Responsibility? Whats That?
Far too often when something goes wrong we blame those who are only doing what they think is right. Is it fair to lay ALL the responsibility on someone else?
For example, you’re tackling a trail ride on a beautiful Sunday afternoon, carving up the beautiful trails, carefully overtaking slower riders, making sure not to knock anybody off, and only really opening it up when the way looks clear and you’re not being a nuisance to anyone else on the track.
You’re doing your best David Knight impersonation when you crest a blind brow and get a little bit of air off the top. The next thing you see as the path ahead becomes visible is the track goes hard left, or in another circumstance, there is a huge hole on the other side, right where it seems you are going to land. You split-second think back two seconds in time, not remembering any danger arrows as you cartwheel down the track, stopping in a lump of pain and suffering or potentially even worse.
This is something that has happened many times, and not just on the trail. MX tracks and Cross Country courses are not immune to the odd dodgy bit of marking, although on the track, it’s more the obstacles catching riders out than terrain they don’t know about. God knows I’ve come a cropper repeatedly in my riding career, most my own fault, and some you might say could have been avoided. But with the best pastime in the world also generally not being the safest one either, we all have to take responsibility for our own actions.
‘Old Mate’ above can approach his off from two different angles. He could lay responsibility for it on the organisers because of poor marking. No one could really blame him for throwing his toys out, because event organisers should take every measure possible to make sure the course is safe, with danger points well marked, should there be any. The cause of the missed danger sign nine times out of ten is the fault of technology, in the form of the handiest marking out machine on the planet – the trusty quad. What can be considered dangerous to a bike travelling at speed can look like State Highway 1 for a farm quad that’s chugging along putting up arrows around the course. Nationwide standardised arrowing system anyone?
On the other hand, Old Mate could take it on himself as the root of the problem. Riding beyond one’s own ability is the cause of 99% of the crashes if you think hard about it. If everyone rode exactly to what they could handle, we would rarely have any crashes and situations like above wouldn’t occur as Old Mate wouldn’t be going quickly over a blind crest.
Myself, I would suggest a happy medium – in a perfect world that is. I agree that there should always be some kind of warning before any potential danger (organisers responsibility) but I also believe trail rides are not the place for your best David Knight impressions (riders responsibility). Most of us usually sign a disclaimer before an event saying ‘if you mince yourself you can’t blame the organisers/club/event’, but should that be enough to remove any responsibility on their part?
During this year’s Australian 4 Day Enduro riders briefing, their policy states thus; ‘If you have concerns with the conditions of any part of the course, the riders are encouraged to bring those concerns up with the Clark of the Course. Action will then be taken to rectify/change/discuss those concerns raised by the rider. If the rider is unhappy with the decision, he or she is advised to withdraw from the event. Continuing to ride in the event will be taken as you have accepted the final decision.’
This part is done verbally so there are no misunderstandings. Then every rider signs a form saying they were at the briefing and understood everything that was said. They certainly don’t muck around over there, but then again I haven’t been to a 4 Day where marking has been an issue either. They take the responsibility of looking after the riders very, very seriously.
Back to 'Old Mate' – the organisers should have marked that potentially dangerous part of the track, no questions there. But Old Mate should have ridden within his limits and kept his racing to a proper racetrack, not a fun trail ride. I’m all for school fundraising trail rides, it’s a great way for a rural schools to get some support for their local community and the kids that attend, but on the flip side, some of these rides are the worst culprits. Volunteers donating their time and farmers allowing access to their land is all well and good, but the lack of knowledge regarding how fast and what dangers are out there when 500+ riders turn up for a jam can create some issues. No matter what, there is always going to be at least ten ‘Old Mates’ doing a David Knight at any given ride around the country.
Too many people have been getting seriously hurt or worse lately in New Zealand, and across the ditch. Ride to your limits, take responsibility for your own actions and decisions, and even though most organisers do their best, take some of the responsibility off their hands too – look out for yourself.
Ride safe,
Chris
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