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Re: [RC] Tevis - OT riders - Barbara WhiteA few clarifications are in order on the Tevis start. Everyone started at the same time. It's just that 168 horses cannot start simultaneously; some will be behind others due to the width of the trail. The pens are only used for warm up. Everyone is on the road leading to the start before 5:15. At 5:15 everybody who can move, does so. I was at the end of pen 1, and the leader of pen 2 was right there with me. We all started at the same time.
The pens are self-selected. However, if a pen is over subscribed, ride management assigns pens based on the ride history of the rider and that particular horse. You are permitted to move to a slower pen. If you want to be in a faster pen, you need to come to an agreement with ride management.
Staggered starts do not work. The Tevis ride used to start in groups, leaving Squaw Valley at 2 minute intervals. Everybody had 24 hours to complete, based on his starting time. People soon got wise to this. The faster riders wanted to start in the back. Every group they passed, they would gain time on. If you are in the back, all you have to do is catch and stay with a horse in the first group, and you would have a better placing. The nature of horses is such that it is easier for them to catch one in front of them than to stay ahead of a "ghost" horse not knowing how far behind that horse is. The other problem is that with the faster horses starting strategically behind, you then had the problem of their having to pass the slower ones on the hazardous trail. Not fun.
It's a difficult ride, and savvy riders know not to waste time. If you keep moving and don't have a breakdown, you can make it. You really can.
Barbara
From: Diane Trefethen <Tref@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> To: Ridecamp <ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Monday, August 10, 2009 7:56:29 PM Subject: Re: [RC] Tevis - OT riders sherman wrote: > Any way you start Tevis, there is NO WAY everyone can start at the same time as the road is too narrow and by the time the 200th rider gets to the start they will probably be 15 minutes behind the front starters. While that makes sense, if Ride Management determines that the solution is to REQUIRE some teams to start later than others, then it is THEIR responsibility to devise a method that fairly allows each competitor his/her full 24 hours. As to it being a "recordkeeping nightmare", I don't agree. You simply assign numbers 1-65 (or whatever) to start at 5:00am, numbers 66-130 to start at 5:15am, numbers 1-195 to start at 5:30am and so forth. It is similar to having numbers 1-199 (the 50 milers) start at 6:00am and numbers 201-300 (the LD riders) start at 6:30am. Ride managers don't get confused about who gets how much time to complete in that scenario. Riders check in and are then released at their assigned time. Again, this doesn't mean that a rider who CHOOSES to start late should get a time break. That is on the rider, not the RM. If as Bruce says pen 1 was released at 5:15 and pen 2 at 5:16 or 5:17, then the maximum finish time for pen 2 should likewise be 5:16 or 5:17. His point about being held up by things beyond the rider's control is a red herring because things beyond the rider's control is not the issue. The issue is what Ride Management REQUIRES. That the hold up is a minute or two is no different than if it were an hour or two. AERC rules require that rides "provide a specific amount of time" and for a 100 mile ride, that amount of time is 24 hours. If Ride Management forces a rider to delay the start of his 24 hour adventure, that does not mean that the rider should be denied his 24 hours. Bruce Weary wrote: > Not to mention the fact that the WSTF always makes it clear in print that > though they are sanctioned, they may enforce rules other than those of AERC. > Their BC judging is a good example of that. Yes, and their BC is not recognized by AERC. In addition, the 2009 Rules starts with, "The philosophy of the Western States Trail Ride (“The Tevis Cup”) is to ride in the best tradition of good sportsmanship..." There is nothing of good sportsmanship in forbidding one half the competitors the right to start at the same time as the other half, whether the privileged group is given a 2 minute head start or 2 hours, unless the second group is given a compensatory 2 minutes or 2 hours to round out their total competition time. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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