DAY 6 - FOLLOW CHFD PARAMEDIC ON 2012 NATIONAL EMS MEMORIAL BIKE TOUR

Signs along the road remember EMS members from around the country who were lost in 2012..

Once again, CHFD Paramedic Dave Milsted, the A-Group Medical Services Officer, is participating in the National EMS Memorial Bike Ride.  This year's route will take Dave and nearly 100 other riders approximately 500 miles as they pedal from Boston, MA to Alexandria, VA over the course of 7 days.  The CHFD will post updates from Dave as he sends them in.  Here's Dave's recap from Day #6:

"Day 6 Road Apples...

Had to be ready to go by 6:45 am. What did we find? RAIN. It was not on any of the radar screens. Adam did sag out for the day & helped out with support. So we rode off into the rain. WOW, 10 minutes into the ride we hit a massive hill. It hurt, many had to walk. This was the first of 6 killer climbs for the day. We had a few more new riders join the group, they got a rude awakening.

The first rest stop was at mile 13 at the Wagontown FD. We were in Amish Country. One thing we had to avoid is what we call "road apples". Anyone have an idea? Horse manure. It is all over the bike lane. Anyone riding behind another ride was splattered by it. Welcome to Chester County PA. This rest stop had excellent fresh fruit.

Back on the road dodging road apples. We passed several horse & buggies. As we passed the sign for Intercourse PA everyone had to stop for a photo opp. After you exit Intercourse you enter Bird in Hand PA, another photo opp. The 2nd rest stop was along the highway. They tried to set up a stop every 10 to 12 miles today because of the heat & humidity. The sun is starting to break out.

Mile 49 was another stop at Susquehanna EMS. More hills, more pain, more heat! Many people were sagging out. Vehicles were filling up fast. The humidity was on the rise.

Lunch was at mile 56 at the Heliam Fire Department. They had Subway sandwiches for us. Water and Gatorade were at a premium. More hills. Bright sunny skies. More people dropping out.

At mile 64 was a stop at the Yoe Fire Department. Another wicked hill in this stretch. I would say at least 80% of the remaining riders had to walk up this hill. The grade was just to steep. I was one of the walkers. I need to get a mountain climbing gear for my bike.

At mile 75 we stopped at the Tri Community Ambulance Squad. They had chocolate. Here anyone averaging under 13 mph were being pulled from the course. We were behind schedule and could wait for everyone to arrive at the next stop. I continued on.

The hills were not to bad in this section. More of a rolling type were you could pick up speed on a down hill to coast half way up the next hill. The final rest stop was at Codordus Park, mile 87. Here we all regrouped and were bused just outside of Gettysburg. We rode 7 miles in parade format to the Gettysburg Fire Department for dinner.

After dinner there was a service & ceremony. A lot of Pensylvania big wigs in EMS were there and talked. The had a slide show of the fallen Muddy Angel, Lori Mayfield. When it was over we were then bused to our hotel in Gettysburg.

Today we traveled 94 miles, 7 hours on a bike, climbed 5900 feet and burned 6400 calories.

Tomorrow we will ride through the battlefields and end up in Alexandria VA. One more day, 108 miles... Weather is expected to be similar to today. I think there will be a lot of dehydration...

I will not be able to write day 7 tommorow night. I will combine day 7 & the Memorial Service from Saturday evening on Sunday sometime. I will post on Twitter and Facebook when we arrive in Alexandria. Wish us luck!!! I smell horse manure!!

Follow the ride on Facebook: Muddy Angels, Twitter: NEMSMBR or #2012NEMSMBR 

-- Dave Milsted" 

DAY 5 - FOLLOW CHFD PARAMEDIC ON NATIONAL EMS MEMORIAL BIKE RIDE

A honor guard greeting the riders at the Princeton Rescue Squad.

Once again, CHFD Paramedic Dave Milsted, the A-Group Medical Services Officer, is participating in the National EMS Memorial Bike Ride.  This year's route will take Dave and nearly 100 other riders approximately 500 miles as they pedal from Boston, MA to Alexandria, VA over the course of 7 days.  The CHFD will post updates from Dave as he sends them in.  Here's Dave's recap from Day #5:

"Day 5

Today Adam and I were joined by 4 riders from my perdiem medic job at Virtua Health. They also brought a vehicle to be a sag wagon. At 7am today we were bused to the Princeton Rescue Squad for a breakfast & service. Much to my surprise,my Chief and 2 fellow MSO's were there to greet Adam & I. It was nice to see some familiar faces. Princeton had a line of duty death last August. It was Michael Kenwood, the person I am riding for. After the service we were able to ride in touring format.

The 1st rest stop was at the Titusville Fire department 15 miles in to the ride. There awaited another surprise. My fire department (Cherry Hill Fire Dept) sent an ambulance, with several of my EMT's and the rehab unit. The rehab unit provided a well needed rest area and food & drinks. So hats off to the Cherry Hill Fire Department for making the hour drive and helping out the Muddy Angels!!

