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[RC] [Guest] Red Rock Ride - Ridecamp ModeratorSharon Westergard goripper@xxxxxxxxxxActually, to correct the record, poor Suzanne Ford-Huff got pulled at the finish because her horse was thumping. She did finish approx. an hour and a half ahead of Carol and I. Carol and I finished at 1:30 a.m., tying for first. Carol and her horse Stranger got BC. This was one of the toughest rides I've done for several reasons. It is a hot desert ride, no shade. (a high of 98 by our truck thermometer) The water was very sparse on the trail. The mileage seemed long, but ride management assured us it's not and that they've measured it repeatedly. The trail is very technical in parts. For example, from the VC at 33 miles to the VC at 50 miles, it took Carol and I almost 4 hours to go that 17 miles, with not getting to water until approx. 13 miles into that 17 miles. Ride management realizes they need to do better with the water before the championship ride in Oct. They also may take out one or two climbs. The trail is beautiful, the footing is good (mostly) with some stretches to really move out. But the sparseness of water really made this ride tough. Most of the RO pulls were people who just thought the trail was too tough, and they didn't think they could make the cutoff time. This happened on both the 50 and the 100. Ride management was very forgiving for the brutal conditions and listened to our complaints and suggestions with open ears. I personally want to thank all of them for a great ride (will be awesome when they get the kinks worked out) and for being open to constructive criticism. The layout of the trail is great, the camp is perfect, the ride management is organized. As with any pre-ride, lessons are learned and corrections will be made. Sharon Westergard Survivor of Red Rock 2003!!
Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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