#thinkwinter - Julie's Story

Julie was keen to share her story as she realised just how lucky she was. She wasn't alone that day and she did have some kit to help, but it wasn't enough. She dislocated her knee and was on the hill for 4 and a half hours. She, and her circle of friends have learnt so much from this experience and we (and Julie) hope that by continuing to share these messages, riders will better prepare themselves for winter riding.

"As part of #thinkwinter I am sharing my real life story from last November.

I never thought I would ever have to call Scottish Mountain Rescue to help me off the trails but after coming off my bike and discovering I was unable to walk, in one of the most remote areas of Golfie, I had no other choice to get off the hill.

Tweed Valley Mountain Rescue Team were absolutely amazing and kept us up to date with what was going to happen and made everything as smooth and as comfortable as they possibly could.

What I didn’t really know was how long you can be waiting and I know my experience was fairly quick compared to some! We made the call at 2pm and I was off the hill at 6.30pm.

At the time myself and my husband were both carrying foil blankets and first aid kits which were a huge help, but I still got cold very fast because I didn’t have enough layers to keep me warm as I was stationary. Luckily our friend ran a few miles up the trails with an extra super warm jacket, a hat, a torch and a warm drink.

Lots of lessons were learned that day, I always thought I carried enough and wore enough to keep me warm, but like DMBinS #thinkwinter post, until you sit in the cold for a period of time, you don’t really know how cold it can get, especially when you add in an injury or how dark it can get when you don’t expect to be out for so long.

I now carry a much better first aid kit, an emergency bivvy bag, a hat, a buff, thicker gloves if it’s really cold so I can swap about, and lights if we head out past midday. This all manages to fit in my hip pack with all my bike tools! I now also wear a much warmer jacket and full waterproofs too.

I absolutely recommend everyone to go sit in their garden with what you would normally wear and carry on a ride because I can guarantee most people would reconsider what they have in their bag and pack extra just in case."