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[RC] complaints & caves with bears - DreamWeaverThe best one I've heard, and I'm not making this up, was a rider who (at a ride in the last year) complained that the portapotties only had single-ply tp. Most of us would just be happy that they had any, but to some having only single ply is simply unacceptable. :+D Oh the horror.Of course, I like rides with caves and bears :+), like the XP rides for example, where every entrant has to sign this as part of their liability release: THE RIDER OATH I will not gripe, bellyache or complain about anything pertaining to an XP Ride because I realize that this is a low budget affair and that the management does not care if I have a problem. I realize and agree that anyone who would ride an endurance ride led by a Duck has to be crazy and would not have a worthwhile opinion anyway. I am here to have a good time and if I find that I am not having a good time I agree to pack up my things and go away, leaving the other riders and the management happy in their ignorance. and of course, this I love: Perhaps this is the place to define how some endurance riders view the sport. It is a challenge; each new obstacle is something to overcome with individual initiative, not something to expect ride management to overcome for you. Some endurance riders are not unlike the young men of the early days who, as they floated down the great rivers on their way West, were tempted into the many caves along the way to "wrestle the bear." It would have been no sport to wrestle the bear if you were always guaranteed a happy ending, but when you emerged from the cave you had met the unknown and had conquered it. Some caves contained two bears for added enjoyment. The Duck and BBC, being a couple of old bear wrestlers themselves, believe that management exists to create a challenge, not to help you through every possible obstacle. Many endurance riders today compete only to race their machines; they don't want any surprises. They prepare themselves and their mounts beforehand and they want a guarantee that the event will be predictably exact. Due to the magnitude of this project and the lack of funds to provide control over all of the factors involved, not to mention the Duck's lackadaisical attitude on life in general, this ride will be short on guarantees and niceties. The barest essentials will be provided: cave, one or more bears, awards on exit. They will, however, provide you with more than you have ever been provided with on a ride - more miles to ride, more historic sites, more open country, more freedom to succeed but also more freedom to fail. All of the essentials will be provided to ensure AERC sanction. There will be a marked trail (they are trying to obtain the other half of the roll of ribbon Pat Fitzgerald used to mark the Silver Springs Ride) and the services of a qualified veterinarian (his former employer said he was the most qualified chicken inspector the state ever had until he got on the bottle). There will also be awards - silver awards for the finishers of each day's ride along with daily 1st place and best condition awards. http://www.xprides.com/OnceUponADuck.html After reading that you may or may not enjoy reading Russ' poem on the topic: http://www.endurance.net/2001xp/poems.html#TWO%20KINDS%20OF%20RIDES and if that isn't enough, some of the riders don't even use t.p. Read the feather story <lol> http://www.xprides.com/THEFEATHER.asp Karen in NV (about to head out for the 2nd week of the 1250 mile ride on the XP trail, where there are no portapotties, no provided tp, no provided water, no food provided but 100 times more fun and meaningful than any frills ride I'll ever do!) ============================================================ I still prefer what it is that BH100, Tevis, The Duck's Soup of Endurance, etc. has to offer...but, to see a horse canter over sand for those distances...Good Lord, it humbles me. ~ Frank Solano ridecamp.net information: http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/ ============================================================
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