No pics of mine today just of part of why I left Raven Offroad.
Got some work done at the shop, went out to a friends and got my new
jcroffroad sliders painted, but they didn't dry in time to install, got home and found yet more slammage from the club president and her boyfriend from
Raven Offroad, so posted up a resignation letter as follows:
I hereby terminate my membership in the "club" known as Raven Offroad.
I can no longer in good concience be a part of a group that claims there is only one club, under one set of rules, when in fact it is obvious to anyone with eyes that there is in fact a double standard, and a huge amount of hypocracy in this organization as it currently exists.
Some examples:
Vehicle requirements: (these were adopted on Feb 15, 2006 after two runs where people continued to not keep in contact even after much discussion about it happening on a previous run where what started as one group got seperated into 2 groups, and some peole in group 2 were put in danger trying to figure out where the lead group went (that didn't have radios), when the road became a sheet of ice), not to mention that when group 1 wandered back to camp they were a vehicle short, and when asked about it the club president said "I have no idea where he is, he went off on his own, but he's been up here enough that I'm sure he's ok"
Mild Run
Any and all tire sizes
Winching points front and rear (accommodate d-ring shackle preferred over hooks)
Straps (looped ends not hooks)
CB/ FRS radio
Vehicle Fluids
Spare tire/jack
Basic tools
First aid kit
Fire Extinguisher
Shovel
Hardcore Run
33” or bigger tires
One locker minimum
Winch (preferred but not mandatory)
Spare parts (for common breakage)
Vehicle specific tools
Winch points must be closed
Food, water, clothes to stay at least one night
Rock protection (recommended if you like your sheet metal)
Cage internal or external (recommended)
Extreme Run
35” or bigger tires
Locked front and rear
Cage required
Spare parts (for any kind of breakage)
Tools, tools, tools
Welding rod, jumper cables
OBA
Food, water, and clothing for couple nights
Survival type gear (fire making, water purifying) dependant on location
It should be noted that to date The group that the club president rides with (since she never seems to be able to wheel her daily driver like the rest of us) has not had a CB or to my knowledge even a FRS onboard (if so it would be nice to have it turned on). The fact that said president is currently dating the owner of one of the radioless vehicles shouldn't preclude him, or the small group of others that the president seems to favor running with from following the rules.
Further, it has been non too subtly mentioned that people are complaining about a lack of club events, not so, some of us just think it would be nice to have not had 2 or 3 of the last 4 proposed events be setup or suggested for places in the Extreme catagory since a fairly small percentage of members have vehicles that meet that level.
I cannot be a member of a club that openly (in private rooms) condones bashing others publicly, and then follows that with an attitude of "get over it and quit whining" Sorry, any club that would condone publicly telling a member to "shut the @$#%@ up" on someone elses forum is not where I want to be, especially when it is the president of the club making statements like that.
Love how in one post she can rag on people to just not read what they don't like, then tells me that on TC and that I "really need to go somewhere else to annoy people" here because I "post too much"
As she said don't like it, don't read it.
Lack of any care regarding public relations: How many clubs do you think have a president that arrives for a State sponsored beach cleanup riding in a trailered non street legal vehicle that they know will be kicked off the beach almost instantly, and when they do, doesn't stay and ride with any of the many vehicles available, but instead decides to abandon her club to go do something related to "other plans already"
Who can respect a club led by one who will stand by a beach access at Sandlake that has been eroded down to a level that an underground stream is destroying it, when asked what happened to it replies "too many people with 44" tires that think they can make it", then watches cheerfully as members of the nonexistant sub-club make so many leadfooted attempts at the same spot that one of them blows a hub, and says nothing to them about it. (That's her current live in running the Zuki, and their best friend in his Yota) That little relationship would have nothing to do with it, lol.
Openly promotes the common sense rule of 3 tries at an obstacle, then take a different line or back away, then watches someone spend 20 minutes tearing up a 8' long section of Little Rubicon, then rags on the person that mentions the 3 attempts rule.
If this is treading lightly I'd hate to see what a wanton lack of any consideration for the environment would look like, but then, who cares as long as Crushers stays open, right?
Frankly Raven, you claim to have one club, but until everyone in it is following the same set of rules, don't expect anyone to respect you or really much care what you have to say, because you are certainly not a leader by example. Your big claim to fame, making every event in 2-1/2 years, so that means you wheel more than me..... Ok, I guess riding passenger is wheeling. That excuse about the CJ being your daily driver gets a little old after you see 90% of the people out there wheeling their daily drivers.
You seem to have gone on a cycle of venting on me about every 28 days, problem is, I'm not one to just suck up and shut up.
You spoke privately about how proud you are to be returning the club forum to a wide open place where anyone can rag on anyone at will, and how when you once tried to tone people down a bunch left and started their own club and you won't go thru that again, well, that's great, except that in the process you have killed the caring club I joined, Frankly, if you are proud of having a place that runs like a elementary school playground feel free, it is your forum after all, and lord knows most of us I am sure have heard the comment before about how you ARE Raven Offroad. Kinda makes me think that maybe you think Raven Offroad will exist even with no one here.
Like I said, feel free to make of the club what you will, me, I won't be part of it as I for one grew up a long time ago.
Oh BTW trainwreck, in response to your question in the club only section, Yes I was at the SAR meetings, the ones that our club liasion bothered to post the info about, maybe if she actually joined the AOL group and READ it she'd know about more of them, but like I said, guess that pizza and beer was more important than getting the club involved in something to save lives.
Anyone that still has a vehicle that looks remotely like the factory shipped and wants to go wheeling in groups that are able to smile at the end of the run and not just before it feel free to contact me, we'll go wheeling in places that most of us can go instead of being offered the golden opportunity to ride along to watch sheet metal being fed to rocks and trees.
Amazing how whenever anyone challenges anything around here with a valid point it gets moved to the non public sections or gets deleted, by the same person that wants the forum to be wide open for people to attack each other at will.
I trully don't expect this post to stay here for long, and it wouldn't surprise me one bit to be banned, so I am going to post this to all the other boards just to be sure everyone knows I refuse to be part of a group that has sunk to this level. I know a lot of you are really nice people, and many of you never say a word (which seems to be the key to survival here), but I just can't watch the double standard that is being imposed around here any more.
I will be delighted to wheel with most of you here anytime. I'm just not cut out to be part of the chosen few that seem to be the core of Raven Offroad nowadays.
Bash me all you want on the other forums, you just won't have me around here anymore to bash on in your hidden little rooms.
Call me a whiner all you want, doesn't change the facts.
No need to resort to verbal or personal abuse or attacks since I won't be here.
Nothing personal, it's just the net.
and we have a serious case of irreconcilable differences.
You wanted me gone, you win, enjoy the 30 bucks, I just wonder, now that I am gone, who the next victim with a midly capable rig will be.
