A left turn and a leap of faith

[Gone in 60]

That’s pretty cool Cormanus. Looks like the volunteers use their own bikes. Think you’ll do it?

[Cormanus]

I'll certainly think about it, Gone. I'm no longer all that keen on riding in traffic, but it still looks like a good thing to do.

[Cormanus]

So, I've taken the plunge. Yesterday I volunteered with Blood Bikes Australia, completed an online blood handling course and ordered the required hi-vis vest. I need to acquire a box to replace my top box which is not large enough for some of the orders. That's an easy fix with an inexpensive box from the local hardware store.

Next step will be an induction run.

[rdprdp01]

All my heroes across the Forum are stepping up, riding more, doing good deeds, and living life to the fullest. I definitely need to raise my game a few levels.

We are very proud of you, Cormanus. You will make your part of the world a better place. If I recall correctly from my Melbourne Pub Days, I should recognize your post properly by stating “Bewdy!”

I hope that saying does not just apply to buying pints for the lads.

[Offroad]

I've had the tethered Helite vest for several years...had it deploy twice on 0 mph drops...it does work great...just unclip to get out of it...takes a few minutes for it to self deflate...if you're on your back you are like a turtle...so uncliping is required to get up...Lol.
It takes 40lbs tension to deploy it...so it will "remind" you if you forget to unclip without the CO2 going off.
It is hard to remember to clip it...make part of your routine...trying to clip after your moving can be done but sometimes challenging.
I've wrestled the big brother to the RT since 2018 on my K1600GT...handles like a dream above 5 mph...only thing I've read about lane splitting is just remember if your mirrors fit, so does the rest of the bike.
You just need some lights and maybe a siren to be complete. ;-)
Also wondered, is blood spelled backwards like ambulance?

[rdprdp01]

Thanks for the posts on Helite's vest. I am wearing Tech-Air Vests but have been very tempted to also include tethered vests in my gear. Although I like what I own now, the simplicity of a tethered vest sans batteries and firmware updates has some appeal. Welcome to the Forum. Please make it your home, and if you have a motorcycle, we would love to see a picture and learn more about it. David

[Cormanus]

Ah, a good prompt for me to add Offroad's history.

[Gone in 60]

Good on you, Cormanus! That's fantastic. You'll have to keep us updated on your adventure. The fact that you're doing it as a volunteer is very admirable. I'm not being paid much, but I am being paid. I'm calling it my Mental Retirement.

No adventure for me today... and that turned out to be a good thing. I picked up a chest bug a few days ago and haven't been getting much rest. Comes from growing up in the '70s in L.A. Might as well have been a smoker as a child, and I I'm still prone to the occasional lung cookies. So, a day with no riding, just doing my thing in the garage turned out to be just what I needed, especially as I'm heading out at zero-dark-thirty to meet up with Mrs. G in Seattle for the next few days. She's been up there training new members of her team working at a hospital there, and I'm taking the next few days off to take in the city and catching up with her for the weekend.

Lots of deliveries are good for business, but keeping #5 on the road has kept me from finishing her full conversion. So far, I had put the front-facing yellow/white strobes and yellow windshield decals on to break up the "cop bike" look and for the "please make room" advantage from the lights. I spent the day working on everything else - the full decal livery, rear brake strobe, horn (decommissioned police bikes don't have one, as the horn function was part of the now-removed siren speaker), battery tender lead, LED headlight bulbs and camera mounts. That makes five fully liveried and outfitted bikes in our fleet. Curiously, while the decal kit for #5 included the decals for our licenses, they managed to forget the company logos, so those will have to be added whenever they arrive.

Offroad, interesting comment about "Blood" being spelled backward on the windshield. It isn't in the kits that are made in England - at least the kits we purchase, and just yesterday as I was meeting up with a friend for dinner and happened to pull up behind him at a traffic light, he commented "Don't you think "blood" should be spelled backwards on the front?" I really don't know how effective it would be - he was studying my bike knowing I'm working on it, but having ridden with one of our new recruits behind me and imagining the average driver glancing in a side mirror, the impact of all that yellow in the mirror makes a 10" word in red on the windshield a very minor part of the whole visual. 

As for the Helite vest, I mentioned in another thread about blowing mine when I dropped one of our bikes in the boss' driveway. Very effective, and easy to deflate and recharge with a new C02 cylinder. I hope a driveway drop is the only experience I have inflating it. I found a tailor who can skillfully sew our company patches on the fronts of them in a non-essential area, so they're part of the uniform. 

And as for the BMW RTP, yes, if the mirrors fit, the rest of the bike will, even the wide crash bars. However, spending the better part of any given day lane-splitting on this beast, if I'm concerned about mirror clearance between two cars, it's too narrow a gap to even consider in the first place.

[Tev62]

 Two weeks from now I will be piloting a 2016 former Santa Monica Police BMW RTP painted up like a European emergency response bike in day-glow yellow with the word BLOOD on the windshield. I’m about to do hours of HIPAA and OSHA medical material handling and chain of custody training.

I’ll be the first full time staff rider.
The plan is that as the company grows we’ll take on more bikes and riders and I’ll vet and train the riders and manage the fleet. 

Or it will crash and burn, I’ll have a cool story to tell, and I’ll be looking for a job. But there is no way on earth I’m  going to let the opportunity slip by.

MOTO-Med.com

Congratulation GIN60, I take my hat off to you with a new adventure. This is a very big thing here in Ireland (and the UK) but it is a charitable organisation. All Blood Bikers give their time for free and there are a certain amount of bikes liveried up like this which the charity pays for rather than using your own bike. Only about 10% of the deliveries are actually blood these days. It can be anything medical now, e.g. specialist breast milk, an emergency drug and such like.

Riders here MUST be certified as Advanced Riders and have a ROSPA or IAMS Gold level certificate. Pass is Gold, Silver or Bronze, only Gold will do and you have to recertify every three years. I have been a ROSPA Instructor for many years (ROSPA is also a charity) and have trained up many a Blood Biker.

[Gone in 60]

My boss is from Ireland, and seeing blood bikes frequently inspired him to replicate the practice here. Other than medical certifications the rider qualifications are the careful scrutiny of the boss and now me as well, observing potential riders in heavy traffic situations for safety and confidence, as well as familiarity with the area. Not everyone is cut out for it, either due to the hazards and complexity of the riding landscape here, the very long miles or proficiency with the apps or ability to pick up the process. 

More than just riding, confident and professional presentation to our clients and the ability to maintain strict chain of custody are essential.