The Answer to Whether You Can Join a Ride Posted on the Forum

[Hope2Ride]

And why do you guys .gotta pick on the slow kids for? LOL

[Mike Duluth]

Hope, I don't know you but I do know some of your good friends that you ride with. I think it would be safe to say that if said friends were on a ride like this you would not get left behind. You don't have to feel left out if your riding friends are on any ride.

[Hope2Ride]

I don't know Mike, you know that Vince guy almost threw me off the back of his bike once!

[Mike Duluth]

Well you gotta hang on.

[Hope2Ride]

Eh, details, LOL

But I am FOR having more sections to list group rides. It would be easier, I think, for me to find others to ride with while I am in my self preservation phase of learning to ride. I got down the basics but need to improve upon my skills in both a safe and fun manner. And a big part of why i joined this forum and don't go on a ZG ride is due to the reputation this forum has for riding safely but still having a good time. However when posted rides advertise one thing and you hear from the riders themselves that it was different it makes me wonder if I will ever be able to join in. And by join in, I mean for the most part keep up and actually ride as a group, not solo, I don't need any forum for.that.

[Mike Duluth]

Just like anyone else Hope, you will get better and keeping up will just seem to happen.

[Tumbler]

Whats the point if I'm gonna be left to self navigate i might as well do my own thing.

Isn't that what MSTA is about....self navigation & riding your own ride?  Unless I'm wrong.
If so please....someone let me know.  I am aware there is a social aspect to it as well.

And a big part of why i joined this forum and don't go on a ZG ride is due to the reputation this forum has for riding safely but still having a good time.

I'll have to sit down when I have an afternoon to kill & read the rest of this but the quotes here made me think of a couple things.

We do ride safe & have a good time but I do agree that maybe there is a need for an additional category.
If you look at other forums they have separate events & rides sections which may help here.

That way if a person wants to post a meet & greet type ride they can do so in the events category.
But if a person wants to spank the ABC's at trip digits it would be posted in the rides category & labeled as such.

I know I haven't read the rest of everything here so sorry if I covered something that was already mentioned.

[Deplorable, thank you!]

Ray (from his other thread)---"Finally, unlike other forums without the history and establishment of the MSTA, this forum is not about creating or establishing a new club or being a part of a forum run for private profit. It is the MN-MSTA's hope that participating in this forum and on MN-MSTA rides will cause people to become dues paying MSTA members. "


 So with "members" of mn-msta forum who have no intention of ever becoming dues paying members of MSTA or attending any regional or national events........Well My take is they are here for no reason other than to use us....(well okay there may be some "feeling out" period, but how long? How many rides? How much actual participation?)

Why not pay your dues and join if you agree or go away if you don't? Is that the correct take on this?

This is only one issue, and it is getting sidetracked (like it always does) about the safety aspects of our rides....which by default are MSTA rides I would gather---since MN-MSTA and its forum is a subsidiary of MSTA proper...

[GUZZI JOHN]

SO THOSE OF US NOT WANTING TO BECOME 'DUES PAYING' MEMBERS OF AN AMA AFFILIATE NEED TO LEAVE RIGHT?

[Ray916MN]

Ray (from his other thread)---"Finally, unlike other forums without the history and establishment of the MSTA, this forum is not about creating or establishing a new club or being a part of a forum run for private profit. It is the MN-MSTA's hope that participating in this forum and on MN-MSTA rides will cause people to become dues paying MSTA members. "


 So with "members" of mn-msta forum who have no intention of ever becoming dues paying members of MSTA or attending any regional or national events........Well My take is they are here for no reason other than to use us....(well okay there may be some "feeling out" period, but how long? How many rides? How much actual participation?)

Why not pay your dues and join if you agree or go away if you don't? Is that the correct take on this?

This is only one issue, and it is getting sidetracked (like it always does) about the safety aspects of our rides....which by default are MSTA rides I would gather---since MN-MSTA and its forum is a subsidiary of MSTA proper...

