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Re: [RC] why we ride?? - Chris PausTHANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU. I've been using the delete key a lot lately. Once in a while, I torture myself by opening one of these LD posts. It would appear that we have a bunch of lawyers on Ridecamp as the minutia is argued incessently, particularly when it comes to the "LD" issue. I've done 2 "endurance" rides in my life, two 50s, before I trashed my knee. I'm working my way back up to those, but for now am content to piddle around in LD. I consider those "fun rides" a good distance. Enough that you know you went for a real ride that day, but not so much that you can't walk again for the next two weeks...I do want to do 50s again. I doubt with my health that I could ever do a 100, but I won't say never. It might happen, who knows. So am I an endurance rider? Well, I HAVE done endurance rides, but don't currently. The label isn't so important to me. I pay my AERC dues. I pay the ride fees. I go to rides for my own reasons and have fun and challenge myself and my horse. My horse's AERC record doesn't look like he's done much, but we have a cumulative 1,000 miles with our CTR miles too. So I just call myself a "distance rider" and am happy with that. I try to stay out of the politics on either side. Just let me ride, give me a t-shirt and burger afterwards, and I'm happy. I find plenty of challenge in any trail whether it's mud, rivers, rock, hills, heat, cold, whatever. I'm lucky here in the Central Region that the "endurance" riders smile and wave and wish us luck as our paths cross on the trails. At the rides I've done, everyone is pretty supportive regardless of the distance. I appreciate the attitude of other riders here and of RMs and HATE all this incessant arguing. It's like hard core Republicans and Democrats trying to change each other's minds. It ain't gonna happen...so just let it be. Funny thing, while the arguments go on and on at Ridecamp, the riders keep riding whatever distance they choose to do for whatever reason, and for the most part, have fun doing so. Whether we do 25s or 100s or multidays, there's something wrong with us, LOL... we ride in rain, snow, heat, and Pay for this Privelege, LOL...In the end, we bring home trinkets and t-shirts, piles of dirty stinky ride clothes, sometimes bumps and bruises, and dirty horses. And of course, great ride stories. Then we clean ourselves up and do it again a few weeks later. I think of my barrel racer friend.. she shakes her head at me as I describe a ride. She rides for 15 seconds and brings home money, LOL... chris --- smuncy <smuncy@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: LOL, sorry,.......... have to laugh, or cry. at all the discussion that has been going on for weeks about LD. As I see it, IMHO....... we are all members of AERC, we ride in AERC Rides, that by definition would seem to make one an 'endurance rider' -- reguardless of actual miles ridden that day; 25 thru 100 . LOL.......on more than one occassion .. usually on a particulairly 'nasty' section of trail, either too hot, too cold, or wet...... have thought or actually said to person riding with ........ "We're doing this for the Fame and Glory and MONEY ? Right." As for awards........ I have yet to see one that came close to compensating for time, money, sweat put into the ride, or preparing for. Thinking about all the 50 to 80 dollar tee shirts I have. ===== "A good horse makes short miles," George Eliot Chris and Star BayRab Acres http://pages.prodigy.net/paus ============================================================ REAL endurance is your water freezing IN the cantle bags! ~ Heidi Sowards ridecamp.net information: http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/ ============================================================
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