Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

	Been musing on the subject of declining interest in entering 100 mile 
rides, and I wonder if we aren't the victim of our own success.
	Back in "the good old days" riders were smaller, in general, and 
'everybody knew everybody'.  Riders all gathered around a campfire at night 
and socialized.  I live in a somewhat 'peripheral' area that is still like 
this; most of our rides have around 50 horses and we all know each 
other.  Here, once somebody has done a couple of seasons of successful 50s 
(not 'winning', just solid completions), people inevitable start asking 
them which 100 they are going to try...
	In many places, tho, there are over 100 entrants.  It is impossible for 
everybody to hang out together, or sit at the same campfire, so people tend 
to break up into small groups of 'friends'.  Often, these people know each 
other because they ride together, and often they basically started 
together, and progressed together.  The problem is that socializing almost 
entirely with people at the same 'level' as yourself means you don't have 
any readily available 'mentors', or 'older riders' who will inspire/nag you 
into doing more.  They are at the ride--but they are all over at the old 
fart's campfire....
	We have ridecamp as a kind of 'virtual' campfire.  But it's not quite the 
same as somebody like, say, Maryben looking you straight in the eye and 
saying "your horse could do a 100", is it?

terre


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