Lost a friend on the trails today
 

Friends of mine were out riding trails on the West Barnstable Conservation area. Two couples, all in their fifties. All good, strong riders.

I don't have all the details yet, as it's still so fresh... Jeff had a coronary incident near an overlook. Jim did chest compressions until professional assistance arrived, about twenty five minutes...at least they were near the larger trails. I don't know how close an emergency vehicle got...worst case probably a 200 yard carry down a wide gravel path...

Jeff passed at the hospital later in the afternoon.

I didn't know Jeff...only met him once. I do see his wife walking their dogs every couple of days in the woods, and we talk regularly. I know the other couple pretty well. All I know is, if it had been me, I would have wanted Jim, and his wife Donna, to be the ones trying to save my life.

Kiss your love ones before you leave the house. And have some ID on you, if you're going out alone, as I usually do.

How scary and very awful, my condolences.

So sorry for your loss. You must be pretty shaken up.

I can't imagine what the others are going through right now. Deborah losing her husband in the woods, right in front of her, Jim working on him, Donna staying cool and doing whatever was needed.

Again, these are the people I would want to be trying to save me...some really good people.

We never know when our time is up. When I told my wife the news, I said the more I'm out in the woods exercising the less likely something like this will happen...

...but...we never know when our time is up. Heart attack, distracted driver, whatever.

Tell your loved ones how you feel about them. Often.

Thanks. I'm okay.

I'm mostly concerned for my friends who battled for Jeff's life. I don't know how to support them, so I just keep asking what they need, how we can help...

At some point I'll tell Jim that if it were me out there, I'd want him to be the one trying to save me. Too soon right now. Way too soon...

(...and he's a lawyer, not a doctor!)

First responders were delayed due to locked gates at the entrance to the area. (Need to get that addressed!)

...so a couple of mountain bikers got a defibrillator up to the site.

Team effort.

I was on a ride three years ago and was chatting it up with another rider at the first regroup area when he toppled from his bike and went into cardiac arrest.

It took painfully long for anyone to figure out his convulsive symptoms, but chest compressions were started while we waited eight minutes for the FD to arrive with a defibrillator. That period of chest compressions on the by-then unconscious rider saved his life, as his BP and consciousness returned quickly (about 20 seconds after being shocked).

The point I wish to make is that one has to maintain the forceful compressions for as long as it takes. I subsequently did some reading and found out that the afflicted one's circulation can be maintained for over one hour as long as those at the scene understand this and don't give up. It can be pretty strenuous I might add, at 1 push per second, perhaps too much for a smaller person working on a larger one, but don't give up, take turns as needed.

This is why I haven't been mountain biking lately. My old riding partners have died and I'm afraid to ride off in the woods alone.

Wow
I'm very sorry to hear this
My hope and thoughts go out to his family

https://www.capecodtimes.com/article...EWS11/80823026

We all have to go sometime. Just hope it's the right time. RIP.

Wow. This is a different incident.

That's so weird...Eerily similar to what happened to Jeff on *Sunday*...same general location, similar challenges in getting to victim. On the other hand, Jeff's riding partners knew exactly where they were. They know the names of every trail in the woods...and were near a popular, named overlook.

Oops that article was from August 2008. Sorry.

Oh - Sorry to read this - Sad.
You are right - Kiss your loved ones before you leave.
I go to bed thinking I will have a tomorrow - leave the house thinking I will come back etc. - But one never knows!

C40_guy deeply saddened for your loss brother. This place is like a family in some sense. I lost (2) friends in recent months to motorcycle accidents in basically the exact same manner (Illegal U-Turns). Death can be a tough thing to process.

I had this happen with a friend of mine. Crazy fit guy, 3% body fat. Umptinetime State and National Champion in Tri and Du and Top 5 Worldwide. Died on a training ride. We took off up a hill and he hung back a bit. We turned around and found him on the side of the ride. Massive heart attack.

Sorry to hear about what happened. It's incredibly tough to handle.