Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

gam .. -,~-~,,~ by Ron Schneiders MOTORCYCLE MEDICINE .' days. Lars Larsson was treating himself with a special broth that he had served at the checks, while Dick Burleson, suffering some kind of Dubsek's revenge was being nursed by Team Manager Doug Wilford. In alJ, our casualties were remarkably light but they might not have been. Other teams had some fairly serious problems, including broken legs and backs. Our worst was a broken foot and an injured knee. Than ks to the superb Czech medical facilities, our riders were never in danger of receiving inadequate attention for serious injuries. But this was not known in advance. The facilities might have been as primitive as they were in fact sophisticated, for all anyone knew beforehand. _ And, in spite of the good medical care available for serious problems, one cannot discount the fact that anyone is going to feel psychologically more secure knowing that in the event of injury there will be a doctor wi th whom he already has confidence. And, of course, for minor injuries, the kind "treated" by Woods and McDonald, the presence of a team doctor migh t ha,'e made the difference between a Gold Medal and" no medal. It's a question of knowing vs. guessing. Sports medicine is now recognized discipline within the medical profession. Many high school football teams now have team physicians. That our ISDT team, competing in a very dangerous SpOTt over such a long period in a foreign country should not have the services of a team physician is inexcusable. Have you ever ridden a desert race or enduro and h.ad your hands blistered for the following three or four days? Gone to work and been useless because you were nursing the aches of sore muscles or th e injuries from inadverten t collisions with immovable objects like trees and ground? Been sick with a combination of tension and two days of undigested food? Most of us have experienced these things (and others) and we survive because on Monday we have a chance to recuperate. The Six Days rider has no chance though, to recuperate. Whatever injuries and. aches he accumulates on Monday he will have to endure on Tuesday, usually with the knowledge that Tuesday will be harder than Monday. If he bec'omes sick, he has to "ride it out" literally, or become a non-finisher. Taking sick leave in the Six Days is not permissible. It seems safe to estimate that the 'average rider in a hard race or enduro can count on two injuries of some nature for every day of riding. Most of these will be cuts, abrasions and sore muscles, but scattered into the total will be a number of more serious sprains and broken bones. If we multiply two injuries times 31 riders times 6 days we come up with a total of 372 probably injuries for OUT Six Days riders. Considering that Six Days riders by the nature of their job tend to abuse injuries rather than let them heal, even small injuries should not be ignored. "But," you migh t say, "That's the job of the team doctor. Why are you telling me about it?" Well, mostly because there isn't any team doctor for our team this year. Before the Six-Days started, the course marshal informed our team m""ageTS that there would be a meeting of the team physicians to discuss the medical facilities available. An American surgeon, Dr. Scott Clark, happened to be in Czechosolovakia on vacation, making ~ movie of the Six Days. He agreed to attend the meeting as our team's physician. There he learned of the very extensive preparations that the Czechs had made for the rescue and emergency treatment ,of ciders injured on the trail. These included First Aid Teams stationed every few kilometers around the entire course, ambulances and four-wheel-drive vehicles stationed * * * * * * * * In a momen t of inebriated indiscretion two pit racers climbed on their bikes and set out on a midnight chickeh run. They hit head on, proving that they are both very brave. Parts of the Hodaka are scattered allover the desert and the Bultaco has (among oth"r damages) a broken front axle and split cases. The pit racers are in the hospital with cracked heads and compound, m",ltiple fractures. One cheerful note: It is rumored that neither victim required anesthetic while having the bones set due to their advanced state of Supervisor Park Motorcycle Dorn Calls A PLEA FOR THE WIVES OF DESERT RIDERS . The Check Chase of two weeks ago was a grim affair. Two riders were killed. Roughly forty riders were seriously injured, and at least one, possibly two were considered critical. The one mentioned was picked up and flown by helicopter to three different hospitals. No one could do any ti) ing. The rider was completely unidentified and unconscious. Noone could give permission to operate, no one could dare take a chance administering drugs without knowing his allergies, etc. Generally, I am against forcing anyone to do anything. If a rider wants ~NZ "<.. w~~_ EN • .. REC-PAC Now you * Badgers M.C. will also hold their first district race next year. (They arc mostly, if not all, law enforcement officers, for those of you who don't already know that.) Gene Cannady assured us. that the pits would be well policed. (Tee-hee) * at strategic spots, two helicopters on standby alert, and three hospitals prepared in advance for the types of expected injuries. Had it not been for the fortuitous presence of Dr. Clark, our riders would not, in all probability, even have been aware of the medical arrangements that had been made. The psycholQgical advantage of knowing that your bod will be properly cared for in event of a mishap is obvious. AMA Competition Director Don Woods was well prepared. He came to the Six Days armed with a bottle of 1000 vitamin B-12 capsules, roughly enough for the entire population of Czechoslovakia for a year. B-12 is one of those elements that's vitally necessary to the human body, but only in tiny amounts. Excess B-12 does you neither harm nor good; it's simply passed