Friday, April 25, 2008
Marking trails and GPS
A mountain biker from the Philadelphia area passed away yesterday from a heart attack suffered while riding at Wissahickon. The other riders in his group, members of PMBA, are discussing the incident on their message board. One of the topics of discussion is the frustration at getting emergency help to the location. I'd like to propose that we endeavor to have a working cell phone and GPS unit on any of our group sanctioned rides. This might also be a good time to discuss marking trails with signage to help direct emergency personnel if the need ever arises.
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3 comments:
I think you can use an old cell phone to call 911. Just keep it charged and put it in your pack. I always carry one. When you ride like i do I keep 911 on speed dail!
I guess my point is that an old (pre-GPS enabled) cell phone doesn't do much good if you tell emergency personnel that you're 2 miles down Three Stooges with a broken femur. It's even worse if you don't even know what trail you're on, just a general area. A handlebar GPS can tell you your exact location that they can pinpoint on a map. When time is critical, as in the case on Thursday, a vague idea of where you're at could mean someone's life. Accidents happen. Imagine for a second if Steve's header on Grave's Ridge a few weeks ago had been worse. I'd rather take a precautionary attitude than a reactionary one in this case.
Hello! Unless you have a sat-phone you are never going to get help from the deep dark clutches of Michaux.
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