Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

Angie,
I think that is a very important aspect of the entire debate. I see that here in Egypt where endurance is nothing more or less than a way of making money for 99% of the riders involved in FEI events. These guys are deadly serious about the  whole thing. You'd think that the fate of the bloody earth rested on whether they win or not, though they are truly convinced that winning is going to make a hug difference in their personal bank accounts.

But there's no fun in it. And when I ask them if they had fun at a race, they just look at me blankly. "Fun? A race is supposed to be fun? Are you nuts?"  To suggest that someone might actually ride endurance for the fun of it, not for money, brings hoots of disbelief. But most of the people on Ridecamp do just that. They budget, scrimp, save, and cut corners to be able to make rides and to gain what? A tshirt, a buckle, a blanket...some fun. And let's face it, when was the last time that a bunch of guys who play sandlot baseball for fun won the World's Series? And which is more fun?

Maryanne

On 9/15/07, rides2far@xxxxxxxx <rides2far@xxxxxxxx> wrote:

I'm not so sure that's the whole reason. I think that Americans have a
habit of asking ourselves every once in a while..."Why am I doing
this..is this fun...if not, then why am I doing this?" 

Angie