08/12/2024
Evening all
just a thought that as the trail ride season is upon us here in Taranaki & the fact we have some of the best tracks,hills & farms to explore & enjoy,to take a minute & think about those that put these rides on.
As a rider,you can turn up any given weekend & ride for hours,but just remember,that ride has been months in preparation.
No matter whether it be a community group & you are riding over multiple farms ,or a private family that has opened up their farm to you,it doesn’t happen overnight.
The planning to work around the community & farming operations,the hours of grooming & marking out the track,the opening & closing of gates,moving stock so there is a clean,clear track,organising a bbq & drinks stall,setting aside a paddock for parking & a kids track,organising a float so there is enough cash in coins & notes all takes time & effort so the gates can be open at 8 am on a Sunday morning
When we were running rides,a weekend ride would take upto 3 days to prepare & then another two to put the farm back in order by shutting gates & returning stock to paddocks.
In short,what I’m trying to say is,Trailbike ride organisers go out of their way to provide the best rides for you & try to make it as safe & fun as possible,and generally try to accommodate all styles & experience of riders,so the least you can do as a rider is thank them at the end of the day & don’t moan about the price of the sausages & drink,or that the track wasn’t groomed enough,or it wasn’t marked appropriately…to be honest,if we had 100 rider through our gate & 99 gave us a thumbs up ( which often happened)but 1 gave us the thumbs down…then guess which we remembered.
I don’t know how many times,a ride was spoiled because someone told us that so & so gave out free sausages & drinks,or such & such ride was a better price
I’m not having a rant,& we would love to open our track up again & maybe in the future we will…just saying be courteous to those who provide somewhere to ride…a little thanks goes along way 🤙
Until next time,enjoy the rides that Taranaki provides…I don’t think you’ll find a better province to ride in…and don’t forget,keep ya powder dry & ya chain lubed
Cheers