I have always stated that riding in the UAE summer is not a problem. If you have water and your bike/quad is running, then one can manage the heat (only if you are passionate about your riding I should probably add). The problem is when things go wrong. This is when summer is NOT your friend and things immediately can, and will turn ugly.
I was approaching my first summer when we had an incident where two riders collided on quads. Patrice was still leading and it was already the end of May or maybe early June when the incident happened. It was to be one of our last rides before summer and we wanted to make it a long ride before the summer kicked into full swing. Jerome collided with Pierre and the impact broke his quad’s left hand steering rod. This happened whilst we were already on our way back, around 10:00 a.m. and about 15km from the nearest track/road. We made several repair attempts and were confident that we should be able to get the quad at least to reach the nearest road.
Each attempt failed within metres of starting to ride, yet we were sure we could get her going. If not for Patrice who made the call: “That is it guys! You have spent more than 45 minutes working in the sun and drinking a lot of water. We still have a long way to go. Leave the quad here and let’s go before we run out of water.” We were so into the repair that we did not realize how much water we had consumed. I ran out of water before we reached the truck road’s little store and that was a three litre hydration pack!
Patrice’s call that day had made a lasting impression and stayed with me since. I have since again been in more than one occasion where either a bike ran into trouble, a rider got injured, ran out of water or we got lost. (One very bad situation in Oman six years ago that I NEVER want to relive). I have written about summer riding and things to remember in the past, but for those who don’t know: A rider passed away during a “social” ride last month in Dubai. I have very limited information regarding the incident. All I do know is that they were only two riders and somehow they got separated. One was on a quad and as I understand, is new to quads in the desert, and the other rider was on a bike. Nobody was sure what happened next but the rider on the quad never reached the vehicles. His body was found by means of a rescue helicopter and only 300 meters from the vehicle. It would be unfair to speculate on what exactly had gone wrong, but I am confident (personal opinion only) that the heat was a great contributing factor as it did not look like the rider was involved in a fall/crash.
Let’s recap on some interesting things a lot of people might not have thought about:
If you incur an accident during summer and you are still in the desert any time after 10:00 a.m., the injured rider CANNOT sit nor lie down. The picture of the injured sitting in the limited shade was in March. If that was in July he would not have been sitting. A friend of mine got his leg broken inside his boot from a quad colliding with him. He had to remain seated on his bike as the sand was too hot for him to sit. This was far from ideal as you actually want the leg elevated to reduce pressure.
Any person that has ever gotten a bike or quad unstuck from soft sand will know how much physical energy is required to lift, pull, push or drag these bikes out. Even in winter I have seen riders needing a five minute break just to recover before they were capable to ride again. If the same effort is made whilst 45°C plus, and with full safety gear, it becomes a whole different ball game. Again I have seen riders that almost passed out and we had to wait a very long time before they were capable just to get back on the bike during summer riding.
Dehydration symptoms are often recognized too late and by the time a rider realizes he is dehydrated it is normally in an advanced stage.
All is not bad, and many riders ride in summer. I believe if you stick to some basic guidelines, and are of course, also passionate about your riding, even the summer can be enjoyed.
These are my personal guidelines that I impart to groups that I ride with during summer:
- All riders to have at least 2.2 litres (75oz) hydration packs.
- Drink as much water with rehydration supplements before you start riding.
- I do not wait for latecomers in summer. We meet at 5:00 a.m. and start the ride by 5:30 a.m. If you don’t make the time, join us on the next one.
- I try to ride only with experienced riders and a minimum of three riders.
- No ride more than 60km total for the day. If you go on longer (further) rides you get back too late and have no reserve time.
- We try to be back at the vehicles by 7:30 a.m. and the bikes loaded by 8:00 a.m. This gives us about two hours reserve in case something should go wrong.
- All riders must have GPS and mobiles.
- Do not get separated and do regular stops to ensure all riders are present. Brief new riders in the group as to your groups’ procedure if someone gets separated.
- Most important: Ride to enjoy and keep the kamikaze stuff for winter.
Ride Safe and Go For Gold,
If you happen to be seriously injured in an accident with another vehicle, contact Brasure Law Firm that provides assistance to injured car crash victims and their family members as they seek out compensation for their losses.
John Basson
Words By: John Basson
