fwd: A Very Bad Day (warning - h*lmets)

My response to the OP on the teflchinalife mailing list on
yahoogroups. I haven't gotten a response to this yet but it's not a
very high traffic list so I'm not at all surprised.

A Very Bad Day.
The boy organised a Ute / utility truck to take our bikes & us back up the
mountain to search for her bike which was still in the storm drain with her
helmet (we were all wearing helmets), lots of blood. In the bottom of the
drain I discovered a 6 cm diameter piece of her skull! Also inside her
helmet was a further piece of skull, yet the helmet was not damaged.

cut and paste
The bone was screwed back onto her skull & her leg straightened (I still
have not found out if it's broken or twisted). Her nose was completely
smashed.

It sounds like she may have landed on her face in which case there is
nothing short of a BMX or downhill full face helmet that would have
helped and even then it may have only mitigated the damage.

Do you know anything about how she went out of control? For example,
did she have sufficient experience in braking on mountains to know
about easing off on the front brake so as to avoid going over the
handlebars? If not, why not?

You say that no one was riding with her on the descent. Why not? Did
you feel that she was already an advanced enough cyclist that she
could be trusted to correctly gauge the proper downhill speed for the
conditions?

As an experienced racer, I go down hills at least 10-15kph faster when
I'm in the company of my coach than I do on my own because I have a
skilled person with me who is already familiar with the route and I
can take my braking cues from him.

Arriving at the hospital, she was lying on a bed, a pool of blood on the
floor, her brain visible, her head shaved. But many people around her with
their normal street clothes on, not a sterile condition.

Unfortunately normal for China.

When I collapsed at Qinghai Lake my leader decided I should wait 4
hours for the race ambulance because of the condition of the local
hospital. After the second time I collapsed I ended up at the
hospital and even as an outpatient in the specially appointed room for
race related incidents it was a scary scary place.

Lots of phone calls, but no action. Then I figured out, the hospital was
waiting for 3000 RMB to be paid before further treatment.

Again, normal. And don't get me started on what happens if a patient
runs out of money mid-treatment.

My offer of assistance was rejected.

Your offer of what kind of assistance and to whom?

This was on Thurs. Today she is awake, eating & recovering. Amazingly she
seems to have her normal brain faculties, no memory loss.

I was kept out of what was happening, in fact I felt a hindrance being
there.

Since you don't speak Chinese, ask yourself whether or not there was
anything you could have done by being there. Perhaps you didn't
merely "feel like a hindrance" but actually were a hindrance.

At last year's Shimano Road Race Challenge I was weak and dizzy at the
finish line. Assuming I didn't speak Chinese no one made any real
attempt to speak to me but cries went out "find a translator! find a
translator!" which led to my leader from the Tour of Hainan coming
over, pushing his way through the crowd of people who weren't doing
anything useful, announcing "Oh, her -- she is a translator" and
leaving.

He was the person who got the ambulance crew.

The reason for the anecdote above is because the best course of action
is often to find someone more able to deal with it than you yourself
are. Recognize your own limitations. Hovering around the emergency
room trying to help out when you can't speak Chinese makes you only a
little bit better than the people in street clothes who had nothing to
do with the situation but who were gawking.

Why the long story?

It brought home to me:-

1) Never cycle with students. As a teacher, you are held responsible for any
mishap.

2) I'm often in remote parts of China on my bike. If I had an accident & was
unconscious, if money can not be produced, you can die.

Well ... no, you are a foreigner and you look like a foreigner.

The bigger problem you are going to have is that a small hospital may
refuse treatment to you because they do not feel that their skill is
up to snuff and they are afraid of messing up. Transit time to a
larger hospital which will take you might mean the difference between
life and death but, as a foreigner, not having the cash on hand is not
something you need to worry about as much.

I will ALWAYS carry a copy of my evacuation insurance with a note in Chinese
of people to contact in an emergency - my university, plus a copy of my
passport & Z visa.

Consider carrying your passport.

I also question my Chinese made helmet.

I assume by "Chinese made helmet" you mean your "Chinese brand helmet"
since most helmets, including brands like Giro and Bell, are made in
China (or at least Taiwan).

