihane
wrote:


Newsgroups: alt.mountain-bike,rec.bicycles.soc,rec.backcountry,ca.environme nt,sci.environment

Who gives a hoot about these frigging tourists?

ted

wrote:
On Sun, 27 Jul 2008 10:40:06 -0700 (PDT), Siskuwihane
wrote:

Newsgroups: alt.mountain-bike,rec.bicycles.soc,rec.backcountry,ca.environme nt,sci.environment

Who gives a hoot about these frigging tourists?

The woman that got injured was a lodge employee, not a tourist.

Since most of us don't live in the places we hike (or bicycle), _we_ are
the frigging tourists. Remember that.

In article ,
PatOConnell wrote:

wrote:
On Sun, 27 Jul 2008 10:40:06 -0700 (PDT), Siskuwihane
wrote:

Newsgroups:
alt.mountain-bike,rec.bicycles.soc,rec.backcountry,ca.environme nt,sci.envir
onment

Who gives a hoot about these frigging tourists?

The woman that got injured was a lodge employee, not a tourist.

Since most of us don't live in the places we hike (or bicycle), _we_ are
the frigging tourists. Remember that.

that still makes her a Tourist, unless she actually live there year
round....