Quote from Kwijybow on Apr 21^st, 2008, 3:52pm:

 
 
No need to apologize.  Regardless of their head-up-their-butt ego trip, I had a great ride with my friends.

Everyone, I feel absolutely terrible.  Both Nelson and I have sent multiple e-mails to both Bill and Edward this week.  Most of all, I'm so sorry for Mark, as this is not the way 99% of the RUSA events are run.  
 
Here is the issue my friends. A signed RUSA waiver provides insurance for the riders.  There is some type of legal stipulation that if there is a single rider who is not a RUSA membeer, then none of the riders completion will be validated, and there are insurance ramifications to RUSA.  I believe that some time last year that Bill allowed a group to ride, and trusted the route sponsor (like Nelson for our ride) to validate each rider's RUSA membership.  Because one of the riders wasn't a member, it held up validation for months, and sparked a lot of (shall I say) interesting bantering on the LSR forum.  
 
My suggestion is that each of you send a appeal e-mail to Edward, requesting that your ride be validated.
 
note to Mark.  One of the benefits of having a ride validated is that you earn mileage awards at the end of the year as well as the coveret R12.
 

I love you guys, and hope that you can accept my apologies as I accept equal responsibility.

See that is what you get for being nice to the new guy   Hopefully Rays R12, Gregs 200k credit for RAAM and everyone elses goes through ok.
 
I sent a brief nice note to edward appealing the decision on my ride. I did mention to edward that if my pending membership was a problem then I was fine with that and I plan on being out there again regardless.
 
It was my first ride ever ride with anyone except my wife over tens of thousands of miles going all the way back to when I was oh 15 or so. It was my first century in over a decade and my first 200k whether they count it or not. I got to meet all you nice folks which makes it a little easier going to any future events/rides so it was well worth it to me.

I'll be interested in knowing how this plays out for those that rode.  I've just about got things tightened up around the house & work is starting to slow down to where I can participate in some of these 200K's.  I've a question or two though.  Do I have to have to be a RUSA member to do these?  I mean, I'd like to check it out a couple of times at least before deciding on spending $ to join.  I'll sign a waiver if needed, I've got insurance if that is of a concern.  Whens the next 200K?  DJ

DJ - we'd love for you to join us.  I suggest you contact Dan Driscoll. Dan is the local area RBA (Regional Brevet Administrator) and an really great guy, and excellent advocate for everything cycling. To get answers to all you questions, Call Dan at (817) 460-5734
 
The link is the main web site for Lone Star Randonneurs (LSR)
http://lonestarrandon.tripod.com/
 
note to those of us who rode GP2CLE.  I you have the opportunity to e-mail Edward again, mention the fact that you were not told that a waiver must be signed in advance.  You can't be held responsible for something you did't know.  I believe that RUSA rules state that the ride sponsor must obtain waiver signatures from each rider prior to the start of the ride.  Bill and a few others created posts earlier this year requiring advange waivers.  But this is up to interpretation.  BOTTOM LINE, TELL EDWARD THAT SINCE THE RULES DON'T REQUIRE YOU TO SIGN THE WAIVER AND SUBMIT IT TO THE ROUTE OWNER PRIOR TO THE START OF THE RIDE, THEN YOU SHOULD BE GIVEN CREDIT, PERIOD.[color=#cc0000][/color]

From what I understand DJ you must be a RUSA member to participate (for insurance purposes.)  Regarding our ride, the method of pre-ride morning waiver signing has been sufficient for every permanent I've done up to this point.  I would have to point out to Edward that I in fact have not completed *ANY* permanents correctly if he upholds Bill's position completely.  However I guess he could rule that it is completely up to the owner, and we're screwed, except that as far as I can tell Bill never mentioned it anywhere but in the post Ray mentions to the LSR board, which I never read until today searching for it.  I must say I don't read all those posts, especially after the bickering between Mark and Other's started last year.  I reviewed the emails I received from Bill and they mention nothing about it, so I have no reason to think I just missed it.
 
Take Care,
Nelson.

I appreciate all the info provided thus far.  Seems to be an issue to some about receiving credit for doing a 200K or longer ride and being a member of RUSA.  It's kind of stupid to me, to make one pay to join, prior to that one having the benefit of trying it out to see if it fits.  I don't care about credit for the ride if I'm simply exploring this  type of event to see if it's for me.  I just wanna do a couple with y'all and see how I do.  I'm more than willing to join RUSA if my performance measures up to my & y'alls collective scrutiny and that I'm not a hindrance to anyone else's ride.  DJ      

Come join us, DJ.  You'll have a blast.  The LSR gang is cool, with 2 notable exceptions.  Apparently Bill Fox has just gotten a Napoleonic Complex.
 
here is my current draft reply.  Tell me if I've left anything out:
 
We have a recumbent club that has an online forum.  I had been signed up for a pay ride when Ray Torrey and Nelson Ralls posted a message that they were doing the permanent.  I mentioned that if I could arrange it, and if my baseball coaching didn't keep me out until 2am, I'd love to do the ride, but wouldn't know until last minute.  Nelson said he'd get copies of everything for me so I could ride.  
 
I never thought it'd be an issue since I've just showed up to brevets and populaires unannounced and rode before.  I had no idea there was any difference in protocol.  Nor any reason to expect so, since the permanent owner knew the route was being ridden that day.  
 
It is unfair for each member to have to jump through different hoops for different rides.  Same rules should apply.  As I understand it, RUSA rules state that waivers must be signed prior to the ride and turned in to the ride leader, and that's what all of us have done.  I've talked to other members and they've never had to do anything different from what we've done, and they've all been given credit.  I can't even find any mention of requirements that everything must be proved in advance.  Here are the links to the texas permanents site as well as the waiver.  I can find no place where it specifically states that one must have the waiver signed and approved in advnace.
 
http://www.texaspermanents.org/route.php?rusa_number=128
 
http://www.texaspermanents.org/files/waiver/GP2CLE%20waiver.pdf