What to do if you get injured in a remote location

[Cooper1988]

Hi there,

First post here, pleased to meet you all!

My wife and I are setting off in a few weeks to ride the Southern Tier. It occurred to me that some of the sections in the western half of the route are pretty remote, with patchy mobile coverage, and that it would be a good idea to have a pre-planned procedure for what to do if either one of us gets injured in these parts.

Google has come up short with advice/ blogs, so maybe you good people could help.

What would be your advice for a someone in a pair picking up a nasty injury, say a broken limb, in a remote area with no mobile coverage? Being the Southern Tier, it is likely that there would be a reasonable number of passing cars to flag down.

Cheers,

G

[Cyril Haearn]

What is the Southern Tier please?

[Cooper1988]

What is the Southern Tier please?

It's a TransAm route published by the ACA.

https://www.adventurecycling.org/routes ... hern-tier/

[SimonCelsa]

Don't worry so much about it, trust your instinct. If there are passing cars then there is your answer. If it causes too much angst then try for a tour somewhere more populated. Not much help but sometimes just 'winging it' is all you can do.

Hope you enjoy it and stay healthy!!

Either that or invest in an 'Iridium' phone for the duration......

[Cyril Haearn]

I imagine traffic volumes are recorded and may be found on the www

[Tigerbiten]

I always wondered if I'd crashed on one of Iceland's back roads, how long would it have been before I was found as I was seeing a car every couple of hours if unlucky.

But if your really worried about something like that, then the answer is to carry a Satellite Phone.
Satellite phones don't rely on a terrestrial cell phone network, they beam their data directly to and from satellites orbiting Earth.
But how much they cost is another matter ..........

[whoof]

If you are doing a section that is remote and you have no form of communication then tell someone you trust what time you plan to leave and arrive and what your route will be. Also arrange to check in with them on arrival. If in the unlikely event something does happen to you and you don't check in your contact can call the emergency services and inform them that you will be between two points on a known route.

Other than that take some first aid equipment and know how to use it. Same goes for tools and spares.

It will probably never happen but as they say prepare for the worst and hope for the best. Sounds like a lovely ride.

[mnichols]

I cycled Canada to Mexico a couple of years ago and had similar concerns, but if you are with someone then it's unlikely that you would both be injured at the same time, so the other one can attend to the injured party and also get help. This will probably be phoning the emergency services or flagging somebody down on the road.

You can cycle for hundreds of miles on a single road in America, which means there are fewer junctions and so the road system is simpler and the chances of an accident are reduced. I found cycling in America to be a lot safer than in the UK.

If you are MTB then I would google what to do if you see a bear, and if you are camping then the same goes for snakes and spiders.

I would take a basic first aid kit

[eileithyia]

What would you do in remote hills when walking with no or poor phone coverage. Have a first aid kit, have a space blanket (assume you will have a sleeping bag / tent / shelter. Get injured person into shelter and warm, reduce chances of exposure. Go for help.
of course all depends on injury having ridden 30 miles with a broken elbow, 15-20 miles with the next broken elbow (4 weeks later... moral tale be careful who you cycle with as 2 members of my family both responsible for knocking me off), and home from A+E with a broken (plastered) hand..... 17 miles.

[thirdcrank]

Isn't there some equivalent of CyclingUK in that part of the world able to give local advice?

[andrew_s]

But if your really worried about something like that, then the answer is to carry a Satellite Phone.
Satellite phones don't rely on a terrestrial cell phone network, they beam their data directly to and from satellites orbiting Earth.
But how much they cost is another matter ..........

As well as satellite phones, there are alternatives such as Garmin Inreach that allow the sending of regular "I'm OK" text messages, with website tracking and a "rescue me" panic button. Also search "Spot tracker".
They are subscription-based, but should be a fair bit cheaper than a generic satellite phone.

[horizon]

What would be your advice for a someone in a pair picking up a nasty injury, say a broken limb, in a remote area with no mobile coverage?

That's still quite a jump for me - we now expect and rely on mobile phone coverage. In the days when there wasn't any, the following applied:

1. Go with a companion.
2. Tell the accommodation you're heading to.
3. Tell the accommodation you're leaving and phone (as from an old fashioned phone but nowadays from your mobile when you find a signal) from your destination.)
4. Leave your route with the previous accommodation.
5. Take adequate supplies to last a day or two (emergency food, cover)
6. A good map in order to be able to find the next place to get help.

However, if you are travelling by road, I suppose most of the above is over the top anyway.

[simonhill]

Just for info, I had a quick look at hiring a satellite phone on the web and you are likely to paying £5 per day plus. If going for a while, then that can get expensive. Also, not a fail safe as you might fall off and break the phone.

There are also emergency systems that send out a distress signal when activated. Sailors use them, not sure if they are allowed for terrestrial use. Again, buying the unit won't be cheap.

I presume your route is on road. If so, I imagine you will see plenty of passing traffic that can be flagged down. When I say plenty - 10 an hour going each way is about a 5 minute wait for the next one. Try doing a google satellite search of the roads to see if you pick up any vehicles. (Satellite is an option on google maps where you see the road in a satellite photo.)

I've ridden some very remote roads and never worried about this.

[pwa]

You could face the same problem in remoter parts of the UK, especially if riding at night. No phone signal and no buildings for ten miles or more. If you need to do CPR any distance at all is too far. Before the age of the mobile phone we just accepted the risk and got on with it. But if there is a technical fix, great.

[pwa]

If you haven't seen it Touching the Void is a great docu-drama about survival after an injury in the middle of nowhere.