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BIKE DOWN!! BIKE DOWN!! 
By David & Dori Dirig

We had a ride the other weekend where a chapter member went down, and I finally had to hear those fateful words. There was no co-rider, the rider was extremely lucky in the incident with minimal physical harm, and bike and rider were able to continue on. I won't go into the specifics of the incident, as I didn't see it. However, I will proceed from those four words, as I was the front door, and there were a number of developments after the rider went down that need to be addressed in the category of "what role does each of us play when someone goes down?"

The purpose of this article is not to fault or criticize anyone for what they did the other weekend. My sole purpose is to put forth a procedure so that all the chapter knows what to do and who to turn to in case such a thing happens again. For group members as well as front and back doors, this article should provide direction on what do to if someone goes down.

First off, the word "down" only has one meaning and usage during a ride; that is to designate that a rider has dumped his bike. Cars are 'stopped on the right,' they are not 'broken down.' If the call goes out that a bike has gone down, everyone should be primed to fulfill their role. This role varies depending on your position within the group. The bottom line is that once this call goes out, the non-involved groups (assuming multiple 5 member groups) should find a place to safely pull over and await further commands There may be a need for further first aid kits, additional trained personnel, a cellular phone call for help, or people to direct traffic. Radio silence should be maintained to facilitate communication between the front and back door of the group involved in the incident as well as between the leaders of other groups.

If we take it from the call above, what happens and who calls the shots? The front and back door manage the situation, but it is the back door of the downed bike's group that is running the show. In the case of the other weekend, I had already gone around the next turn by the time the call went out, so I had no way to keep track of the situation except for CB communication with my back door (who did an excellent job of keeping us apprised of the situation). Your back door should naturally have a good CB and should be your best rider, carrying a first aid kit, and ideally be CPR and First Aid trained (Rider Ed. Level 3 or 4). Assuming there are multiple groups on the ride, the other groups should find place to pull off the road safely and await further developments. This doesn't necessarily mean pull over immediately, but the front doors of the non-involved groups should be looking for a safe resting place for their groups while they monitor the situation.

That's actually the key concept for everyone; get stopped safely and be available should the front and back door of the involved group need help, but staying put within your group if they don't. Communication is key here, and all should stay within radio range if at all possible. If not, arrange a meeting place up ahead or send a rider to scout ahead to find a good stopping place if the groups are unfamiliar with the area. The most important point is to stay calm and organized. No one should take off on their own or go back for the downed bike unless help is asked for by the leaders of the group managing the situation. The worst thing that could happen after an incident like this is to have someone take off on their own and get in trouble or become one more thing for those helping the downed biker to worry about.

Looking back on last weekend, there are a number of things that could have been done differently, but everyone pulled together, helped out our friend and got everyone back on the road safely. In a perfect world, we'll never have to worry about this procedure. However, this is not a perfect world, and we all enjoy an inherently dangerous hobby. If we do get into a similar situation, now everyone will know what to do, who to turn to, and how to handle the situation.

Until next month, Ride Safe and COAST (Concentrate on A Safe Trip)

D&D
David and Dori Dirig
ddirig@gwrra-ca1f.org