Re: Trail cutters , this one is a little long....sorry

["GESA BRINKS" <gesaeqfx@pe.net>]

Hi Newbie!  I was on a NATRC ride one year and I saw a couple of people cut
trail.  She was actually a CTR judge and the guy cutting trail with her was
the son of the people putting on the ride.  Both were adults.  They cut off
an entire mountainous climb.  They were in the lunch stop 45 min. ahead of
me, so I knew it was a pretty good section of trail that they had cut off.
I had the same delema as you.  Should I say something or not.  I had gotten
some unfair scores from this woman more than once.  (she didnt like me much)
I decided to go to ride management and tell what I saw.  Luckily for me the
guys horse wore a very distinctive shoe (odd trailers).  One of  the
officials drove me to the point I had described to them and I showed them
the hoof prints where they cut off and the fact that they never came back
meant that they kept on going.  I also told them that I had yelled to them
that they were going the wrong way.  They were given completions only.  I
thought that they should have been DQ'd.  They lived in the area and knew
the trails.    If you can prove it, go ahead and report it.  If they do it
once they will continue to do it until someone else reports it.  Distance
riding is a tough enough sport without having to go up against cheaters.  I
say, keep it clean, and may the best team win.
               Now, about this newbie thing.  I considered myself a newbie
until I got my 1,000 mile award.  The day we crossed the finish line
completing that 1,000 mile mark I figured that I had paid my dues and was
now one of "THEM".   Figuring my CTR and endurance miles together ,  that
was pretty close to 5,000 miles ago.  I guess what I am trying to say is ,
you will know when you are not a newbie anymore.  When you feel you have
paid your dues  and part of you becomes part of the trail.  That doesnt mean
skin or hair or bones!!!  Just something inside of you feels at home while
you go down the trail.  Sappy I know, but that is how I felt, and still do.
Happy trails....gesa n clovis






-----Original Message-----
From: DAldr94141@aol.com <DAldr94141@aol.com>
To: ridecamp@endurance.net <ridecamp@endurance.net>
Date: Thursday, October 07, 1999 6:37 AM
Subject: RC: Trail cutters


>Hi everyone. Still being a newbie (BTW, how long does being a newbie last?
1
>yr. 2 yrs.?) I am upset about something. I heard a rumor from a very
reliable
>source that at a ride up in Michigan, there were some riders who cut on the
>trails. Not knowing anything and being a bit discouraged that there are
>people who would actually do this, what would an honest person who
witnessed
>this, do? What would you do? What would the consequences be if those people
>were caught? Has this ever happened to anyone out there before? I'd really
>like to know because I have a hard time beleiving someone would actually do
>this and sleep good at night.
>Thank you, Deb
>
>
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=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net.    
Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/RideCamp   
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=