The 2 mph average "exploration" ride

[Melalvai]

I'm with BF, that sounds fun!

[Crankin]

The urge "not to turn around" is what gets people in bad situations when they are in the outdoors. I just read a research article about this and how our perception changes, even though we know otherwise. In particular, the cold affects our thinking.
I know Wahine wasn't in any danger and she was in a familiar place, but just a cautionary statement. I get totally freaked out by the possibility of hypothermia or frost bite, which happens very easily to me.
It does sound fun, though.

[SadieKate]

Oh gawd, been there down that. Last time though we were riding around Paulina so there was no turnaround. We could only slog forward -- as we cursed the ranger who told us the trail was clear except for a few trees in one spot.

[Wahine]

The urge "not to turn around" is what gets people in bad situations when they are in the outdoors. I just read a research article about this and how our perception changes, even though we know otherwise. In particular, the cold affects our thinking.
I know Wahine wasn't in any danger and she was in a familiar place, but just a cautionary statement. I get totally freaked out by the possibility of hypothermia or frost bite, which happens very easily to me.
It does sound fun, though.

That is absolutely true. My ex was heavily involved in search and rescue on the research end of things and he got to review thousands of files about cases of people having to be rescued in the great outdoors. He told lots of stories of "Type A" athletes that get hung up on finishing what they set out to do instead of turning back when they should have.

There were several times on this ride that I made a point of going through my "checklist" to make sure we were still safe. My BF kind of laughed when I told him that I had packed a headlamp. He said afterward how smart he thought I had been for doing so. It turned out that we didn't need it but it could've been necessary. And I ALWAYS bring extra layers on a ride like this. I wish I had brought an extra set of gloves, switching out from my wet gloves before the descent would have been much better.

[SadieKate]

I have a friend who keeps in his emergency bike kit a full size cyalume stick because his children kept "borrowing" the headlamp. We're now doing the same because there is no battery that either runs out of juice or gets too cold to operate.

[Wahine]

That's a good point. I may start doing that as a head lamp backup. I already carry waterproof matches, a small first aid kit and extra food. But I think I'll throw a space blanket as well.

[SadieKate]

That's a good point. I may start doing that as a head lamp backup. I already carry waterproof matches, a small first aid kit and extra food. But I think I'll throw a space blanket as well.

I am extremely happy to say I've worn out a lot of space blankets simply through many years of stuff bouncing on top of them in my pack.

Ha, while typing this I had an epiphany -- make a space blanket case out of a section of old inner tube. Will have to test out the diameter.

[OakLeaf]

Heck, I keep a space blanket in my not-too-big seat pack on my roadie. Useful in case of shock even if the ambient temperature isn't that low. I didn't figure there was any point in throwing away the one they wrapped me with on one finish line.

[Susan Otcenas]

That's a good point. I may start doing that as a head lamp backup. I already carry waterproof matches, a small first aid kit and extra food. But I think I'll throw a space blanket as well.

Wow, Wahine, totally impressed with your perseverence! I would have found such slow going to be frustrating. (OTOH, I'm such a crappy bike handler on trails that 2.5mph would probably be my average *without* the obstacles... )

I ALWAYS carry a space blanket on rides over 100 miles. I've only needed it once, but boy, when I needed it, I *really* needed it! http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=40339

Susan

[Crankin]

Melavai, it wasn't a peer reviewed article; it was in the current issue of Psychology Today (I know, not a scientific journal). There were 10 examples of well documented phenomena of situations where we don't turn back. Those examples did have some previous research cited, as well as some pretty startling examples.
I have a good sense of direction on the road, but once I am in the woods, everything looks the same to me. I went mountain biking by myself a few times, after work, about 7-8 years ago. I was in some conservation land I am fairly familiar with, but I did get lost. I turned around when something just didn't "feel" right and got back to a trail I recognized.

[zoom-zoom]

That is absolutely true. My ex was heavily involved in search and rescue on the research end of things and he got to review thousands of files about cases of people having to be rescued in the great outdoors. He told lots of stories of "Type A" athletes that get hung up on finishing what they set out to do instead of turning back when they should have.

I have a couple of very "go big or go home" friends who have made some decisions that would have made me very nervous, had I been along for the ride (heh, ride). One was very sick in Moab to the point of running a fever and suffering horrible chills, but wouldn't sit out even a day and was pretty catatonic on the long drive back to MI.

Sometimes I feel like a slacker for not pushing myself 100%, 100% of the time, but I've still got a young kid at home, so self-preservation for his sake ranks pretty high for me (plus I hate being under the weather and/or injured, so will scale back if I start feeling overextended). My severely type A friends are either childless or have grown kids.

[Crankin]

I am a Type A in a lot of things, but not with outdoor adventures. When DH and I do local hikes, I always have certain things in my waist pack; like my headlamp (it's small) and extra nutrition, Nuun, and first aid stuff.
One time I was on a CRW metric century. About half way through, 2 guys stopped short in front of us, because they thought a driveway was the turn . DH got around them, I barely did, but the woman behind me, who had been riding with us hit me and crashed. Everyone else left and there were no support people around. People always make fun of me, because I pack so much stuff in my seat bag, but while DH worked on fixing her bike, I was able to clean her road rash, put on antibiotic ointment, and give her an Advil.

[Melalvai]

The urge "not to turn around" is what gets people in bad situations when they are in the outdoors. I just read a research article about this and how our perception changes, even though we know otherwise. In particular, the cold affects our thinking.
I know Wahine wasn't in any danger and she was in a familiar place, but just a cautionary statement. I get totally freaked out by the possibility of hypothermia or frost bite, which happens very easily to me.
It does sound fun, though.

Do you have a link or a citation for the article?

That describes me exactly. I am very proud of myself because I am past master at getting lost, yet on Sunday I managed not to get lost. I was out on trails I've never been on before, and I was alone, with no map, no phone, no GPS, and only a vague notion of where the trail would be going. The trail was supposed to meet up with another trail and make a loop. I got to a point where I knew if I went any further I wouldn't be able to retrace my steps, and I wasn't sure if the loop thing was going to happen. So I did something completely unexpected.

I turned around.

And I didn't get lost!