With the realization that cyclists suffer sufficiently few head
injuries so as to make it impossible to have any real data, there is
some indication that if your helmet is securely strapped in place
(most people's aren't!) your cheaper helmet may in fact provide more
protection than an expensive one because of the thicker styrofoam and
fewer air vents ... unless of course we are talking about rotational
neck injuries in which case there is some indication that any helmet
at all will cause more damage than not wearing a helmet in the first
place.

More data on helmet wearing can be found at http://www.cycle-helmets.com/

I can't be bothered to currently look up the data on helmet wearing
and head injuries in the pro peloton but there is a proven correlation
between the International Cycling Union's adoption of mandatory helmet
rules with faster speeds, and tighter packed riding. Risk
compensation (why air bags and seat belts don't prevent serious
accidents) is a very real phenomenon.

I asked why the motorcyclist did not stop when he passed the girl & was told
if you get involved you take on the responsibility & could be left with the
hospital bill. I do not know if this is true, I hope not.

I'm very concerned about this young girl & hope she is able to have nose
reconstruction, but we should all take steps to have an emergency procedure
to follow.

Has anybody ever phoned the emergency 110, do they speak English?

In theory I am a translator for the Haikou 110 call center and, in the
event that they have someone who does not speak Chinese, I am supposed
to have the call patched through to my mobile.

In reality the only calls I have ever gotten from 110 have been
invitations to do something including going out to sing karaoke with a
bunch of PSB officers.

-M

On Mon, 01 Jun 2009 19:04:01 -0700, Bill Baka
wrote:

Marian wrote:
My response to the OP on the teflchinalife mailing list on
yahoogroups. I haven't gotten a response to this yet but it's not a
very high traffic list so I'm not at all surprised.

A Very Bad Day.
The boy organised a Ute / utility truck to take our bikes & us back up the
mountain to search for her bike which was still in the storm drain with her
helmet (we were all wearing helmets), lots of blood. In the bottom of the
drain I discovered a 6 cm diameter piece of her skull! Also inside her
helmet was a further piece of skull, yet the helmet was not damaged.

cut and paste
The bone was screwed back onto her skull & her leg straightened (I still
have not found out if it's broken or twisted). Her nose was completely
smashed.

It sounds like she may have landed on her face in which case there is
nothing short of a BMX or downhill full face helmet that would have
helped and even then it may have only mitigated the damage.

Do you know anything about how she went out of control? For example,
did she have sufficient experience in braking on mountains to know
about easing off on the front brake so as to avoid going over the
handlebars? If not, why not?

You say that no one was riding with her on the descent. Why not? Did
you feel that she was already an advanced enough cyclist that she
could be trusted to correctly gauge the proper downhill speed for the
conditions?

As an experienced racer, I go down hills at least 10-15kph faster when
I'm in the company of my coach than I do on my own because I have a
skilled person with me who is already familiar with the route and I
can take my braking cues from him.

Arriving at the hospital, she was lying on a bed, a pool of blood on the
floor, her brain visible, her head shaved. But many people around her with
their normal street clothes on, not a sterile condition.

Unfortunately normal for China.

When I collapsed at Qinghai Lake my leader decided I should wait 4
hours for the race ambulance because of the condition of the local
hospital. After the second time I collapsed I ended up at the
hospital and even as an outpatient in the specially appointed room for
race related incidents it was a scary scary place.

Lots of phone calls, but no action. Then I figured out, the hospital was
waiting for 3000 RMB to be paid before further treatment.

Again, normal. And don't get me started on what happens if a patient
runs out of money mid-treatment.

My offer of assistance was rejected.

Your offer of what kind of assistance and to whom?

This was on Thurs. Today she is awake, eating & recovering. Amazingly she
seems to have her normal brain faculties, no memory loss.

I was kept out of what was happening, in fact I felt a hindrance being
there.

Since you don't speak Chinese, ask yourself whether or not there was
anything you could have done by being there. Perhaps you didn't
merely "feel like a hindrance" but actually were a hindrance.

At last year's Shimano Road Race Challenge I was weak and dizzy at the
finish line. Assuming I didn't speak Chinese no one made any real
attempt to speak to me but cries went out "find a translator! find a
translator!" which led to my leader from the Tour of Hainan coming
over, pushing his way through the crowd of people who weren't doing
anything useful, announcing "Oh, her -- she is a translator" and
leaving.

