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September
2010
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Street
Eagle Rentals
Discounts for RG members!
Log in to the Members area and
select the Discounts tab to learn
more.
More
information about ASMI
Click
here for the class schedule
Click
here to find an instructor near you
First Regional Biker's Betterment
Conference!
BBC Southeast will be held
Saturday, November 13th at Smokin'
Harley Davidson in Winston-Salem,
North Carolina!
More information
by clicking the banner above!
Featuring topics
on motorcycle safety and more!
Expanding your concept of motorcycle
safety and giving you things
to consider during those upcoming
winter months.
Join us by registering
at www.roadguardians.org/bbc.php
Top
 A
word from the Director
by Vicki Sanfelipo
Who
Cares??
I do.
If you’ve been
riding as long as I have you’ve
lost some friends and when you hear
why they are no longer with us you
often wonder if that wasn’t
preventable. People want to believe
that there was nothing anyone could
do but really, is that true??? I was
talking to someone recently who was
telling me about a crash where there
was only one person at the scene who
“knew what to do”, then
proceeded to tell me how the person
responded (wrong). Without proper
training have we really done all that
we can do for ourselves or for each
other?
I was recently at a
State Motorcycle Safety Administrators
Conference in Ohio and had the privilege
of meeting many people who are trying
to reduce injuries and fatalities
to motorcyclists. I met a man who
showed me a website called Live
Free Ride Alive. The website uses
the results of a study that was recently
completed in Pennsylvania to create
a
“Safety Risk” assessment
tool to determine your risk and
learn more about what you can do to
minimize the chance that a crash could
occur. Well done PA!!! Of course if
a crash does occur there is plenty
you can do about that as well. Go
to www.accidentscene.org/instructors
to find an instructor or look for
a class. Become a Life Long Learner!
Never be satisfied with your current
knowledge base. I challenge everyone
to consider what they can do to become
a “Better Biker”! I have
set up a blog on my Facebook in the
notes section.
Check it out!
Website Features
by Andrea Lyman
One of the most important things
that we want to provide is the most
useful resource area available on
the web, specifically for the biker
community. Our main areas are: Safety,
Legal, Events, News and Biker-Owned
Businesses. These resources can be
searched by our map tool, by browsing
categories, and by keyword.
At this time we are working on categorizing
businesses and adding to the Events.
By all means, use the Recommend form
located at the top of each page to
add anything we may have missed. We
hand review every listing to ensure
relevance before we approve it, so
there may be a slight delay while
either Vicki or Andi check it over
and approve. This is a free resource.
Don't be shy! And if you have questions,
ask
me. That's what I'm here for!
Recently it came to our attention
that the site appears differently
on Smartphones as well as iPads. The
Road Guardians site uses Flash in
several areas, including the interactive
maps. Please note that the browse
and search functions in the upper
right corner of the page still work
just fine.
Top
Street
Eagle Rentals
How to
Ride Route 66 in a Week (or less)
for Cheap
 If
you are anything like me, you
have a “bucket list”
of dream rides that you plan on
taking before you die “come
hell or high water” and
doin’ the Mother Road is
high on the list.
The challenge to checkin’
this ride off the bucket list
is that few of us have the time
(or $$$) to do the whole round-trip
boogie. So here is how some of
my fellow riders have been pulling
it off in a week or less for a
fraction of the real cost …
It is what we call “Street
Eagle Special Deals” and
this is how it works…We
have lots of well-maintained late
model Harley-Davidson Electra
Glide and Softtail model motorcycles
sitting in Chicago and Milwaukee
that will need to find their way
Westward in October/November as
the weather in the Midwest turns
cold.
Here is where the opportunity
comes in….
Fly into Chicago or Milwaukee
and pickup one of these bikes
and ride it back to Las Vegas
or Phoenix and you can save big
$$ bucks! You will get a highly
discounted daily rental rate ($69-89
per day) plus pay no one-way fee
(usually $550). Go to our website
to find the latest Street Eagle
One-Way Deals, choose the number
of days you want to take for your
dream ride and reserve your ride
dates.
Riding Route 66…the Mother
Road is the most popular motorcycle
ride in the USA…and for
good reason! Checkout these deals
at www.Streeteagle.com
and find out how easy it is to
take “the ride of a lifetime”.
Keep the Shiny Side Up!
Milwaukee Mike
Top
Featured
Member: Mark Konopka
My name is Mark
Konopka and I'm a Certified Road
Guardian and Safety Director for
the BMW Motorcycle Club of Colorado.
I became aware of your program
while looking for safety training
related to motorcycling this past
winter. Having been on more than
one motorcycle accident scene
in my 37 yrs of riding I felt
the ASMI training would be a great
asset to the club and to the motorcycling
community in general. I found
a class with T3RG and 18 members
took the Basic class and another
8 went on to take the Advanced
class. With membership over 300,
my goal is to have at least one
ASMI trained member on every group
ride. The training has already
been used on two occasions, both
minor.
