On Friday, July 2, 2010, four Explorers met with two members of the Uwchlan Ambulance Bike Team for some basic awareness training which would allow them to be able to ride with the Team during a community event.
Recognizing that safety, both for the rider and bystanders, begins with good equipment maintenance, the class began with a basic understanding of the parts, operation and maintenance of a bike and then moved to the proper fitting of a helmet. Though we are not planning to ride on the road, included was an awareness discussion about how to ride safely on a road in traffic.
During a community event, the Bike Team often maneuvers very slowly through crowds of people so there was both discussion and practice about how to do this safely.
Cones were set up and everyone mounted their bikes. A moving bike is more stable than a stationery bike but to ride slowly while keeping control of the bike takes practice. One of the first sets included a race. The rule was simple, if your foot touched the ground you were out and the last person to cross the line won. Not as simple as it looks!
Another set included positioning the cones to form a Figure 8 and the participants began to ride around the loops. Once comfortable with this, first two, then another and another until all 6 of us were riding around within the cones, carefully weaving between each other as we crossed. This was fun!
The contents of the EMS pannier bags which are mounted on the bikes during events were examined and a discussion ensued around the role that the Explorers would play during an emergency in the field while riding with the Bike Team.
Much material was covered during the 4 hour class, a lot was learned and we all had a great time. All of these skills were actually put into practice for real in 4 rescues over the next few days when these Explorers rode with the UAC Bike Teams during Downingtown's Good Neighbor Day and a Miller Park Fireworks Concert. These Explorers are a welcome addition to the Uwchlan Ambulance Bike Team.