by the system. If a rider by some fluke were deficient in this substance, (very unlikely - there's enough in a bowl of com flakes to last for months) taking it at the trial would have done him no good. I t takes a couple of weeks for the body to absorb enough to remedy a deficiency. Neverthless our rideTS got lots of B-12, courtesy of Dr. Woods. (No, I'm not playing physician. I got the informatiQn here from Dr. Clark who was very amused by the situation.) While the rider's internal needs were being capably handled by Woods, Nurse Marcia was handling external problems by the liberal applica'tion of a substance bearing a suspicious resemblance to horse linimen t. Putting aside the comical aspects of the situation, some of our riders had real and serious problems. Several were riding each day with their forearms swollen to twice normal size. Their arms were so painful that a light touch caused rider Don Stover to jump a foot sideways. This painful injury could have been foreseen and prevented had we had a Specialist in sports medicine working with our riders prior to the trial. Two of OUf least experienced riders were injured, onc before the trial ever began and one after it was barely a day' old. Both were trying too hard, "riding over their heads" as the saying goes. Both accidents might have been prevented by some judicious counselling. Two of our riders were ex tremeJy sick for several to risk his neck racing and then make absolutely sure that no one can help him, thal's his perogative. But consider this: In the pits were about 60 people, mostly wives, waiting for overdue riders. The word comes back that a rider has been kilJed, but no one knows who. Or worse, that an unidentified rider is critically injured and being shunted from hospital to hospital, his chances worsening with every trip, because no one knows who he is, what his allergies are, what his blood type is or any of the other information necessary to in telligen tly treat him. Consider those wives for a mornen t. Most of their hubbies will simply hav.\' run out of gas, or broken down. But they know that one of them has bought it, that one of them is now a widow or has a very badly injured husband whom nobody can help. And everyone of them is sure she's the one. That's a lot of suffering to cause for the privilege of keeping your weight down while you're racing. by not carrying any identification. Human nature being what it is, fot the next few races, e"eryone will have some identification with them, just as every time someone dies of heat prostration we see a whole bunch of new canteens the next week. But then old timers forget and newcomers arrive who don't know any better and pretty soon you have a new Check Chase where only the names are changed when somebody finally discovers what the names are! One company makes available a little form called "Medicard," or, dog t"gs of .plastic with all the pertinent data needed can be purchased in quantity for only a few cents apiece. It seems to me that the AMA, and District 37 in particular, should require every rider to have one and have it properly filled out as a condition of his being allowed to ride the even l. When the checker goes down the line and checks the tank cards, it would take little or no extra time to check the dog tags as well. No tag, no ride. This isn't something that should wait; it should be done right now. The next Check Chase might be For Supervisor Chairman Warren Dorn today called for establish men t of a huge, public off-road motorcycle park presumably in the Antelope Valley - to meet the recreational needs of the thousands of cycle enthusiasts. Do rn emphasized that the motorcycle-family park will be ill a remote area, far from residential sites. In his motion, the supetvisor instructed the Park and Recreation Depa:rtment and the Fire Department to work with state and federal officials to find a suitable site. "Motorcycling is now recognized as a wholesome,-farnily recreation pasttime instead of solely a means of transportation," said'Dom. He announced that the coun ty is now t.LMltfinlt-~~~l't'\1'ttte lt1~ intoxication. Poetic justice. J. . * * * * * CAN take Roberts is making a rapid recovery from his recent mishap. There is a readily noticeable depression in his skull where the bone was removed, and he still has many bruises and is unable to work or race, but he is no longer critically ill. His short hair (they shave your head when they operate on it) is sorta' cute, and he gtinned and said it was so easy to care for that he just might keep it short. It is good to see him feeling so much better. Most of us heard that his son, Rafe, had also been injured. Rafe was hurt about two weeks prior to J.N. when he fell from a stool in a neighbor's home, striking his head on a toy train. Got a nasty split skull, but is now back in school and his mother, Dian, says he has caugh t up with the rest of the first'l1;raders. it with Comfy. Light Get this Strong quality BIG accessory Rigid designed Protective for off- road Weatherproof motorcycle use. SPECIAL INTRODUCTORY '$21f~95 _ Councii On the problem of engine noise. "The mahufacturers have developed mufflers and silencers that greatly restrict engine noise. "With proper control - which the county will seek - the noise problem can be significantly diminished;' added Dorn. He estimated that a motorcycle park - to be efficient and serve the greatest range of riders - should involve 500 acres or more. you! FREE fitted ICE CHEST if you order NOW! m . I Colors: Ora':lge pac, white top, black nylon webbong, chrome hardware. Order from: CYCLE NEWS PRODUCTS 2499 Cerritos Ave., Long Beach, Ca. 90806 I I -------------------1. I Send me one Rec-Pac for motorcycle use and my free fitted ice chest. I enclose $24.95 in check or ."oney order. l~~ I I Address I I ~i~•.~~~.~.~i~ L I I I I .• . ... , •... , _ :..:l:.::.:.:...:..=::::::::=:.:.:..J l::l ~. :> o Z ~ W Z ~ ~ U

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