Thank you for this
great program and I look forward
to getting more people trained
this coming year.
Top
The Educated Biker
by Trauma Mama
Now That’s
Using your Noggin!
Let’s start addressing different
types of injuries. The best way to
keep organization as well as keep
you coming back for more is to address
injuries in a head to toe matter.
Let’s start with the head!
Head injuries fall can fall into
two categories: external (usually
scalp) injuries and internal head
injuries, which may involve the skull,
the blood vessels within the skull,
or the brain. Most falls or blows
to the head result in injury to the
scalp only, which is usually more
frightening than threatening. An internal
head injury could have more serious
implications because the skull serves
as the protective helmet for the delicate
brain.
External (Scalp) Injury:
The scalp is rich with blood vessels,
so even a minor cut there can bleed
profusely. This can be controlled
by using general bleeding management,
direct pressure and gauze. The "goose
egg" or swelling that may appear
after a head blow is the result of
the scalp's veins leaking fluid or
blood into and under the scalp. It
may take days or even weeks to disappear.
What to look for and what
to do:
If the person has lost consciousness,
even momentarily or has symptoms or
complains of head and neck pain, isn't
walking normally, call 911. Apply
an ice pack or instant cold pack to
the injured area for 20 minutes. If
you use ice, always wrap it in a washcloth
or sock; ice applied directly to bare
skin can cause frostbite. This person
should be observed carefully for the
next 24 hours. If you notice any of
the signs of internal injury (see
below), call your doctor immediately.
If the incident has occurred and the
person falls asleep soon afterward,
check in every few hours to look for
twitching limbs or disturbances in
color or breathing. If color and breathing
are normal, and you observe or sense
no other abnormalities, let them sleep
(unless the doctor has advised otherwise).
There's no need to keep a person awake
after a head injury.
If color and/or breathing are abnormal,
or if you aren't comfortable with
the person’s appearance (trust
your instincts), rouse them partially
by sitting him or her up. They may
move a bit and attempt to resettle.
If he or she doesn't protest, try
to awaken them fully. If they can't
be awakened or shows any signs of
internal injury, call an ambulance.
Suspected Internal Injury
The brain is cushioned by cerebrospinal
fluid, but a severe blow to the head
may knock the brain into the side
of the skull or tear blood vessels.
Any internal head injury, fractured
skull, torn blood vessels, or damage
to the brain itself can be serious
and possibly life threatening. Different
levels of injury require different
levels of concern. It can be difficult
to determine the level of injury,
so it's always wise to discuss a head
injury with your doctor. A clear indicator
of a more serious injury is when a
person looses consciousness or has
signs of confusion.
What to Look for and What
to Do
Call an ambulance if they show any
of these symptoms: unconsciousness,
abnormal breathing, obvious serious
wound or fracture, bleeding or clear
fluid from the nose, ear, or mouth,
disturbance of speech or vision, pupils
of unequal size, weakness or paralysis,
dizziness, neck pain or stiffness,
seizure, vomiting more than two to
three times, loss of bladder or bowel
control.
If the person is unconscious:
Do not try to move them if you do
not have to in case there is a neck
or spine injury. Maintain cervical
spine immobilization. Call for help.
If you've been trained in CPR, follow
the recommendations if they're appropriate.
Turn a person who is vomiting or having
a seizure onto his or her side while
trying to keep the head and neck straight.
This will help prevent choking and
provide protection in case of neck
and spine injury. If there's swelling,
apply an ice pack or cold pack.
If they are conscious:
Do your best to keep them calm and
still. If there's bleeding, apply
a sterile bandage. Do not attempt
to cleanse the wound, which may aggravate
bleeding and/or cause serious complications
if the skull is fractured. Do not
apply direct pressure to the wound
if you suspect the skull is fractured.
Do not remove any object that's stuck
in the wound.
Concussions
Concussions are also a type of internal
head injury. A concussion is the temporary
loss of normal brain function due
to an injury. Repeated concussions
can result in permanent injury to
the brain. However, it's possible
to get a concussion that's mild and
just requires observation.
If someone sustains an injury to
the head, watch for these signs of
a possible concussion: “seeing
stars" and feeling dazed, dizzy,
or lightheaded, memory loss, such
as trouble remembering what happened
right before and after the injury,
nausea or vomiting, headaches, blurred
vision and sensitivity to light, slurred
speech or saying things that don't
make sense, difficulty concentrating,
thinking, or making decisions, difficulty
with coordination or balance, feeling
anxious or irritable for no apparent
reason, feeling overly tired. If you
suspect a concussion, encourage this
person to get checked out at the ER.
It’s always better to be safe
than sorry.
Until next time, ride safe and use
your noggin!
Teresa “Trauma Mama” McClelland
RN, TNS, ASMI Instructor Trainer
Top
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