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14 Posts
Wow! Friday about put an end to my short-lived love of mountain biking. I planned for about two hours, but thanks to a malfunctioning odometer, I got in over my head. I brought along a camel-pak with 100 oz of water, but that went quicker than I thought it would. I ended up getting turned around, and before it was all said and done I ended up on a complete stranger's doorstep more than 8 miles from where I was supposed to be. I know the vets on this site would laugh at 8 miles, but this was all at Stillhouse Hollow with lots of hills and rough terrain that I could've handled on a normal day, but not Friday. Once I realized I was in trouble, it was too late. By the time 1pm rolled around, I had been out 3 1/2 hours in 95-degree-plus temps and little shade. I could only push my bike up a steep trail 10-15 feet at a time before I would collapse in the shade. It was truly terrifying. When I finally reached a road by climbing over and through some barbed-wire to follow the car noise, 20 cars drove by and nobody stopped. I stopped at a few houses before there was finally someone home that gave me cold water and an address so my worried wife could pick me up. I was too scared to be embarrassed, but now that I know I'm going to live, I'm embarrassed. How does someone get that turned around and into that much trouble on what's supposed to be a quick ride?
Lessons learned: There's no such thing as "too much" water, buy a GPS, straight up the side of peak/hill when suffering from heat exhaustion is never a good idea, and go in the evening when temps will only go down.
Lessons learned: There's no such thing as "too much" water, buy a GPS, straight up the side of peak/hill when suffering from heat exhaustion is never a good idea, and go in the evening when temps will only go down.