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Tenth Annual Blood Sweat and Gears
Sonny Sweet
"One hundred miles of pure hill with just enough pain" provides an appropriate description of the challenge
facing over 1200 riders in the tenth agonizing edition of Blood, Sweat and Gears in the beautiful mountains of Watauga County North Carolina.
Held in the heart of the High Country, the annual cycling challenge will be held on June 28, 2008. The ride benefits the local chapter of the American Red Cross and has been a popular event from its inception when the ride captured the League of American Bicyclists award for the "Most Challenging Ride" in America for 1996.
So beautiful are the roads in and around Watauga County, and the physical demands of numerous high mountains that the seven time Tour De France winner Lance Armstrong sings the praises for the are for cyclists.
"It's a great area for riding, very hilly, but I'd say it's the best area for training in the whole of the United States," Armstrong proclaimed in an interview by Cycle Sport Magazine.
The one hundred miles include over 13,000 feet of total climbing, but a 52-mile segment is also offered for those riders who prefer the sanity of a challenging but shorter route.
The 100 miles starts and finishes at the Valle Crucis Elementary School and begins at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday June 28. Tormenting climbs, treacherous descents and tantalizing flats follow. The route showcases the mountain communities of Watauga County with highlights including a 21 mile section of the Blue Ridge Parkway, a three mile "flat" along the historic New River, and a strenuous climb over the 4,500 foot gap at Snake Mountain.
The Blood, Sweat and Gears ride is a fully supported bicycle ride with six aide stations set up for refueling with water and carbs. A post ride meal is served as well. Showers and massages await all riders, who, once refreshed put on their Blood, Sweat and Gears t-shirts and return to their homes in over 27 states, Canada and Europe.
For additional information on the ride, contact Sonny Sweet at the Watauga County Chapter of the American Red
Cross at (828) 264-8226 or visit the ride's website at www.bloodsweatandgears.org . Area and lodging information
are also available at www.visitBooneNC.com.
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Compression Only CPR
Lynn Norwood
Compression only CPR has received a lot of media play over the last several days and while the intent has been great…..increase the number of lives potentially saved, what I'm discovering is that only part of the story is being told. Please take a few minutes and review the information below. It could literally be the difference between life and death.
Both the Red Cross and the American Heart Association hope that Compression Only CPR will save lives by encouraging untrained bystanders who witness the sudden collapse of an adult to get involved and have someone call 9-1-1 or the local emergency number and then start performing chest compressions until help arrives or the adult shows obvious signs of life (breathing and movement). However, full cycle CPR (which includes both compressions and ventilations) is still the PREFERRED method. And, there are circumstances where Compression Only CPR is NOT recommended. Those circumstances include but are not limited to:
1. CPR situations involving infants and children
2. CPR situations where the adult victim has been down for an unknown period of time, in other words, the collapse of the victim was NOT witnessed.
The only circumstances where Compression Only CPR is acknowledged as an acceptable alternative is when:
1. A responder is unwilling, unable, untrained or unsure how to perform full CPR
2. An untrained bystander has WITNESSED the sudden collapse of an adult.
For training purposes, the Red Cross will still offer only Full Cycle CPR only. Our main reason for this is that most individuals taking CPR classes are needing certification to meet State and Federal requirements. The only certified method is the full method. Anyone working with children or in an environment where they have a "duty to act" will still need to take training that includes full CPR cycles.
** The above information comes from information posted to the Health and Safety Services page of CrossNet for the American Red Cross. If anyone is interested in more information concerning this or any other CPR/First Aid issue, please feel free to contact me at the Red Cross office at 264-8226 or email me at americanredcr141@bellsouth.net.
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