Post
by Richard Simpson Mark II » Sun Mar 10, 2019 10:16 pm
Back in the days before CROW and NERC we rode many routes on 'presumed rights'.
The only way of finding out which routes had defendable 'presumed rights' was through TRF membership. Old-school TRF members like Brian Thompson had worked tirelessly and for little reward in establishing these rights.
Now it's easy to find the few routes we can still ride through looking at OS maps and checking on the ground for TRO signs. So the notion that you need TRF membership to 'know where to ride' no longer applies to anyone of reasonable intelligence.
The argument for TRF membership remains 'Protecting our right to ride'. Plus finding like-minded people to ride with. All good.
My problem is with the attitude now prevailing in the governance of the organisation. Example...I've got a mate who can't stop looking at and talking about my trail bikes and trail riding. He's got a bike licence acquired many years ago, and did some off-road riding while working in Australia, back in his youth. He's a keen walker now, and does a lot of work keeping the local footpaths clear, and is always asking me about rights of way etc. He'd be a real asset to the TRF.
So, I thought I'd take him along to an all-off-road paid-for TRF 'fun day' at my expense. Only to be told it was members only. Except...they were letting children ride. This was because they were "the members of tomorrow," apparently. And my mate, who has a licence and the money to buy a bike and join the TRF but just wanted to try riding for a day to find out whether he was still up to it was turned down. He really was a 'member of tomorrow."
As he said to me: "That doesn't seem very friendly."
Too bloody right.
I also wonder when the last quorate AGM was, when the next one is scheduled for, and where and when the minutes of the Board Meetings are posted? Also, when was the Chairman elected, and by whom?
The TRF now seems infested with a 'elf&safety' culture which has come about through a continuing switch to organised events putting lots of riders into certain honeypot areas.
According to the last accounts posted, the TRF had a six-figure financial reserve...there doesn't seem to be an awful lot of accountability about how it is spent. We do get a colour magazine four time a year though...with lots of pictures of the Chairman in it.
When issues were raised on the Forum, posts were deleted and members threatened and banned. This does not inspire confidence in the current leadership.
When/if things change, I might rejoin.