Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

k s swigart wrote:
> Around here there ARE speed limits on many of the trails.  They are
> mostly put in place to keep the bicycle speeds down, but they apply to
> all users.
>
> However, whether there are speed limits or not, we as trail users should
> be prudent in the way we approach blind corners (or rises) where we
> cannot see what may be coming the other way or may be on the trail ahead
> of us.
>   
At a SE ride several years ago there was an incident where riders 
trotted past trail riders that had gotten off the trail and in the woods 
to let other riders pass. The first riders passed at a walk and 
everything was fine. Another group came around the corner, did not see 
the trail riders on the side of the trail and trotted on past. One of 
the trail rides was a small boy. His horse spun and took off. The boy 
came off and broke an arm. The horse hit a tree and fell dead.

The good news was the family had medical insurance and the boys injuries 
were covered. SERA's insurance paid for the horse. I was somewhat 
surprised but we have a good policy. I'm not sure the AERC's would have 
covered the horse.

At any rate it could have been much worse. The boy could have broken a 
neck or back instead of an arm. We are all responsible for our behavior 
on the trail. Rides run on public land will have the potential of trail 
riders on the trails. They have just as much right to be there as we 
have. We have to be good citizens - or else we might find we are no 
longer invited back. A public land manager does not have to issue a 
permit for an endurance ride.
> This person was lucky that is was only a horse that died.  Imagine the
> consequences if it had been a person. 
>   
Yep. If a person had died the rider might have been facing criminal 
charges.
> I don't "truck down the trail" when I cannot see the trail to know that
> I am not going to run over or run into something.
>   
If I can't seen ahead of me and know the trail is clear, I slow down.

Truman
>   


--

“It doesn't matter how beautiful your theory is, it doesn't matter how 
smart you are. If it doesn't agree with experiment, it's wrong” Richard 
Feynman, Nobel Laureate in Physics


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