POOR WEATHER CONTINGENCY 

 South America and the Andes especially are known for its varied weather conditions. Please be prepared for the varying weather conditions and temperatures ranging from hot to cold on the mountain pass. The terrain and altitudes along the route will also have an effect of the temperature. 

It is summer in South America when we are cycling across the continent. The temperatures can reach 350C at the peak of the day. We will advise of the temperature on a day-to-day basis, we will adapt pit stop locations and add in water stops where needed. Consider the clothes you are wearing, how you are going to carry enough water and take on the correct amount of salt and electrolytes to stay hydrated, keep your pace steady in the heat and prevent sunburn. 

South America is also known to be windy. Sometimes this is in your favour, at other points this can be a relentless headwind.  

The event will proceed in many conditions, but if it is deemed unsafe to continue due to weather conditions, the event will be halted at the current accommodation location. If required, we will await more favourable conditions to re-commence. This may result in some stages being cut short in order to achieve daily mileages within the time available. 

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In all cases, the decision of the Event team is final in these matters. We will monitor weather throughout and rest assured that any decision we do make in this regard is only ever made with the safety of event participants at its core. 

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EVACUATION PLANNING 

You have already been made aware that this is a serious undertaking in very remote terrain. We have vehicles in support. Whilst helicopter evacuation is possible for the most serious of matters, it is not always a-given that a helicopter can fly (night, weather, wind, lack of landing spot or winch capability). You need to be fully aware therefore that an evacuation from the event is an extremely serious undertaking, you may be hours away from a suitable hospital facility. In the event that such an undertaking is deemed to be required, it may be that YOU become part of the safety system. We will reserve the right at all times to call upon members of the Event, alongside crew, to assist in any evacuation activity whatsoever required in order to remedy the situation as quickly and decisively as possible. This may involve diverting off the route, assisting with casualty-bearing and load-carrying, or other duties.  

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You should also know that, in the event that a helicopter cannot access a casualty’s location, the evacuation time at certain parts of the course could be considerable. It is important that we state unequivocally that we cannot remove all risk from such an undertaking nor would we state such. You are entering an area where the remoteness of the undertaking and the slowness of possible evacuation could result in Death.  

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Mitigation of such scenarios is our number one priority. Your ability to reduce the risk posed by trauma is key: Taking your time, particularly on bikes, descending rough ground in a carefully controlled manner is all part of this mitigation against injury. You must take your time, undertake each event phase very much with a clear understanding of the environment you are in and come to the table with a team mentality on this one. That way, we will stay safe and we will mitigate and reduce the risks outlined above. 

GENERAL SAFETY AROUND VEHICLES 

This event takes place on open roads. The traffic can be very heavy you will be cycling on dual carriageways for considerable periods of time, these dual carriage ways have hard shoulders but it must be understood that the surrounding traffic could be lorries and wagons to cars and motorbikes.   At other points along the route traffic can be extremely light. Vigilance must be taken at all times. Ride responsibly and appropriately to the road conditions. You will be advised daily about the following days road conditions and the best formations to ride.  

LITTER  

We want to show that this event has exemplary control of littering. Please help us achieve that. Pack your litter into your pack, pockets, or nearby bin bag (trash sack) at a vehicle. No exceptions. South America is a pristine wilderness environment, and our absolute commitment is to keep it that way. 

EMERGENCY PROTOCOL  

In the event of a true emergency or serious incident you will be notified of protocols at the orientation on registration day. Most notably if you are with an injured party whilst on the route, stay with the casualty and await assistance. In the event of a non-emergency incident but for which action is requested from the organisers, then you should place a call (we will give you numbers) or if no phone reception, you should send a message forward to the next Pit Stop with another participant if possible and/or await an event crew member approaching via vehicle from behind. This might be medical, logistical or kit/ equipment breakdown as examples. We politely ask that you stop and help someone that is in difficulty – you will be the first person to find them – remember to take note of time, place (number of km, or minutes/ hours from last Pit Stop) and participant number/ name at the incident site. Remember we are all in it together and we are in effect one big team. 

MUSIC PLAYERS  

While these are allowed, we do not advise them whilst riding, if you do use them, please control their volume according to your environment. Use your judgment at all times when listening to music or audiobooks. Please also be aware that if you cannot hear general voice levels you might miss instructions or warnings from crew, other participants or approaching vehicles. We suggest that you run the leads behind you so that persons or vehicles approaching from behind might be able to see that you are wired for sound. 

EVENT BIB 

Ensure your Bib is attached to some of your clothing. We know you will be layering on and off a fair amount, so we will give you 2 bibs. We will also give you a bike number to attach to your steed.