Re: RC: NO dogs at Limestone Challange

[BMcCrary27@aol.com]

<< I'll be interested to see how many dogs you end up with in camp.  I 
attended
 > a ride a few weeks ago where the entry very clearly stated "absolutely no
 > dogs...leave your dogs at home!"  Even though I was driving 6 hours alone 
to
 > the ride, I left my dogs at home.  I really enjoy having them with me when
 > I'm travelling alone and for some odd reason they do make me feel safer and
 > help to keep me awake on that long drive home after riding 50 miles (the 
Jack
 > Russel sure can tell a good joke :).  When I arrived at camp there were 
five
 > or six dogs romping around and to make it worse, they weren't even on
 > leashes.   The unfairness of it just made me mad.  I'd love to see ride
 > managers (as though you don't have enough to do, eh?) enforce the "no dog"
 > thing when it is stated on the entry -- deny entry to people who can't even
 > follow that simple of an instruction.  This is a pet peeve of mine -- 
people
 > who think the rules just aren't intended for them. >>

This is one of the ongoing challenges to ride managers.  There are very good 
reasons why some ride managers do not want dogs or cannot have them in a ride 
camp:  Park rules or personal requirements are among those.  And other riders 
are not always as enthralled with YOUR dogs are you are, just as they are not 
always enthralled with YOUR children.  I must express gratitude to our riders 
and guests at Castle Rock just this last weekend.  The dog situation was 
pretty much quiet.  In the past we've had all sorts of trouble caused by dogs 
and their owners' attitudes.  We began banning dogs, but there are always 
those who will not listen, do not follow the camp policies, and bring dogs 
who run loose, bark all night, etc.  This year we offered a compromise: dogs 
were allowed and a special area was designated for camping with dogs, an area 
that was a bit farther away from the main central section of camp where the 
food was served and the vetting was conducted.  We reuired dogs to be 
confined in a trailer or motor home during the event, dogs were not allowed 
in the main camp or at the start-finish line.  They were allowed to be walked 
on leash, outside of the main camp area.  I know dogs were brought, but I 
will have to say that I personally did not notice a problem with any of them, 
and several riders thanked me for designating a special area for camping with 
them.  A nearby resident had a newborn foal and very young kids (goats), so 
there was another very good reason for keeping dogs under control.  If guests 
continue to comply with our requirements, things will continue smoothly.  I 
can live with the dogs as long as they are not in the main camp, at the 
start-finish line, or running loose.  It is EXTREMELY difficult to send 
someone home if they brought dogs, because it would take a police force with 
search warrants to deal with this.  And frankly, a ride manager doesn't need 
this extra stress; there are better ways to expend energy than going on dog 
patrol.  All I can say for myself is that if everyone handles this as well as 
they did this year, it's going to be OK.  If things get out of hand again, I 
would seriously consider cancelling the ride and spend my time riding other 
people's rides or just planting flowers and going for pleasure rides.  The 
mericifully few who defy rules and policies are not only making it tough for 
ride managers but are making OTHER riders angry.  Anyone who reads this and 
is guilty might just think a little bit about the price of their defiance or 
determination to have their own way.  WE have found a compromise, but state 
agencies will not offer one, so it's your choice folks....you either leave 
your dogs at home, or you don't attend the ride. (I love the expression, 
"Just which part of NO don't you understand?"

Barbara McCrary
RM, Castle Rock 50 & Swanton Pacific 100