OB

SimonAH

To be discussed.

SimonAH

Suggestions on what we could / should do for him in the light of today's horrible news.

essex-commuter

I'm in. Will get thinking.

Nice idea, well done.

davis

Thoughtful.
Does anyone actually know him personally? I don't know how he'd react to whatever we might do, as it's (got to be) an incredibly emotional time for him. I'm not saying "do nothing", just trying to be as sensitive as possible, and ultimately he (and his family) might want us to just leave him the hell alone. I hope that's not the case, but we have to allow for the fact that we're a bunch of people from teh interwebs, no matter how well-intentioned.

walkingbootweather

Could get him some parking sensors to warn him if he's about to run into stuff. Sorry a bit late for that and insensitive on my part. I don't know OB, or what his situation is, but he always came across as a sensible chap that I'd be happy to have a beer with. I imagine one of the worst things about an injury like this would be a sense of isolation, so anything that reduces that feeling might be good. I'd be happy to contribute towards something, but wouldn't want it to come across as patronising or pity. Let's not rush into anything.

mudcow007

very good thinking dude

im in

i will have a think....

keep me posted

(i didnt even know this side of the forum existed)

meanredspider

Great idea.

When my son was diagnosed with cancer, folk from a car forum (99% of whom I'd never met) rallied around and sent him £100 of iTunes vouchers and sent an Xmas card made up of all their invidually posted thoughts. It was fantastic and totally restored my faith in humanity.

Speaking for myself, just knowing people are out there rooting for you was really powerful.

From a more practical point of view, I agree with davis that we need to tread slightly carefully and make sure our efforts are well-directed. But I'm certain "in" whatever that looks like and however I can help

mrc1

Excellent idea and truly horrible news.

I'm in. I agree with walkingboot and Davis regarding treading carefully so lets not be rash. Depending on where we come out on what is appropriate I'll put it out there that I can offer something like putting him and his OH up for the TdF Pyrenees stages for free - but I'm not sure whether this would make things worse for him. The offer is out there though depending on what we decide.

We could do something as simple as arranging a beers?

EDIT: One thing that we did for a mate who broke his neck playing rugby years ago was put together a massive box of films, boxsets, books, CDs, computer games etc etc to keep him out of trouble and to avoid boredom setting in. Works best if you donate ones that you no longer use as that way we can easily fill a massive box without spending too much money. I have loads of stuff that I'd happily donate and I'm sure everyone else has so that could be a great option?

cjcp

Good idea. Am in, and +1 to the comments on the need to be sensitive.

asprilla

I'm in. Must admit the first thing I did was look at the ha nd cycling assoc and the taster days they offer. It's probably too early for that though.

veronese68

I'm in, agree with all of the above.
We need to find out if anyone knows him in real life to be guided by them. Could RC or one of the mods tell by looking at figures for who had the most interaction with him statistically? Or should some one ask him by pm if there's anything we can do for him as we'd like to help. I'd be more than happy to give time rather than money if necessary. If things need converting that are feasible for us to do we could try that. Might be more use than buying something. I realise this would be more of an issue for MRS and those further away from the South East.
I was feeling a bit sorry for myself this morning as my hand still hurts and I tried riding a flat bar bike and can't even manage thet. Talk about getting a bit of perspective. I've had serious words with myself to MTFU.

rubertoe

I'm in,

I dont know him. But sensitivity at this time is very important, as I am sure its very raw. I am sure Ben6899 went out for a few rides with him so may worth trying to get hold of him.

Like the idea of a DVD/games gift box.

greg66_tri_v2.0

I'm in. Whatever is thought the best way to go about this, I'm in.

davis

Veronese68 wrote:

I'd be more than happy to give time rather than money if necessary.

Although we've yet to come up with any suggestions (no reflection on anyone; it's not a simple suggestion), ^^^^THIS^^^^

nicklouse

Veronese68 wrote:

Could RC or one of the mods tell by looking at figures for who had the most interaction with him statistically?

not possible and Who?

walkingbootweather

Sorry nick, this wouldn't have been evident to anyone that hadn't had the heads-up from Simon.

Look at viewtopic.php?f=40012&t=12889799 to fill in the details.

cyclingprop

In.

rjsterry

Happy to help in whatever way I can. There's probably room for something more immediate - like MRS described, for example - as well as something more long term, which I think should be done in consultation with OB. He'll know what he needs better than we do.

