ridecamp bandannas and camaraderie

[llayman@neorx.com]

     I bought a ridecamp bandanna at Bully Wully, wore it throughout the 
     entire 50 miles to keep my neck cool, and nobody said a word to me 
     about it. I'm not so sure about this camaraderie. Me and my two 
     teammates had 25 milers crowding us on single track trails with bad 
     footing (we pulled off at the first SAFE opportunity). I had 50 milers 
     crowding us on a single track steep scary trail wanting to pass while 
     I waited for a team mate to pull himself out of the sticker bushes and 
     haul himself back onto his horse. Granted it was steep, but they were 
     not slipping off the side of the hill, and dang, we had a rider down 
     (way down, on the side of the hill).  As we moved to a wider spot (the 
     middle of a creek) and they passed us (rapidly and rudely) I asked 
     them to have a first aid team to meet us at the finish line to check 
     on my teammate (now mounted and moving), and they ended up sending out 
     the head vet with a trailer to find the horse with the broken leg. 
     That scared the hell out of our crew, who sat biting their nails and 
     shaking until they saw us come in safely. 
     
     I have yet to go to a ride and find this all wonderful group of 
     ridecampers that will go out of their way to help their fellow riders. 
     I talk to them on the internet, but they are not out on the trails. 
     Two years ago, my horse and I nose-dived into a erosion control gravel 
     pit (the really big kind) and the two women in the lead I had been 
     tailing left me there, in a gravel pit, hanging onto my horse for dear 
     life, while they galloped away to win the race! (I came in fourth, 
     with gravel embedded in my hip, after regaining control of my mount). 
     So all you nice ridecampers out there, get off the keyboard and out 
     onto the trails where you can set a good example for the rude, unsafe, 
     snotty, selfish riders I usually meet!
     
     Linda-Cathrine
     
     
     
     Date: Wed, 09 Sep 1998 09:02:43 -0600
     From: Jerald Thiessen <thiesj@tdbank.ca>
     Subject: Re: RideCampers Bob and Amber Roberts and "Comaraderie"
     
     Bob, There is away identify yourself at a ride. Just buy a ridecamp 
     scarf from Steph and tie it to your trailer or truck antenna. They are 
     bright yellow and do get noticed. Jerald