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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 |
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#2
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Tahoe City man dies while on charity bicycle ride in Nevada (Sierra Sun)
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????? |
#3
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Tahoe City man dies while on charity bicycle ride in Nevada (Sierra Sun)
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 |
#4
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Tahoe City man dies while on charity bicycle ride in Nevada (Sierra Sun)
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. |
#5
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Tahoe City man dies while on charity bicycle ride in Nevada (Sierra Sun)
"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. |
#6
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Tahoe City man dies while on charity bicycle ride in Nevada (Sierra Sun)
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? :{ |
#7
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Tahoe City man dies while on charity bicycle ride in Nevada (Sierra Sun)
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 | ----------------------------------------------- |
#8
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Tahoe City man dies while on charity bicycle ride in Nevada(Sierra Sun)
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 |
#9
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Tahoe City man dies while on charity bicycle ride in Nevada (Sierra Sun)
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. |
#10
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Tahoe City man dies while on charity bicycle ride in Nevada(Sierra Sun)
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 * |
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