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[RC] DAL Election / Weight Divisions!! - Ridecamp GuestPlease Reply to: Edie Booth desertbred@xxxxxxxxxxx or ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx ========================================== New Issue DAL Election / Weight Divisions!! Randy echoed my sentiments exactly when he said the following relative to the UAE/ camel jockey/ child abuse issue: "The AERC BOD is made up of serious, caring, and informed individuals - we may fight like cats and dogs sometimes, but I have great confidence in their understanding of what is the right thing to do?." All this year I have observed a DAL riding in Heavyweight division who could in no way reach the weight cut-off without some extraordinary measures. Mike Maul, incumbent Director At Large, running for re-election on the ballot you have just received (or will receive very shortly), rides in a light saddle with 6 water bottles and a couple of tack bags. When asked on numerous occasions how he could possibly be riding heavyweight, Mike has a litany of items he says he carries with him. I have observed several heavyweight riders working their tails off in good honest competition, but with Mike they are at a disadvantage. At three different rides this year I have asked for a weight division challenge on Mike's riding weight, but abandoned the first two requests due to the added weight of constant rain during the ride. I weighed an extra 13 # myself (I AM a lightweight rider.) On the third attempt to get an honest weight on Mike, I challenged at the Armadillo Ride this past weekend. Management told Mike they wanted a weight after he went to the Vet, and he immediately requested water. (I had told the manager I did not care if he refilled his water bottles-- however, they were full-- don't know full with what, but Mike knew they were the way he wanted them). He downed three (3) full 20-ounce cups of water! When Mike weighed with every bit of his tack. He weighed in at 210 pounds, 4 and a half pounds of that just drunk in water. When a couple of us went to talk to Mike later to encourage him to move to his own Middleweight division in the interest of fairness to the real heavyweight riders, he was angry, and shouted that I should consult the rules (of which I am certainly familiar), that technically he could weigh in at 4% loss of weight, which means he could weigh as little as 202.5 pounds and ride heavyweight. He also shouted accusations about Heavyweight riders being jealous, etc. etc. So I say to you Mike: Yes, technically you can compete against those big boys and beat them all?. technically. And that is just what I am looking for in a Director: someone who is looking at tweaking the rules for their own advantage and chugging water to meet their weight. (Technically, he would have still weighed in without the water; he just wasn't sure, because he knows he is not a Heavyweight rider.) When I look on that ballot for a great Director, I want someone who leads by example, someone who exhibits exceptional integrity, not someone who will squeak by with what they can get away with. I want someone with the integrity to discern the intent of the rule, not the `technical` limits. I want someone who has a very high standard of ethics and applies those ethics in his personal behavior. There should be no one more concerned with ethics than our Board, and since we are a self-policing amateur organization, I hope that you all will join me in self policing on the ballot and not choose someone who just does not get it, just does not understand "what is the right thing to do?." There are plenty of ethical candidates. Edie Booth AERC #20 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
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