Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

there was a time when you could say trail etiquette was just good, common sense.  unfortunately, i have found that there are a lot of people out there who apparently dont have common sense.  i heard this recently, if you have no common sense, but you have a sixth sense, then you have a heightened awareness about nothing! :-)

i have seen  some real good trail etiquette and sportsmanship out there on the trail, and have seen some not so good.  here is an  example of the not so good.  i was doing a 50 mile ride last year, almost finished, coming in the last 1/4 mile.  this section of the trail was the finishing part of the last 2 loops for the 50 milers.  i was near the front of the pack, had ridden the last half mile with no horses in sight and was just moseying along. a rider approached from the rear and came alongside me, so i asked if she was on the last loop.  she said no, i have one more loop to go.  she rode on past.   a few minutes later, two more riders caught up with me.  i asked them if they were on their last loop.  they said no,  we still have one to go.  they rode on past. by now the in timer was about 200 yards away.  imagine my surprise when the two riders who just passed me stopped at the in timer for a completion time!  when i got there, they j ust grinned and said, GOTCHA!  and these gals are veteran riders!  so,  i still got a top ten finish, and my award was the same as theirs, but i think you can see the point here.  i can laugh about it now, but i promised them that next time all they would see of me was my horse's rear vanishing in the distance.   :-)    ed