pnovak@ihuxa.UUCP (Paul Novak) (04/09/84)
i was trail riding in michigan last summer and talked by a guy who organizes enduro races. he told a story about a race he had set up for novice enduro racers. seems a section of the course was to go over a swamp which was about 50 yards across. the water was about 2 inches deep the whole way. the course was to be marked with colored flags in sticks about 3 ft tall. when the section across the swamp was marked, the stakes in the middle of the swamp where pounded in much further than near the edges, giving the impression that the water was much deeper than it actually was. arriving at the swamp, the riders saw something like: >> >> | >> >> | | | >> >> | | | | | >> | | | | | | | | | | about 1/2 the riders refused to cross the swamp and dropped out of the race.
wmartin@brl-vgr.ARPA (Will Martin ) (04/10/84)
The story itself is definitely amusing; however, I wonder exactly what the organizer was trying to teach the novices. Were they supposed to stop before getting in the water and walk out to the low-stake spot, to verify that the route was in fact passable? That's what I would expect from a wise off-road rider -- safety, avoiding situations where you are beyond your capabilities, and good judgement are all much more important than completing the course in the fastest time. Or were they expected to learn that "obvious" clues can many times lead one to false conclusions? Also a good lesson; just stopping and refusing to verify for themselves the true water depth was also the wrong thing to do. What worries me is the half of the group who merrily ignored the possible problems and barged on through. They "won" the race; were they in fact rewarded? They really should not have been, if so; their behavior showed poor judgement. They're the kind of rider I expect to have to pay taxes for to fund Park Rangers who will drag them out of a ravine on a litter sometime in the future... Will
an@hou2h.UUCP (A.NGUYEN) (04/17/84)
Funny I read a story just like that by Ed Hertfelder in Cycle magazine. Don't remember what issue though. Au