He was the person who got the ambulance crew.

The reason for the anecdote above is because the best course of action
is often to find someone more able to deal with it than you yourself
are. Recognize your own limitations. Hovering around the emergency
room trying to help out when you can't speak Chinese makes you only a
little bit better than the people in street clothes who had nothing to
do with the situation but who were gawking.

Why the long story?

It brought home to me:-

1) Never cycle with students. As a teacher, you are held responsible for any
mishap.

2) I'm often in remote parts of China on my bike. If I had an accident & was
unconscious, if money can not be produced, you can die.

Well ... no, you are a foreigner and you look like a foreigner.

The bigger problem you are going to have is that a small hospital may
refuse treatment to you because they do not feel that their skill is
up to snuff and they are afraid of messing up. Transit time to a
larger hospital which will take you might mean the difference between
life and death but, as a foreigner, not having the cash on hand is not
something you need to worry about as much.

I will ALWAYS carry a copy of my evacuation insurance with a note in Chinese
of people to contact in an emergency - my university, plus a copy of my
passport & Z visa.

Consider carrying your passport.

I also question my Chinese made helmet.

I assume by "Chinese made helmet" you mean your "Chinese brand helmet"
since most helmets, including brands like Giro and Bell, are made in
China (or at least Taiwan).

With the realization that cyclists suffer sufficiently few head
injuries so as to make it impossible to have any real data, there is
some indication that if your helmet is securely strapped in place
(most people's aren't!) your cheaper helmet may in fact provide more
protection than an expensive one because of the thicker styrofoam and
fewer air vents ... unless of course we are talking about rotational
neck injuries in which case there is some indication that any helmet
at all will cause more damage than not wearing a helmet in the first
place.

More data on helmet wearing can be found at http://www.cycle-helmets.com/

I can't be bothered to currently look up the data on helmet wearing
and head injuries in the pro peloton but there is a proven correlation
between the International Cycling Union's adoption of mandatory helmet
rules with faster speeds, and tighter packed riding. Risk
compensation (why air bags and seat belts don't prevent serious
accidents) is a very real phenomenon.

I asked why the motorcyclist did not stop when he passed the girl & was told
if you get involved you take on the responsibility & could be left with the
hospital bill. I do not know if this is true, I hope not.

I'm very concerned about this young girl & hope she is able to have nose
reconstruction, but we should all take steps to have an emergency procedure
to follow.

Has anybody ever phoned the emergency 110, do they speak English?

In theory I am a translator for the Haikou 110 call center and, in the
event that they have someone who does not speak Chinese, I am supposed
to have the call patched through to my mobile.

In reality the only calls I have ever gotten from 110 have been
invitations to do something including going out to sing karaoke with a
bunch of PSB officers.

-M

Short response!
Take this as a warning to *never* go to Communist China for any reason
whatsoever. Life is cheap to worthless to them and they don't deserve
any tourist trade. I'm leaving this whole post alone in the hopes it
will become infamous and people will realize China is *not* your friend.

Bill Baka

I hope she survives the ordeal without permanent damage.




Marian just said that foreigners generally don't have to worry about
not getting treated. And there are many countries where having a bike
accident in the backroads isn't going to result in a good situation.

If I could put enough money together here in the bastion of Free
Enterprise (gov't bailouts for the wealthy) then perhaps I could visit
China someday. Few countries are more fascinating to me.

dgk wrote:
On Mon, 01 Jun 2009 19:04:01 -0700, Bill Baka
wrote:
Short response!
Take this as a warning to *never* go to Communist China for any reason
whatsoever. Life is cheap to worthless to them and they don't deserve
any tourist trade. I'm leaving this whole post alone in the hopes it
will become infamous and people will realize China is *not* your friend.

Bill Baka

I hope she survives the ordeal without permanent damage.




Marian just said that foreigners generally don't have to worry about
not getting treated. And there are many countries where having a bike
accident in the backroads isn't going to result in a good situation.

If I could put enough money together here in the bastion of Free
Enterprise (gov't bailouts for the wealthy) then perhaps I could visit
China someday. Few countries are more fascinating to me.

