Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

well shoot, i wrote a book on this subject earlier today and thought i sent it in, dont know what happened to it.  i have only done this ridecamp stuff a short while, truman, so i wasnt aware that there is a semi-annual bashing of ld riders. :-) 

one thing that i have noticed is there are a lot of people doing ld rides.  and a lot more new people every time i turn around.  so these people are putting some money into the association.  btw, it isnt half the entry fee for half the mileage, either!  and compare the numbers of people doing 25 milers to the numbers doing 50 miles. 

there are some experienced riders out there who really only want to do 25 miles, maybe because of their health, their schedule, their horse, who knows.  if they want to race, i am ok with that.  the name of the game is taking care of your horse.  if your horse can handle running fast and that is what you like to do, then who am i to tell you how to ride your ride?  that is what i like about this sport, i can ride MY ride!  not get in a pocket of other riders, unless i want to, not let my horse decide how fast we will go,  or not let someone pressure me into a race.  as for the bc awards,  heck, if you do away with them in 50 mile rides too, maybe we could save some horses!  because after all, arent 50 mile rides just training rides for those who want to do 100 milers? (that bulge you see is my tongue in cheek) :-)   i guess that phrase "to finish is to win" was just a random thought, huh?   you can ruin a horse doing a ten mile ride if you do stupid stuff.&n bsp; i enjoy trying to help people who are new to this(i have only been riding for 2 1/2 years) and who want to do well.  but no matter what, there are some things you have to learn the hard way, someone cant tell you everything there is to know about this sport.  thats just human nature.  i enjoy the longer distances, but if i wanted to do a 25 miler just to say i came in first or to try and get a bc award, then what is wrong with that?  like i said earlier,  as long as i  take good care of my horse, then i should be able to ride my ride.     ed kilpatrick m30722  and gorgeous george, starbuck, tornado, flash, springtime, etc., and who knows what i will be riding next time you see me------ riding hard sometimes, riding easy sometimes, but always riding!