So...
It's been a while since this thread was started, everyone seems to have bored off and done other things, besides which we're now into July so the guidance will have changed, but I've got a little update to share. Towards the beginning of the thread there seemed to be some confusion as to whether the BC Ride Social rides had leaders as such, and if the guidance therefore was that qualified BC ride leaders could go out and 'lead' rides again. As I'm a member of BC I thought I'd drop them a line asking for some clarification. This is what they had to say:
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So it looks like both sides were correct. Ride Social rides don't have to have a leader, a qualified Ride Leader isn't necessarily the leader of the ride, and athough they could take on that level of responsibility if they wished to, it seems not to be encouraged and that BC would rather the Ride Leaders set up Guided Rides instead.
Also, I like to think I'm a man of my word (mostly). I did mention upthread that I was going to cancel my BC membership. This was in response to my querying the OP's manner in presenting their brand, which he seemed to suggest that they knew about, and were therefore, one would presume, happy with. So rather than just cancel my membership in a fit of pique, and as I was emailing them anyway about the Ride Social business, I thought I'd run it by them. I'm also aware that several contributors to the forum have expressed concern about certain aspects of the OP's roadcraft, particularly as it relates to his status as a BC Ride Leader, so I mentioned that too. This is how they responded:
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So I think that's fair enough. I've never met the OP in real life and it's perfectly possible that his online persona is markedly different from his actual real world attitude and personality. I'm sure that applies to most of us, online we're all just ciphers onto which we project certain aspects of ourselves, it's just up to us which particular aspects we choose to promote.
Finally, and relating to the concerns about roadcraft, they wrote this:
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In a way that's probably fair enough. BC is a big organisation so it must be logistically quite difficult to carry out any sort of continuous competency assessment of their Ride Leaders. I don't know how stringent the qualification requirements are in the first place, but what's good to know is that there is some extra support available if required. I guess it must be up to the individual to access that support but it's reassuring to know that it is there.
And that's what BC themselves have to say on the matter. I thought it was a reasonable response, so I'll remain a member for the time being...