We were at a day of racing recently, and one of our team members took a nasty crash in the first race. Luckily (if anything can be called "lucky" in juxtaposition with a crash), the crash was at the finishing line, and team suppport (another member's girlfriend and yours truly) were right there to come to the rider's aid.
The race officials provided no assistance whatsoever -- we had to beg a bottle of water from them as our fresh bottles were all at the cars.
Maybe you already do this, but what I will do next time I go to a race:
- take a gallon jug of clear water
- take a gallon jug of soapy water
- take waterless soap
- take a first aid kit with with antiseptic ointment and bandages
- take a blanket
- take rubber gloves -- the blood this time was from someone I have known for years -- that may not be the case next time
- have emergency contact information and insurance information for all team members on hand
- listen to any thoughts others may have on the subject
Interestingly, about a third way through the race, I realized that there were more racers than spectators. That meant that some of the racers had NO ONE there with them. After the race, I wondered, "What if one of those racers had taken a really SERIOUS spill?"
At last report, our downed rider is doing fine and intends to race this coming weekend.
simple serious safety