After reading about this I hope you would be in low risk mode.
I'm not *that* fascinated!
Bill Baka

On Tue, 02 Jun 2009 14:44:11 -0700, Bill Baka
wrote:

dgk wrote:
On Mon, 01 Jun 2009 19:04:01 -0700, Bill Baka
wrote:
Short response!
Take this as a warning to *never* go to Communist China for any reason
whatsoever. Life is cheap to worthless to them and they don't deserve
any tourist trade. I'm leaving this whole post alone in the hopes it
will become infamous and people will realize China is *not* your friend.

Bill Baka

I hope she survives the ordeal without permanent damage.




Marian just said that foreigners generally don't have to worry about
not getting treated. And there are many countries where having a bike
accident in the backroads isn't going to result in a good situation.

If I could put enough money together here in the bastion of Free
Enterprise (gov't bailouts for the wealthy) then perhaps I could visit
China someday. Few countries are more fascinating to me.

After reading about this I hope you would be in low risk mode.
I'm not *that* fascinated!
Bill Baka

The only time I went mountain biking on a mountain I broke an ankle.
The surgeon told me not to do it again. Whether he meant riding on
mountains or breaking an ankle I wasn't sure, but I'm avoiding both.

dgk wrote:
On Tue, 02 Jun 2009 14:44:11 -0700, Bill Baka
wrote:

dgk wrote:
On Mon, 01 Jun 2009 19:04:01 -0700, Bill Baka
wrote:
Short response!
Take this as a warning to *never* go to Communist China for any reason
whatsoever. Life is cheap to worthless to them and they don't deserve
any tourist trade. I'm leaving this whole post alone in the hopes it
will become infamous and people will realize China is *not* your friend.

Bill Baka

I hope she survives the ordeal without permanent damage.



Marian just said that foreigners generally don't have to worry about
not getting treated. And there are many countries where having a bike
accident in the backroads isn't going to result in a good situation.

If I could put enough money together here in the bastion of Free
Enterprise (gov't bailouts for the wealthy) then perhaps I could visit
China someday. Few countries are more fascinating to me.
After reading about this I hope you would be in low risk mode.
I'm not *that* fascinated!
Bill Baka

The only time I went mountain biking on a mountain I broke an ankle.
The surgeon told me not to do it again. Whether he meant riding on
mountains or breaking an ankle I wasn't sure, but I'm avoiding both.

Interesting response.
?????
Bill Baka

On Wed, 03 Jun 2009 09:04:14 -0700, Bill Baka
wrote:

dgk wrote:
On Tue, 02 Jun 2009 14:44:11 -0700, Bill Baka
wrote:

dgk wrote:
On Mon, 01 Jun 2009 19:04:01 -0700, Bill Baka
wrote:
Short response!
Take this as a warning to *never* go to Communist China for any reason
whatsoever. Life is cheap to worthless to them and they don't deserve
any tourist trade. I'm leaving this whole post alone in the hopes it
will become infamous and people will realize China is *not* your friend.

Bill Baka

I hope she survives the ordeal without permanent damage.



Marian just said that foreigners generally don't have to worry about
not getting treated. And there are many countries where having a bike
accident in the backroads isn't going to result in a good situation.

If I could put enough money together here in the bastion of Free
Enterprise (gov't bailouts for the wealthy) then perhaps I could visit
China someday. Few countries are more fascinating to me.
After reading about this I hope you would be in low risk mode.
I'm not *that* fascinated!
Bill Baka

The only time I went mountain biking on a mountain I broke an ankle.
The surgeon told me not to do it again. Whether he meant riding on
mountains or breaking an ankle I wasn't sure, but I'm avoiding both.

Interesting response.
?????
Bill Baka

The original post was about an accident going down a mountain. I
learned to avoid the whole mountain situation. I now only bike in flat
places with a tailwind.

dgk wrote:
The original post was about an accident going down a mountain. I
learned to avoid the whole mountain situation. I now only bike in flat
places with a tailwind.

