Some of the bits in between

Another Friday bus journey to Spean Bridge, to be met by Paul and spend the afternoon loading equipment into the ambulances in preparation for the Corrieyairack Challenge.  The event was the following day and started in Fort Augustus with cyclists, runners and walkers making their way over the Corrieyairack Pass and down to a transition point near Laggan where runners and walkers picked up their bikes and set off for the finish at Kincraig.  The casualty tally was light, a support bandage for a knee, a couple of dressings on grazes and a couple of very knackerd walkers who made it to the top of the pass but were then given a lift to Laggan and the support bus.  Once the last participants had gone through my position I sat and waited until I got radio confirmation that they were over the high point and heading for the 'zig zags' and down towards Laggan, as soon as that confirmation was given that was me all done and heading for home!

A few days of personal admin and then it's getting sorted for the next gig.  As it was that time of year to advance my age once again I suggested to Mark, my host for the weekend, that perhaps it would be good to eat out, save anyone cooking and an excuse for a drink or two!  Unbeknown to me Mark, along with wife Nic, had got in touch with a number of friends, some causing a bit of a 'blast from the past'!  As we walked into the Stronlossit there propping the bar up were folk that I had worked with over twenty years before.  A splendid evening ensued, good company, good food and the odd glass or two of red stuff.  A high point came when a fantastic cake was brought in, a gluten free chocolate cake smothered in strawberries!!!  My thanks to Mark, Nic, Ashleigh and Bethany for putting up with me over a number of weekends and for organising the party, and to Anna and Susie for 'The Cake' and lastly thanks to all t'others for turning up!!

Under construction

The finished product

Time for a wish!?!

 













Back to work on the sunny west coast, this time it was a BDS event at Glencoe.  Knowing many of the folks working at White Corries is a big bonus, great coffee, a hot lunch and good craick!  The weather was fine but the riders would have liked a bit of wet to set up the track at the moment it was like riding ball bearings!!
Lots of thrills and many spills netted us a selection of damaged riders, most patched and sent on their way, a few advised to get further treatment at hospital and two transported by ambulance to hospital.  Overall a successful weekend for the SDA without too many injuries!

Pitfichie to Eastridge and bits in between.

Mud, a touch of blood and smiling.

Sunshine and thunderstorms, magic!  Sunshine yes, the rest of it not when kipping in a 'Field Treatment Unit'.  The entrance to the competitors camping field was much like Innerleithen (see last post), however, the Med Base was to be sited close to the DH finish which was on a relatively dry forestry track and well drained from any downpour the forecasters promised.
Pitfichie was only an hour and a half drive for me, just south of the A96 near Inverrurie, the FW team took a tad longer getting there but by 2300 the Easy-up was up, stores unloaded and beds for Paul, Allan and myself sorted, while Anna and Susie had an ambulance to call home.  By 2330 Paul had passed the beers around and we had sused out our surroundings.  The catering trailer was 5mtrs across the track from us and the porta-loos were about 30mtrs away, close enough for comfort, too far in the rain!  Another beer nightcap and time for bed.  Swampy arrived sometime in the night and crashed out in his car.
Saturday 0630, dry and the sun trying to come out!  A test run of the porta-loos was called for before the riders and their followers came on scene, things could get a bit gruesome as the day progressed!  By 0700 the food wagon was up and running, coffee and a bacon and egg roll got thing off to a near perfect start.  The training runs that day brought us the usual crop of bumps, scrapes, deeper scrapes and ?# (query fracture) wrist.  A number of treatments were for injuries received at previous events, wrists, knees and ankles for support strapping, partially healed wounds required extra dressing to protect from chaffing under body armour.  Smiler, pictured above, was encouraged to get himself some elbow pads before he did a proper job on them!
The local eatery was the Gordon Arms in Monymusk, unfortunately for us there was a wedding party in and no further room at the inn.  Kemnay, the next village, was well provided with chip shops, take-away's of assorted nationalities, bars and hotels.  We settled on one where we could park the ambulance without causing alarm, ordered up some drinks and food and got stuck in.  Back at Base Camp a wee bottle of red was opened and a glass or two downed to sort the free radicals out, while Paul was trying to rid the world of Grolsch.
Sunday, race day.  Lurch across the forest road to the burger van, mug of coffee and bacon and egg roll later I'm ready to face the rest of the day.  The easy-up is tidied and gear set out ready for riding to get started.  Through the day there is the regular run of injuries along with re-dressing some of the previous day's wounds.  Around the middle of the afternoon we had a shout to attend an OTH (over the handlebars) accident, the casualty was complaining of mid-line upper back pain, the first medic on scene went through the DRABC process, called for further assistance and manually immobilised the rider, seconds later the vacuum mattress and bag of stiff-neck collars arrived on scene.  The 'hill' team did a first class job of packaging the casualty, getting him loaded into the ambulance and off the hill side.  Meanwhile Ambulance Control had been notified and a unit dispatched.  Paul thought it best to meet the NHS ambulance down on the road from Monymusk village so that while they were on their way to us he could make his way slowly along the forest road to give the casualty as smooth a ride as possible and save time and discomfort for our passenger.  The casualty transfer went smoothly and a short while later Paul was back on site and the race just about over.
We made quick work of stowing all the medical equipment from the hill, clearing out and packing the easy-up away, we even did the burger guy a favour, as he had a bunch of burgers, sausages and bacon cooked and no customers he asked if we could get rid of them for him!!  I suppose it was a bit cheeky to ask if he would fry up some onions for us!  Bloated on the left-overs I stashed my bag in the car, said my goodbyes to the team and left them sorting their final bits of kit out as I trundled steadily down the forest road, out to the A96 and off home.
Domestic chores were waiting to be sorted back at the ranch and on Wednesday a job at Glenmore Lodge. BASP had a first aid course running and Wednesday afternoon was examination time, Gus opted to run the practical exam leaving me to 'interrogate' them on their 1st aid knowledge.
Just a one day event coming up at the weekend so no pressure.