Monster Fun at Maggies...

Maggies Monster Bike 'n' Hike.
Maggies, because its raising funds for the cancer charity.
Monster, because of it's glorious location around the banks of Loch Ness, I imagine.
And bike 'n' hike? Well, that's self explanitory. But when words like 'bike' and 'hike' are in the title of the event, you can be sure that there will be plenty of blisters coming your way.


Yet for the crew who came on duty at two o'clock, it started with silence. Seriously, tumbleweed should have been blowing through the first aid pit stop at Drumnadrochit; apart from marshals and first aiders, there was no one.

I think, apart from the occasional speedy person who arrived there exceptionally early, this significant lack of casualties continued on til early evening, when finally, after a lot of waiting around, killing time and eating chips, the first wave of injured cyclists/hikers trudged wearily in through our doors.

For such a large event, there's very little to say in the way of casualties. Injuries went as follows:
blisters, blisters, blisters, graze, blisters, sore knees, blisters, blisters, blisters, and so on - you get the idea.
Of course, with blisters there comes a different, yet very simple, sort of treatment. You pick up a needle (sterilised, of course) aim for a squidgy bit with loads of liquid, and give it a poke.
You can imagine what the outcome is.
Couple this with cheesy feet, and maybe you need quite a strong stomach for events like these.
Anyway, these kind of incidents came in waves - not in a steady stream of casualties, oh no - it was mega hectic moment, followed by a calming lul to prepare you for the next rush of blister-popping, ice pack-scrunching, bandage-wrapping, nose-holding scenarios that were suddenly about to unfold upon you.

I'm not really complaining, it was actually good fun that way. Made time fly anyway, and you know how it goes; time flies when you're having fun.

So, for me, the night was fun.

Especially as I got a shot on the quadbike with Steve :)

So, in total, I think those of us who were nuts enough to stay beyond the end of shift at 10pm on Saturday night, endured a rough and busy 16 hours worth of duty, by finally finishing at 5am on Sunday morning.
That was the longest duty I think I've ever done, but despite my sleep deprivation, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

And besides, I was able to grab a nap on a stretcher in the back of the ambo on the way home, alongside Graeme who almost collapsed onto the trolley bed on entering Red Echo 6.
Bless him.

What a weekend - blister bursting, eating breakfast at 3.30 in the morning, hijacking quadbikes and participating on non-existent shouts in the middle of a dark wood on top of a hill. Totalling to 16 hours. Call me mad, but I love it =P