Tread Lightly.
Treading lightly and being careful with the land we wheel on is very important. When we don’t, it gives reason for land closures and others to gripe to accomplish land closures. Most of us understand these principles. And generally go by them.
Thus I wanted to discuss / mention a few things about the New Years Day runt hat might not have looked so tread-lightly-ish to some.
[B]1. The field where we all pulled into to look around before the last big hill.[/B] When we went to leave, Matt was having a hard time turning around and since he couldn’t back up, he decided to go forward, running over about a 12 foot tall tree in the process.
I want to say now that I called Matt on the phone and we talked about this for a while, and I told him I was going to post this and he had no heartburn with it, also agreeing that wasn’t the best thing to do.
On the one hand, this is a small field clear brush cut by the Army every 5 or 6 years. This tree was on the edge, it will probably be cut down by the Army in the near future, and after he went over it, it sprang right back up seemingly with no damage.
On the other hand, this wasn’t a very tread lightly thing to do, and could have easily been avoided by 3 or 4 of us jumping out and giving him a push backwards. I told him this really wasn’t that big of a deal, except for the example set and the idea of tread lightly. He agreed and said he thought about it afterward, that that wasn’t the best thing to do.
2. Our ditch run flex under the power-line. At a glance, this looked very non-tread-lightly. However, we did no damage to the soil, and the small trees/brush we ran over is brush cut every 3-4 years. While it may not have looked very good, understanding that this will be cut to inches within a year, I have no problem with what we did.
So if these weren’t that big of a deal, why bring it up?
1. I did hear a few comments, mostly in jest, but thought I would clarify our actions.
2. When we are on an AO run, we represent the club. And if our actions are seen by others as being detrimental to the environment, then we will have that to fight against when we argue for keeping land and trails open. (actually, if we are sporting AO stickers,we are representing AO wherever we go and whatever we are doing)
3. The example we set for newbies. If someone new to the sport saw us do these things and thought it was cool everywhere, then we have misguided the newer folks.
So this was a simple reminder, to consider who may be watching and think about perceptions as well as a possible better route to take.
Overall, I was greatly pleased with our New Years Day run. Thanks to all.
Happy Wheeling!
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