Re: Riding alone

"Javier" <rojasj@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:ce687d58-4017-4286-9667-fc0c6f9def07@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
I’ve decided to get back on my mountain bike after two years of just
being on my road bike. Since I have to ride very early in the morning,
around 6AM, this usually means solo rides through the trails on top of
Skyline Drive in NJ.

If possible can I get some advice as to what I should bring with me
from a safety perspective on my solo rides? My biggest worry is
getting injured and not being able to walk out of the situation.


A basic first aid kit with gauze pads etc to stem blood flow. Anything worse than that like a broken bone is going to involve getting word out for someone to come rescue you. If you've got mobile phone coverage in the area you're laughing but you still need to cover for situations where you might be unconscious or otherwise unable to put the alarm out so make sure someone expects you home at a certain time and they know how to find you if you don't show.

In my corner of the globe we have a local MTB forum where we organise group rides amongst other things. After going on a few of these I'm known to enough people now so that if I didn't arrive home at my ETA from a solo ride my wife could post to the forum and there'd be a dozen or more riders with detailed knowledge of the trails out there looking for me. Maybe there's something similar in your area.

There's potential too in something like APRS - http://www.radio-active.net.au/web/gpsaprs/. Check out the link on that page to "click HERE for a page showing a list of some of the ACTIVE VK users" for an idea of its potential. More info at http://www.findu.com/. I remember reading about kits to build receivers small enough to fit on a person too but can't remember where I saw it now.

--
www.ozcableguy.com

.