ridecamp@endurance.net: Re: Wine Country Trail Markings

Re: Wine Country Trail Markings

kfreeman@meridian-data.com
Tue, 10 Jun 97 15:13:19 PST

Maybe someone can tell me what happened to the old AERC motto "to
finish is to win?" Aren't these supposed to be RIDES not RACES?

As to the trail marking on the Wine Country 50; I was a volunteer on
that ride and can tell you that the majority of the people had no
problem finding the trail. With ribbons every 30 to 60 feet how can
you miss it? Also, there were spotters at all major intersections.

Jessica Tutuer spent many sleepless nights working hard to make sure
that her ride was well organized and prepared for all riders. Her
goal as a ride manager was to make sure that all riders enjoyed
themselves. I know from experience however that no matter how hard
you work you can never please everyone, but I would like to hope that
those few that were displeased would at least appreciate all the
effort that went into the planning and be more considerate in their
remarks. Jessica did not deserve the negative remarks and literal
verbal abuse she received.

On another note: It is this negative attitude and the RACE mentality,
which has discouraged me from continuing on in endurance. It was very
different 10 years ago and I enjoyed the rides. Now it has become so
competitive that I see more and more people abusing their animals and
each other. It is obviously my choice not to participate, but I have
also heard many others complain about this shift in attitudes and
their unwillingness to continue participating in the sport.

Jessica's remarks reflected her experience with the negative comments
she received. I remeber when people thanked the ride manager for
their efforts, and if they got lost they at least had the courtesy to
be constructive in their remarks instead of rudely screaming at
people. Riders need to take responsibility for their own actions! If
they are going too fast to see the trail or are blind with winning at
all costs, they are not paying attention.

Jessica did a great job, and I for one thank her for her efforts!

______________________________ Forward Header __________________________________
Subject: Re: Wine Country Trail Markings
Author: Jessica Tuteur <jessicat@napanet.net> at Internet
Date: 6/10/97 2:18 PM


>Reply-To: "Joe Long" <jlong@mti.net>
>References: <19970610194527734.AAA70@[208.14.164.42]>
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>
>I have no knowledge of the Wine Country ride, the response below is
>general and applies to all rides.
>
>On Tue, 10 Jun 97 13:55:48 -0500, ROBERT J MORRIS <bobmorris@rmci.net>
>wrote:
>
>>Many riders want a "no brainer" when it comes to trail marking, they expect
>>to be able to follow a cross country trail at a gallop. I thought this was
>>ENDURANCE RIDING?
>
>Bob, I agree with most of your post but I must take issue with this.
>One thing every entrant at a ride has a right to expect is a
>well-marked trail. It is very frustrating to travel a long distance
>to a ride, and pay the cost of vacation time, fuel, and entry fees
>only to get lost or slowed down by poor trail marking.
>
>Endurance rides are also races. If the locals and people who've
>ridden the trail before can just truck along, and everyone else has to
>slow down or stop and play "ribbon, ribbon, does anyone see a ribbon?"
>at intersections, it's just not a fair race.
>
>I've been a ride manager many times. I've tied ribbons all alone in
>pouring down rain, and on rides where I expected to lose money (out of
>my own pocket) I still bought enough glowsticks for the night portion
>of the trail. I believe every endurance ride trail should be marked
>well enough so that the front-runners do *not* have to slow down, let
>alone stop, to figure out which way to go. There also should be
>enough "confidence markers" so that the riders know they're still on
>course. It's really not hard to do, even if landowner restrictions
>allow only ribbons. The AERC Ride Manager's Handbook has excellent
>methods for marking.
>
>It's also to the ride manager's benefit to mark the trail thoroughly.
>There are two sins which will keep many honest-to-God endurance riders
>from returning to a ride: bad vetting and bad trail marking. Poor
>marking can kill a ride.
>
>Yes, ride managers and workers are volunteers, God bless them, and we
>wouldn't have a sport without them. But once someone decides to put
>on a ride, that manager owes certain things to the people who come to
>ride. Not a "boulevard" trail, not dinners, not showers, not fancy
>awards. But IMO they definitely owe good vets and a well-marked
>trail.
>
>--
>
>Joe Long
>jlong@mti.net
>Business Page http://www.mti.net
>Personal Page http://www.rnbw.com
>
>
*****************************************************************
Jessica Tuteur
J-M Ranch
1393 Green Valley Rd.
Napa, CA 94558
(707) 258-1937 tel & fax


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