As long as folks participate in the forum and MN-MSTA rides respecting that it is an MSTA forum and they are MN-MSTA rides they are more than welcome to stay and participate as long as they like.

Where we have had trouble in the past is where people have somehow thought that as members of the forum they had a say in how things were run and that this included disagreeing and disparaging how the MSTA does things. At one point in the past, some forum members even suggested that the MSTA folks be thrown off the forum. When informed that the forum was an MSTA forum, they wondered when it had become an MSTA forum and were surprised when they found out it had always been one.

As long as people understand and support the MSTA way of doing things and the ideas behind the club, they are kindred riders whether they pay dues or not. These folks may never pay dues, but they may introduce others who share our notion and preferences for riding to the club who may become members. As PKPK mentioned, he was introduced to the club by word of mouth and this still remains the principle way people get introduced to the club, word of mouth between like minded riders.

[Deplorable, thank you!]

Ray (from his other thread)---"Finally, unlike other forums without the history and establishment of the MSTA, this forum is not about creating or establishing a new club or being a part of a forum run for private profit. It is the MN-MSTA's hope that participating in this forum and on MN-MSTA rides will cause people to become dues paying MSTA members. "


 So with "members" of mn-msta forum who have no intention of ever becoming dues paying members of MSTA or attending any regional or national events........Well My take is they are here for no reason other than to use us....(well okay there may be some "feeling out" period, but how long? How many rides? How much actual participation?)

Why not pay your dues and join if you agree or go away if you don't? Is that the correct take on this?

This is only one issue, and it is getting sidetracked (like it always does) about the safety aspects of our rides....which by default are MSTA rides I would gather---since MN-MSTA and its forum is a subsidiary of MSTA proper...

As long as folks participate in the forum and MN-MSTA rides respecting that it is an MSTA forum and they are MN-MSTA rides they are more than welcome to stay and participate as long as they like.

Where we have had trouble in the past is where people have somehow thought that as members of the forum they had a say in how things were run and that this included disagreeing and disparaging how the MSTA does things. At one point in the past, some forum members even suggested that the MSTA folks be thrown off the forum. When informed that the forum was an MSTA forum, they wondered when it had become an MSTA forum and were surprised when they found out it had always been one.

As long as people understand and support the MSTA way of doing things and the ideas behind the club, they are kindred riders whether they pay dues or not. These folks may never pay dues, but they may introduce others who share our notion and preferences for riding to the club who may become members. As PKPK mentioned, he was introduced to the club by word of mouth and this still remains the principle way people get introduced to the club, word of mouth between like minded riders.

So devils advocate..........what about the non like minded riders?

[Chris]

SO THOSE OF US NOT WANTING TO BECOME 'DUES PAYING' MEMBERS OF AN AMA AFFILIATE NEED TO LEAVE RIGHT?

This is a good question.  I have looked at being a MSTA paying member but I cant see any benefit to it at all.

[GUZZI JOHN]

  OK,I GUESS THAT MEANS MY MONDAY PUTTS ARE WELCOME AS LONG AS I DON'T TRY TO CONVERT EVERYONE TO MY SOCIALIST/ANARCHIST/PAGAN POINT OF VIEW.GJ

[Ray916MN]

So devils advocate..........what about the non like minded riders?

Think about it like a church. Everyone is welcome no matter what their faith is as long as they are respectful of the church. Churches would get no where if all they did was preach and/or serve the already converted.

[Ray916MN]

  OK,I GUESS THAT MEANS MY MONDAY PUTTS ARE WELCOME AS LONG AS I DON'T TRY TO CONVERT EVERYONE TO MY SOCIALIST/ANARCHIST/PAGAN POINT OF VIEW.GJ

Convert away. As best as I can tell socialism, anarchy and paganism in no way conflicts with the MSTA riding approach or philosophy.

OTOH, I personally find the USE OF ALL CAPS mildly annoying.