ToeKnee

Great idea ... I'm in.

Koncordski

I have literally no idea what the right thing to do is. I've had friends die but that's a shock and then it's all about supporting the family. I've never had to work out what to say to someone who's entire life just got turned inside out and drop kicked in the balls. I'm definitely in for starting a fund or whatnot, don't think there's any way that we can decide yet what is required. Anybody that knows him (rode with him,raced etc.) drop a pm saying that obviously people are very concerned, what would you help you the most right now?

He's reached out to the forum which is a big start so the least we can do is ask him what he needs most? We all do the same thing everyday as he did, it made my blood run cold because for all our flippancy and general dicking around this could easily have been any of us.

So my point after all this rambling is that we all agree to do something (LEJOG in 2013?) as a way of showing that we care about what happens to us even though we're a bunch of strangers on teh interweb. And a secondary reason helping to raise money for him to go on holiday, help with converting stuff etc.

He may not want charity right now as he's probably already feeling mega-down but the fact that he contacted us might mean that given a bit of time he'd appreciate the gesture. We're a loose collective of people but 90% believe very passionately in what we do every day and would want others to help when we needed it. IMHO, YMMV etc.

FoldingJoe

100% in.

Never met OB, but PM'd him a few times on route suggestions to Tunbrdige Wells when cycling down to there from London.

Comes across and a thoroughly nice and genuine bloke.

My overriding emotion is of shock, but I am also curious as to how it happened. Somebody could be to blame for this, in which case, surely, somebody should be finding out\investigating?

davis

The only thing that springs to mind for a "first off" is something that makes communication easier.

I was essentially immobilized below the chest [details don't matter here], albeit only for a few weeks (fortunately!), and one thing that made a tangible difference was a screen suspended over my bed that my dad built. It meant I could talk via t'internet to people, watch TV if I wanted, and even work. It relieved some of the crushing, crushing tedium.

So, something that makes communication easier, and extends your horizon to beyond the ceiling tiles in your hospital bed. That would be my vote for a first off, and I do like the idea of something later on, possibly an organized volunteer/charity thing, like the LeJOG or whatever.

Edit: I suppose I'm assuming he doesn't have something like this already. I might be suggestion a solution to a non-existent problem.

UndercoverElephant

I'm in - it's a good idea to do something.

Stevo_666

I'd be happy to help if I can.

Just a bit stuck for ideas - my first thought which I mentioned to Simon was a whip round for an 'Alex Zanardi' type hand bike, but it might be a bit early to know whether that would be the right thing or what else would help the most. Like has been said above, it would be good to get a steer from OB himself.

cornerblock

Count me in too. I do understand the need to be sensitive here, but may it not be best to just ask what we can do (if anything) that will be helpful at this time. There may be some very practical help needed that we are not aware of.

Nice one Simon.

spasypaddy

in if i can help

the_fuggler

I'm in - I will drop my friend Emily a line to see what she suggests about those early days and whether there is anything we can do to help directly now or whether it is better to wait while OB begins to come to terms with the future.

paulg99

I'm in.

I think that definately this should be a two pronged approach. A gesture here and now such what mrc1 suggested, a "gift box" that will just let home know that we are thinking of him, and then something a little longer term when we all know, including OB, what he needs.

If we can locate somebody that knows him personally, then we will be better placed to decide what to do. Keeping communication going with OB will, I'm sure, be the most important help we can give.

SimonAH, thank you.

Headhuunter

I should think he'd be happy to hear from us... In whatever we decide to do, he wouldn't have posted on the forum if he'd wanted to hole up and get away from everyone.... I think Ben did go out on a ride or 2 with him back in July or August, I met Ben in Aug but have never met OB. Was Ben included in the original message by SimonAH?

meanredspider

Maybe at this point, some form of collective message of support and pledge to help would be a good thing? Knowing that there's a small army of people rooting for you & willing to help (whether you accept that help or not) would, I think, be very powerful. I know that this really helped me through some of our darkest moments.

A fundraising idea that occured to me would be an eBay sale of some of those bike bits (or entire bikes) that many of us hoard - knowing that, as been said (and thought) before "There but for the grace of god...". Regardless of what we do to help, funds will be useful.

Finally, despite my remote location, I'm up for helping in person too.

paulg99

I'm pretty sure I can find out OB's name and address if we need to send something.

If it is deemed useful, let me know and I will get to work on it.