Chris516

To better explain the subject title-

I have had a congenital brain aneurysm, and congenital Hydrocephalus, for forty-five(almost forty-six) years. As a result of the six brain surgeries I had by 9yrs.-old(1976), I have Epilepsy.

I got back into cycling, in 2003, after a six-year lay off. Prior to that, it had been sixteen years.

Well, Now I am a very experienced cyclist. Except for the long-distance aspect. While I have gone long distances(20-50mi.) within the D.C.-Metro region, that is just biking in 'suburbia'. So, I would always be near someone, be it business, or residential. That could help me in an emergency.

When I was on my way to the starting point of a club ride, in 2007, I had to go through DC to get there. I crashed on Wisc. Ave., due to a pothole. Luckily, When the accident happened, it was across the street from the USVP's residence, and the headquarters for the U.S. Secret Service. The U.S. Secret Service were the 'first responders', before the DC Fire Department.

The reason for my question is that, I want to do a long-distance(50mi.) ride to the center of Frederick County(Maryland), (the next county north of my house) by going on a lot of lightly traveled, and sparsely populated, back roads. But I am interested in what others have done, in a situation like this, were there to be an emergency?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Juan Foote

Chris, I think you have hit the "nail on the head" as it were, were it regards people with medical conditions. I am "just" an amputee, so my issues revolve more around my ability to find a ride when something goes wrong. My suggestion based on my own two cents would be to look into getting a phone (cell or satellite) that will work in all the areas you plan to go through. I would also consider checking on the fire/response crews for the planned area (phone numbers, etc.) and I would STRONGLY consider that you get something like Road ID or a medical bracelet that gives more information on your condition in case someone needed to know in an emergency.

I applaud your courage and wish you the best of luck chasing this goal.

Bezalel

Do you have enough advance warning to activate a distress beacon?

qcpmsame 

I will strongly second Punkn' Cat's thoughts, especially the cell phone while you are out riding. I don't leave to ride without mine with all my health issues. I got a RoadID last year and now wear it all the time, I plan to upgrade to the type with the PIN number on the back side with their 800 number on it along with your name and an emergency contact phone number on the front

Bill

esther-L 

You might want to look for a 50 mile group ride to join. If you're riding with a group, you can explain your medical history to them. Also, there will be folks with cell phones from a variety of carriers, which sometimes increases the chance of getting a signal. And someone can bike to a convenience store or a house to call for fire/rescue dept. There is a list of Maryland bike clubs at https://dc.about.com/od/bicyclingclub...ling_Clubs.htm . Not sure if Oxon Hill club is the closest to you. It's been at least 5 years since I biked in that area, but there were areas that were dead for Sprint and AT&T cell signals then.

I've ridden at events in the Frederick, MD area in the past. One thing to be careful about in that area is steel deck bridges. You can ride a fat tire bike across them slowly, but you have to walk a skinny tire bike across them. At organized events, they have a volunteer in front of these bridges telling everyone to stop and dismount.

One event goes between Gettysburg and DC every April, Face of America ride. https://worldteamsports.org/events/fa...-america-2013/ . The point of this event is for people all all sorts of abilities and disabilities to bike together.

I'm impressed that you are making this a goal. There are some hills around Frederick that are tough!

fietsbob

Other coast , we see all sorts of people riding the Pacific coast route.. , so I at least can offer encouragement.

50 miles after all is just 5 hours traveling at 10 per.. this coming from a 7mph international touring fan.