Re: RC: Timing Clocks

["Linda B. Merims" <lbm@naisp.net>]

From: "Susan Young Casey" <glenn218@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: RC: Timing Clocks


> 
> --- "Linda B. Merims" <lbm@naisp.net> wrote:
> 
> > I've been mulling an idea for a new kind of
> > competition that would help the
> > mostly recreational trail riders that attend my
> > events improve their
> > skill at judging pace and distance.
> 
> Another idea is to give each rider something with
> their number on it...like a painted rock.  When the
> rider thinks they are X amount of miles out, drop the
> rock.  Of course, finding the rocks seems like a major
> task.  However, let's say the point is 5 miles out.  A
> member of RM goes out 5 miles then starts looking
> along the trail.

Well, there's the distance judging part, and then there's
the pace judging part.  They are related, but not exactly
the same time.  I was originally thinking that for distance
you'd have a volunteer out on the trail who would tell the passing
riders something like, "The next volunteer will ask you
for  your estimate of the distance you have travelled between
here and there.  You will have 30 seconds to give your
answer."  But your rock idea got me thinking and I think that
if volunteers are at a premium, one might make do with just
posting "Start estimating distance," "End distance estimate"
signs out on the trail, and have people write down their estimate
on a score sheet.  This way you could test different things like
accuracy on a straight-away vs accuracy on twisty little uphill
trails.  The no brainer version would be to not tell people how
long the whole trail is, and just ask them when they got back and
whoever is closest wins that part of the competition.

Linda B. Merims
lbm@naisp.net
Massachusetts, USA