DavePrice
08-11-2010, 10:44 AM
Dear All,
A group of us were out on Saturday "Green Lane" driving in the Brechfa forest (East of Carmarthen, West Wales). It was a "multi-purpose" day. Our local "West Wales Laning" group had co-ordinated the day. Many of us in WWL are also responder members of 4x4 Response Wales and also members of Treadlightly UK and the Green Lane Association....
Anyway, we were just completing a "rather challenging" down hill hairpin (which had suffered a washout on the inside) when we became aware of a couple of folks coming down an adjacent mountain bike path. The one chap was, with great difficulty, pushing his bike with one hand and clutching his shoulder with the other.... It transpired he had come off his bike hard and reckoned he had broken his shoulder.
The three vehicles in our group were all 4x4RW responders and we decided it was our duty to be good samaritans.... Our "leader" co-ordinated what we were doing, I loaded the chap's bike into the back of my Disco and the chap himself was loaded into the rear vehicle (a long wheel base defender).
We were only half a mile or so from the main road at this point, so we delicately drove down, diverted to the carpark where he and his friend had parked their car, and safely got the chap and his bike back there with no further damage. As there were two of them but both in one car, they were then going to sort out getting that chap medical help/back home between them.
So, not an "official" call out, but we happened to have our 4x4rw reponse stickers in evidence and hopefully we showed a calm but willing help a fellow countryside user in need of assistance.
Another purpose of our trip was that we were "surveying" and photographing with our "Treadlightly" hats on in preparation for a way-marking exercise we hope to carry out in a month or so's time. As you will I am sure be aware, we get some trouble/bad press with folks driving off track and ruining fields/meadows/SSSIs etc. We hope by putting up waymarkers (all officially agreed with local councils and forestry etc) we can at least stop folks, that truely "want" to stick to Green Lanes going off by accident. Some of the junctions in the area are not at all clear, and with forestry roads crossing, many folks clearly do the "wrong thing" by pure accident. We had an interesting and friendly encounter with horse riders earlier which clearly thought initially that we were not on the approved green lane. We had a nice chat to them though and explained what we were doing and I think also, by the end, must have created another set of folks who also don't think all 4x4 green lane drivers are badies....
Anyway, must get bakc to real work...
Dave Price, 4x4RW, WR105 [with WR103 and another whose number I forget :-( ]
A group of us were out on Saturday "Green Lane" driving in the Brechfa forest (East of Carmarthen, West Wales). It was a "multi-purpose" day. Our local "West Wales Laning" group had co-ordinated the day. Many of us in WWL are also responder members of 4x4 Response Wales and also members of Treadlightly UK and the Green Lane Association....
Anyway, we were just completing a "rather challenging" down hill hairpin (which had suffered a washout on the inside) when we became aware of a couple of folks coming down an adjacent mountain bike path. The one chap was, with great difficulty, pushing his bike with one hand and clutching his shoulder with the other.... It transpired he had come off his bike hard and reckoned he had broken his shoulder.
The three vehicles in our group were all 4x4RW responders and we decided it was our duty to be good samaritans.... Our "leader" co-ordinated what we were doing, I loaded the chap's bike into the back of my Disco and the chap himself was loaded into the rear vehicle (a long wheel base defender).
We were only half a mile or so from the main road at this point, so we delicately drove down, diverted to the carpark where he and his friend had parked their car, and safely got the chap and his bike back there with no further damage. As there were two of them but both in one car, they were then going to sort out getting that chap medical help/back home between them.
So, not an "official" call out, but we happened to have our 4x4rw reponse stickers in evidence and hopefully we showed a calm but willing help a fellow countryside user in need of assistance.
Another purpose of our trip was that we were "surveying" and photographing with our "Treadlightly" hats on in preparation for a way-marking exercise we hope to carry out in a month or so's time. As you will I am sure be aware, we get some trouble/bad press with folks driving off track and ruining fields/meadows/SSSIs etc. We hope by putting up waymarkers (all officially agreed with local councils and forestry etc) we can at least stop folks, that truely "want" to stick to Green Lanes going off by accident. Some of the junctions in the area are not at all clear, and with forestry roads crossing, many folks clearly do the "wrong thing" by pure accident. We had an interesting and friendly encounter with horse riders earlier which clearly thought initially that we were not on the approved green lane. We had a nice chat to them though and explained what we were doing and I think also, by the end, must have created another set of folks who also don't think all 4x4 green lane drivers are badies....
Anyway, must get bakc to real work...
Dave Price, 4x4RW, WR105 [with WR103 and another whose number I forget :-( ]