Re: A Late Note on the Issue of Rider Weight

["Glenn Foster" <gfoste19@idt.net>]

<
<
< Some UNOFFICIAL numbers from the 1997 ROC
<
< * average weight of rider in TOP 10:
<      ** with tack: 180 lbs  (only 1 rider over 200 lbs)
<
<* average weight of riders who FINISHED (35 riders):
<     ** with tack: 193 lbs  (13 riders over 200 lbs)
<
<* average weight of ALL riders (76 riders)
<      ** with tack: 197 lbs  (28 riders over 200 lbs)
<
<The results of this one ride, although somewhat interesting, may or may
<not mean anything. If the results were representative of endurance rides in
<general, riders w/tack over 200 lbs would have the same chance of finishing
<as those under 200 lbs. The same could not be said for finishing in the TOP
<10.

I'm pretty new to Endurance, but isn't the ROC by itself a little bit of special
significance in that the starters already over-represent the 'front-runners' 
from most other rides.  Frankly my first reaction is to radically alter my mental
image of the typical front runners (no, I haven't actually been to enough competitions
to have formed a serious first-hand impression).  What I had pictured seems to
have been a lot smaller than the reality.

Glenn Foster
SE Michigan