Have you ever considered carrying an Epirb?

Comment by John Knight on February 8, 2012 at 7:46pm

Where my avatar piccy was shot was about 1/2 way up the old mining road between Mungo Brush and Seal Rocks.
I was on my own, no phone signal and nobody around for 20 or 30 km. I stopped, sat down, picked a tick off and thought "If something nasty happened here, or even a stick through my spokes, I'd be getting pretty lonely here".
Do you already leave info on your intended whereabouts and when you are coming home with anybody?
I think personal EPIRBs are around $400. Dunno about registration fees, annual charges etc etc.

Comment by timothy.clifford on February 8, 2012 at 7:50pm

Great idea if you are riding on your own. I did think about a couple of years ago when I moved to Sydney with my MTB. I was starting to ride in the Royal NP on my own and had no idea were I was going. 

Comment by kirby on February 9, 2012 at 7:07am

www.epirbhire.com.au You can rent them.

I think they're a great idea.

Comment by Dabba on February 9, 2012 at 9:26am

On my last few bike tours, following a fall where I did some rib damage, I've taken to hiring a PLB for my tour from these people.  Some of the country that I travel through can be a bit quiet, and this fall did show how quickly something can happen that could have had much more severe implications.  My usual goal is to be away bike touring for a month in autumn and another month in spring, so the consideration of purchasing one doesn't make it worthwhile.  I figure that by hiring one, I always get something that's reasonably current technology and I don't need to undertake any maintenance on it myself.

Comment by MadameBike on February 9, 2012 at 9:50am

When we travelled in remote areas of Australia we had both an EPIRB and a Sat phone.  We still carry an EPIRB if bushwalking or MTB riding in remote areas without vehicular access.

 

However, my understanding is that the EPIRB will take valuable Emergency Services resources to locate and rescue you, whereas if you only have broken spokes on a fire trail a Sat Phone to arrange for a friend to collect you would be a better idea...... You can hire sat phones from the Police as far as I understand, though we bought ours (and had to use it when a stick went through a friend's radiator between Tunnel Creek and Fitzroy Crossing (WA) and they could not go on.

Comment by back street boy on February 10, 2012 at 7:29am

I have carried one on many ocasions for work, but also had a sat phone and radio. Epirbs are for marine applications so best to use a plb. They are pretty light weight these days so are a good idea in remote areas. If you are going solo one limitation is you need to conscious to activate them. As MB stated they are only for use in life threatening situations. Sat phones offer a lot more flexibility if you want to change your itinery or just get some non urgent assistance. If you do get a plb pay the little bit extra to get a gps enabled one, as they will find you quicker.

Comment by Warren Hudson on March 8, 2012 at 12:37pm

I choose not to have a PLB. I have a NextG phone with a high gain antenna and patch lead. I purchase a timed plan for the duration that I'm away touring off road. During this last year the coverage has become huge.

Talking of PLBs. You must make sure that you signal is set to the region that will be sending the troops to look for you. Recently in NZ an Australian cyclist fired-off a PLB which was set to WSG84 ... the guys looking for him would not have been able to find him they were miles away. Secondly, the searchers took 3-4 hours to get going by that time the life threatening issue was negated by a simple phone call. Quite some time was then spent trying to locate the searchers to notify them that it wasn't a life threatening issue they were responding to.

PLBs should not be fired-off unless it is a MAYDAY/SOS situation and there is no other option to save life. Not fired off because it is convenient or the easy option. If you fire off a PLB and the situation isn't of a MAYDAY/SOS but a PAN situation (stand by help could be needed if all else fails) it wont go down well.

The kids that were too tired to walk out of Kosciuszko and fired off the PLB, just recently, the cops did not take kindly to them having only tired legs. Choppers aren't cheap.

Warren.

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