I know what the original was, but maybe that should be never go to China
to do anything on the mainland that might need medical assistance for
anything.
Going down a mountain that you know the road on is OK, and going fast on
a descent is just fine as long you have put in the effort to climb that
very same road within the last day, or days and know that there is
nothing that you can't get into danger on.
Another point is to never go so fast that you can't see an obstacle you
can't stop, completely if need be, to avoid. Accidents, work, even a
large vehicle coming up may be examples of this.
Blasting down an unknown road with no one visible in the lead, or
following a much more experienced rider who may forget about your
ability levels all fall into the Darwin stupidity level to me.
I love to see if I can top my best speed but won't do it over about a
10% lean angle over 20 MPH.
Trouble does not take much bait to find.
When it does find you it often can be fatal.

This goes with my take on Murphy's law;
"Whatever is allowed the slightest chance of going wrong will go wrong,
and at the absolute worst possible time and in the worst possible way.."
Bill Baka

On Thu, 04 Jun 2009 12:18:10 -0700, Bill Baka
wrote:

dgk wrote:
The original post was about an accident going down a mountain. I
learned to avoid the whole mountain situation. I now only bike in flat
places with a tailwind.

I know what the original was, but maybe that should be never go to China
to do anything on the mainland that might need medical assistance for
anything.
Going down a mountain that you know the road on is OK, and going fast on
a descent is just fine as long you have put in the effort to climb that
very same road within the last day, or days and know that there is
nothing that you can't get into danger on.
Another point is to never go so fast that you can't see an obstacle you
can't stop, completely if need be, to avoid. Accidents, work, even a
large vehicle coming up may be examples of this.
Blasting down an unknown road with no one visible in the lead, or
following a much more experienced rider who may forget about your
ability levels all fall into the Darwin stupidity level to me.
I love to see if I can top my best speed but won't do it over about a
10% lean angle over 20 MPH.
Trouble does not take much bait to find.
When it does find you it often can be fatal.

This goes with my take on Murphy's law;
"Whatever is allowed the slightest chance of going wrong will go wrong,
and at the absolute worst possible time and in the worst possible way.."
Bill Baka


Ah, my problem was that I wasn't on a road; it was barely a path. I
hit a big mud puddle. Next thing I know I'm looking down at the bottom
of my foot. I am better on roads than paths - but even so I'm now old
enough to prefer them flat.

dgk wrote:
On Thu, 04 Jun 2009 12:18:10 -0700, Bill Baka
wrote:

This goes with my take on Murphy's law;
"Whatever is allowed the slightest chance of going wrong will go wrong,
and at the absolute worst possible time and in the worst possible way.."
Bill Baka


Ah, my problem was that I wasn't on a road; it was barely a path. I
hit a big mud puddle. Next thing I know I'm looking down at the bottom
of my foot. I am better on roads than paths - but even so I'm now old
enough to prefer them flat.

I'm with you no that one. I rode through one yesterday and the mud
slowed me down to where I had to pedal hard to get through it at about 5
MPH. What has dumped me before is sand, both on a motorcycle and
bicycle. People always say to use the front brake first but if you do
that in sand you will go down. I still do paths and even without a path
sometimes, but that is with a mountain bike. I'm almost 61 and all I
want is the exercise and some solitude from my wife and grandkids. I
enjoy the workout and even though my legs might feel like lead it still
does benefit me in the long run.
Of course there are days when all I want to do is toodle around at low
speed and talk to people I meet, take pictures, and stuff like that.
Anyway, keep on having fun, fast or slow.
Bill Baka

On Jun 5, 3:18*am, Bill Baka wrote:
dgk wrote:
The original post was about an accident going down a mountain. I
learned to avoid the whole mountain situation. I now only bike in flat
places with a tailwind.

I know what the original was, but maybe that should be never go to China
to do anything on the mainland that might need medical assistance for
anything.
Going down a mountain that you know the road on is OK, and going fast on
a descent is just fine as long you have put in the effort to climb that
very same road within the last day, or days and know that there is
nothing that you can't get into danger on.
Another point is to never go so fast that you can't see an obstacle you
can't stop, completely if need be, to avoid. Accidents, work, even a
large vehicle coming up may be examples of this.
Blasting down an unknown road with no one visible in the lead, or
following a much more experienced rider who may forget about your
ability levels all fall into the Darwin stupidity level to me.

I pretty much find myself in agreement with Bill here except for the
OP's "girl had not cycled a long distance before".

As experienced cyclists we need to be careful on unknown descents.

When taking inexperienced riders along with us we NEED to be
responsible for them.

-M