February 2010 - Posts

Friday, February 12, 2010 10:06 AM

February Valentines: Hearts, Health, and Rider Ed

A couple of months ago, Doug and I obtained our GWTA Rider Education Program Level 3 and 4 rockers.  Finally!!!  We'd obtained our Levels 1 and 2 through our chapter and at Gold Rush XX and XXI.  For quite a while, we’d been trying to find a First Aid and CPR course offered within a reasonable distance and at a reasonable cost.  This was proving difficult since most of the courses in our area have been restructured and are now offered through the area colleges.  Along with this restructuring came the higher costs associated with higher education.  Our GWTA chapter could have sponsored a course, but many of our riders had already updated their certification through their place of employment.  

The need for training hit home this past year when Doug’s dad became a farm accident statistic.  A trencher which he was moving to a work site popped out of gear, accelerated down a steep grade in reverse, went through a cattle fence, and landed at the bottom of a canyon.  Doug’s dad was thrown clear of the equipment at the first impact, halfway down the canyon wall.  Each second after Doug’s dad disappeared from view lasted an eternity... getting to the patient, climbing up out of the canyon to find a cell signal for 911, waiting for a volunteer First Responder team to assemble and locate the remote off-road scene, and slowly maneuvering a rescue vehicle out of the canyons and through a rough cattle pasture with a back injury patient on board who’s going into shock.  Forget an ambulance in this terrain!  Enough said!

Doug’s dad survived a broken back and two broken scapula and is walking again.  He’s lucky... but that day brought home the importance of being prepared and knowing what to do during that critical time of waiting for help to arrive.  When an EMT (who also happens to be our nephew) and a community church offered us the extra seats at their local American Heart Association HeartSaver First Aid & CPR course, we were there.

Much has changed since the last time I took this type of course.  Years earlier, all the CPR rules and exceptions based on adult/child/infant, etc. intimidated me.  Today, the instructions have been simplified immensely.  Our training included video examples of each course segment and repetition of the step-by-step procedures ("The scene is safe", "Do you need help", "You!... Dial 911!", "You!... Get a first-aid kit and an AED!", etc.).  There was plenty of time for questions and help from the instructor.  The course also provided enough CPR dummies, so that we had plenty of practice... No taking turns.  One new thing I learned... when doing CPR, think John Travolta!  Saturday Night Fever's song "Stayin' Alive" is the perfect tempo for doing CPR compressions.

Another first for me... We even got to practice using an AED...  I love the way these machines walk you through the steps and are practically dummy-proof with all their built-in safeguards... no accidentally shocking the patient or yourself.  We also learned that the phrase "I need an AED!" can tell a 911 operator and emergency responders quite a lot about the situation in just a few key words.  (AED stands for Automated External Defibrillator.)  I no longer feel intimidated by these machines and would not hesitate if the need arose to use one.  It's amazing what this little piece of equipment can do to increase your chances of survival!

February is Heart Health Awareness month.  Why not prepare for the upcoming riding season and refresh your First Aid and CPR skills.  If you need forms to update your GWTA Rider Education Certification Levels, contact your Chapter Rider Education Director or go to the GWTA web-site.  It's so easy, and you never know... your Valentine and a few others might thank you!  Happy Valentine's Day to all the First Responders who repeatedly give of their time and training and who were there for us the day we placed the call.

(CPR and Pocket First Aid Pictures from the American Heart Association web site.)
posted by U2Farmer with 0 Comments
Monday, February 01, 2010 10:39 AM

What's On Your Bucket List for 2010?

If you watched Jack Nicholson's movie "The Bucket List", you know what this blog post is about.  What better use to make of a cold, wintry February 1st than to fill in your wish list of destinations and explorations for the upcoming ride season.  Here goes!

This year I would like our family to:

1.  Grab the two Canadian provinces in Region C so that we can say we visited all 7 states and 2 provinces while we were Region C Family of the Year.

2.  Have a hobo-themed Camp-out in a railroad car... How many people can say they've slept in a caboose?  You can do that in Nebraska!

3.  Sleep with the fishes or maybe the penguins... camped out in the Omaha Zoo.  You can do that in Nebraska, too!

4.  Ride my motorcycle to the top of a volcano.  We can do that in New Mexico.  (Kind of already did that by riding to the rim of the caldera in Yellowstone, but I'm not sure if that would really count.  New Mexico has a paved road that winds around their volcano until you reach the top!)

Ohhh, and one big one...

5.  Grab Oklahoma for my "All 50 States" Map, so that Duck will stop pulling his hair out trying to figure out how we got enough velocity on the bikes to vault over the panhandle from Kansas to Texas.  (Then I can really mess with him by planning a trip to Hawaii!!!)

6.  Attend GWTA Region C Rally and check on the progress at the Crazy Horse Memorial -- of course.

7.  Attend GWTA Gold Rush XXIII and ride the BearTooth again -- of course.

8.  Attend GWTA anything that we can possibly attend.... but you knew that already!


That's a start.  I'm sure I'll have plenty of help adding to my list.  Feel free to share your own lists on the forum!


posted by U2Farmer with 0 Comments