We crossed into Pennsylvania at Washington's Crossing. Its starting to get hot under the bright sunny skies. 34 miles in we had a rest stop at the Doylestown EMS. There are a lot of hills in PA. Adam was struggling with all of the hills, but he pushed on. We added several more riders from PA at this stop.

At mile 51 we regrouped to ride 2 miles to our lunch stop at the Second Alarmers. What a nice spread, sandwiches both with meat and vegetarian, Pasta & salads, brownies & CUP CAKES!! Good stuff. Several of us tried talking Adam in to sagging out for a leg. He is really having issues with the hills. We had him ok with it until he picked up his bike and rode off. Maybe he tries to hard when he rides with me, so I let him go on his own.

This next leg I rode with my friends from Virtua Health. More hills!! The temperature was steaming, humidity in the 80% + range and temps in the 80's. Several people becoming dehydrated. The final rest stop was at mile 71 in Valley Forge State Park. The local squad had 2 trailers that had air conditioning for us. When we got there Adam was not there, so he didn't sag out so he was on the course. I drank 4 bottles of water and spent time in the trailer. I started getting worried, then he came riding in. He completed this leg. Once again i tried to convince him to stop.

I hooked up for the last 13 miles with Tim Perkins, our public information officer. He had trouble last year so Adam & I pulled him along. This year he said he would make up for that so he did a lot of pulling today. 4 major back breaking, leg killing hills in this section. Everyone was wheezing. Several had to walk their bikes up the hills. Dark clouds approaching. Rain coming down. Finally the finish line at our hotel in Lionville PA. Then dad starts worrying again. Is Adam OK? Should I go back out and look for him? Then about 20 minutes after I arrived he rode in. Whew!! Then the skies opened up. Some major thunder storms came in after everyone was finished riding.

My Virtua friends had a blast. They want to ride more days next year. I will try to hold them to it!!

Adam is now nauseous, muscle cramps and spasms. He has now agreed he will not ride tomorrow. I hope he sticks to that in the morning.

Today we rode 85 miles, 6 hours on the bike, climbed 4500 feet, top speed of 41 mph, and burned close to 6000 calories.

Tomorrow we arrive in Gettysburg Pa. More hills!! Oh boy...

Follow the ride on Facebook: Muddy Angels, Twitter: NEMSMBR or #2012NEMSMBR 


- Dave Milsted"

DAY 4 - FOLLOW CHFD PARAMEDIC ON NATIONAL EMS MEMORIAL BIKE RIDE

Paramedic Milsted and the other riders prepare to start day #4

The riders are met in NYC by the FDNY EMS Pipe Band.

Once again, CHFD Paramedic Dave Milsted, the A-Group Medical Services Officer, is participating in the National EMS Memorial Bike Ride.  This year's route will take Dave and nearly 100 other riders approximately 500 miles as they pedal from Boston, MA to Alexandria, VA over the course of 7 days.  The CHFD will post updates from Dave as he sends them in.  Here's Dave's recap from Day #4:

"Day 4"

"The rain woke us up during the night. Not a good sign. We woke up to a lot of puddles. We started the ride at 8am. Overcast skies and a temperature in the 50's. Everyone debating whether to wear rain gear or not. I opted to wear it. I was overheating in 10 minutes. We were escorted by Nassau County Police to the border of NY City. There I took off the rain gear.

I was a ride marshal again today. If anyone broke down we had to send them to the sag wagon. They could try to fix their issue in a vehicle. We were on a strict time line. No exceptions today. A few people needed to be pushed up hills. There were about a dozen flat tires. No accidents or hospital trips today.

The NY City ride is always cool. We ride about 20 miles through different parts of the city. To get the NYPD to do this on a weekday doesn't happen for many organizations. We are very lucky. We even get to ride down Broadway and through Times Square. People taking pictures of us and clapping. Then we ride past Ground Zero. We end up at EMS Station 4 on the waterfront.

The boys from NYFD did it up this year. We had access to the 911 Memorial Park. It was a 35 minute walk from the fire station. The park is very nice. Security is tight. Its like going through airport security, empty all your pockets and walk through metal detectors. The pools are interesting.

Then it was back to the fire station for lunch. After lunch we were bused to the NYFD Marine Unit. We we give a ride on Marine Unit 1. One of the 2 new fire boats in the unit. They took us on a ride over to Staten Island. We went past the Statue of Liberty. Lots of pictures were taken by everyone. Back in 2008 we were treated to a ride on Marine Unit 6.

The rain held off today. We had some mist but we were all dry when the ride was done. Many believe it was Lori who was watching over us.

Then we were bused to Princeton. Dinner was in the hotel. I met up with my family and we went out for dinner. Adam has now joined us. He will be riding the next 3 days.

