"Ken, have you got a point to this?"
Answer :- My point is why make changes where changes are not needed.
"I don't know you and I don't know how well known you are to other readers of this forum so I can only go by the written word in front of me and the clear message I'm getting is that you are "having a whinge" motivated by - I don't know what but perhaps sour grapes caused by your attempts at advocating change having being rejected and now someone else has managed to introduce a change."
Answer :- I've been a contributor to this forum since 2007 and a regular participant of IBA events since the first BBR in 2008 competing in the first 4 rallies along with the first 2 BBlight rallies and the second and so far last of the Bally rallies in Ireland. A serious accident in 2011 has curtailed my long distance rides but on a good day I have ridden 500 miles.
As for sour grapes your right you don't know me, I'm adult enough to accept rejection without being offended as you say in a different comment in this reply the proposer to change isn't the loser if the change would have made a difference.
With respect, you are speaking from a certain level of ignorance and that phrase "as far as I'm aware" is a well-recognised flag. It's short for "I don't know but I don't know that I'm wrong". The second phone thing is another example: whether or not it needs a second subscription is irrelevant as you can buy a phone for as little as £30 and a sim card (connection) for a further £10 - that's cheaper than a digital camera and just as easily purchased on the go.
Answer :- Who's the bright spark that decides that a phrase or comment is a flag of ignorance. My words were merely a question with regard to the cost implications of a second phone being a requirement of having a chance of completing a "FUN EVENT"
You seem to be implying that there is something wrong with a rally format which fails to cater for a rider with no backup in the event of his breaking his phone and that this would in some way be different if for example he'd broken his motorcycle or his satnav. Anyone competing in an IBA rally is going to need a working motorbike as well as various other bits of kit; whether one of those bits is a mobile phone is entirely academic these days, we've all got them and life becomes difficult when they break.
Answer :- You seem to read a lot into my comments about backup, in the past if you lost your rally flag there was a rule whereby you could still get the bonus point by being in the picture of the location, surely in this case if your first choice camera (phone) became u/s a normal digital camera could have been used and the pictures verified at the rally base at the end of the ride, this would at least meant that every rider was still in with a chance of a finish.
You may not be intending to complain about the organisers of the rally but that is very definitely the effect you are having. IBAUK is made up of a small number of individuals who put a lot of effort into making things happen for the pleasure of many. Let's not forget that that's what this is all about. We ride motorbikes, run rallies, rides-to-eat and whatever else goes on
for fun. If, sitting at home in your armchair, you're not having fun, I am sorry for you but it's not my job, or that of any other IBA member, to make sure you have fun. That's entirely up to you.
Answer :- There you go again reading something into my post that isn't intended.
One point though its the membership that calls and organises RTE's I know because I've organised several and attended many that were organised by members.
It is possible that you are right and we failed to run a perfect rally this weekend but, here's the rub, we who made all that happen, the rally team and the rally competitors, already know, in some detail, what went well and what could be improved. 22 people qualified as finishers and I don't recall any of them saying "I wish I hadn't entered that rally". Yes, there were some whinges about this, that and the other, just like every other year but despite all that everybody had fun and, as I said above, that's what it's all about.
Answer :- Reading between the lines again !!
Just one point though after every rally that I entered my thoughts were why did I do that, because it was hell on wheels. It was meant to be hard, minimum millage requirement, rest period to be taken between 23:00 Saturday and 06:00 Sunday, meant you could ride for 17 hrs. straight before taking a break, fuel log and the dreaded scoring table, warranted the title "Toughest rally in Britain".
Everybody likes to have a moan every now and then. Every time any change is introduced into anything there is the possibility that it might not be as wholly beneficial as hoped for, sometimes it'll even be a backward step. Every time a change is not introduced there is a risk of a missed opportunity, a missed chance to stay relevant - think of the British motor industry at the end of the 1960s.
Answer :- Refer to answer No2
IBAUK is a small group involved in a rare and challenging pursuit that of long-distance motorcycling; we should be supporting one another in positive ways and building the community rather than nitpicking, finding fault and spreading dissent.
Answer :- And long may it continue
Moan complete - as you were.