Today we rode 32 miles, 3 hours on the bike, climbed 1025 feet and burned 5200 calories. Fastest speed was 26 mph.

Tomorrow we travel to PA. Chance of thunder storms... Till tomorrow!!


Follow the ride on Facebook: Muddy Angels, Twitter: NEMSMBR or #2012NEMSMBR

- Dave Milsted

 

DAY 3 RIDE ALONG WITH CHFD PARAMEDIC ON THE NATIONAL EMS MEMORIAL BIKE RIDE

Paramedic Milsted (left) and another hold a tribute to another fallen EMS member during a stop in Long Island, NY.

Once again, CHFD Paramedic Dave Milsted, the A-Group Medical Services Officer, is participating in the National EMS Memorial Bike Ride.  This year's route will take Dave and nearly 100 other riders approximately 500 miles as they pedal from Boston, MA to Alexandria, VA over the course of 7 days.  The CHFD will post updates from Dave as he sends them in.  Here's Dave's recap from Day #3:

"Day 3

We woke up at 5 am to start watching the weather reports. All reports were bad. Next we were all checking our phones for up to date radar. More bad news. So we unpacked the rain gear. At day break the skies were cloudy, but dry.

We were ready to go at 8am. No rain but there was a thick mist. Within 2 miles of the start we had a rider go down. He got his wheels caught in a groove in the pavement and couldn't get out. He has a lot of "road rash" including on his face, but didn't need to got to the hospital. Then the rains came. Within 10 minutes everyone was soaked to the bone. Should I say we all became muddy?

Before the first rest stop there was another crash. This one required a call to 911. Another rider got their wheels caught in a grove in the roadway. When this happens most riders panic and try to turn their wheels, causing them to wipeout. If they would stay the course and ride the groove they would probably be ok. When the woman fell she was run over by another rider. 1 went to the hospital and one had bike damage and a bruised hip and had to stop riding. An ambulance came and we continued to ride.

Our first rest stop was 18 miles into the day at the Selden Fire Department. They had all the names of those we are riding for written on the apron in chalk. It was a quick water/snack and restroom stop. We were trying to beat the heavy rain.

The heavy rain found us during the next 11 mile stretch. Our next stop was the Smithtown Fire Department. Another quick stop to get warm and refill our water bottles. Not sure how much people were drinking because we were absorbing all of the rain.

Our third stop was lunch at the Northshore LIH Center. A nice spread of grilled hot dogs, burgers and chicken & potato salad. They provided us with a lot of towels. The Board was trying to make a decision, while we were eating, whether to ride or call it a day. After were we all warm and semi dry we found out the news that we were going to continue to ride to the next stop. Before we left the lady who was transported to the ER earlier came in to cheer us on. Nothing broken but a lot of road rash including on her face.

About a mile into the 8 mile ride I had a major mechanical failure on my bike. The rear derailleur, which controll the gears, sheared off. I was out of service. I felt a whole spectrum of emotions. From mad to depression. I had to sag out. I would not ride every mile this year. Where would I get the parts needed to fix my bike. I knew it would be expensive...

The last stop of the day was at the Eisenhower 911 Memorial. We had a small ceremony in the rain. I have yet to see this place in the sun, but I am sure it would be very nice. There is a reflecting pond and a piece of steel from the World Trade Center in a very large park.

Then it was off to our hotel about 3 miles away. I was searching for any bike shop near our hotel. Nothing within walking distance, not looking good. I then found out that one of the NY riders had arranged for a bike shop to be at our hotel tonight to do minor repairs and tuneups for the riders. I asked our president and bike mechanic what parts I needed. He said if I could get them he would attempt to have my bike ready by morning. I called the bike shop and they hadn't left yet. Guess what, they had the parts. Wahoo, but would they take a credit card on the road......... Yes!!! When they showed up they gave me a 25% discount and even better installed the parts, allowing our mechanic to work on other bikes. $200 bucks later it looks like I will get to ride through NY City tomorrow. I lost about 11 miles of the ride.

Everyday there are 3 ride marshals on the route. 2 of them are permanent, the other is chosen by the support group each day. They are strong riders that know the rules of the road and can help other riders up hill and do minor repair like fixing flats. You have to be able to use the Jedi Mind Trick to get some of the people struggling to sag out so we can our time line. I was chosen to do that today. We helped many people climb some hills today. Usually by riding next to a rider putting your hand on their back and push them up the hill. Its very rewarding.

Today we traveled 56 miles, 4 hours of ride time, max speed of 33 mph, climbed 1700 feet and burned 4200 calories.

Tomorrow is New York City..... Till tomorrow!!

Follow the ride on Facebook: Muddy Angels, Twitter: NEMSMBR or #2012NEMSMB"

Paramedic Milsted is riding in honor of EMT Michael S. Kenwood of the Princeton First Aid & Rescue Squad who was killed in the line of duty during Hurricane Irene.

A rider poses with a tribute to a fallen EMS member.