Whoa on End of March Leaderboard Update

I am postponing the end of the month update til tomorrow, so anyone who has last minute miles will still be able to get them onto the March Leaderboard....Thanks for your patience.

Love of the Distance Derby

We have another wonderful poem that Team Grace posted on her page.

 I thought it says a lot about our DD2013.

Oh how I love the Distance Derby
On those dark mornings when I rather roll over than roll out of bed.

Oh how I love the Distance Derby
When I calculate the time to walk the dog, gas the truck, drive to the ranch, hook up the trailer, grab & water the horse, pray for an easy load, drive to park only then to unload & tack and ONLY then ride as long as I can!

Oh how I love the Distance Derby
As dollar signs, minus signs
all in red dance in my head!

Oh how I love the Distance Derby
In a Michigan winter that is 
only halfway through in March.

Oh how I love the Distance Derby
Awaiting snow, sleet and ice's 
give way to Spring's muddy start.

Oh how I love the Distance Derby
That has made the one and only drama free horse community.

Oh how I love the Distance Derby
That has made every day 
come snow, wind, rain 
or an old lady's pain 
a riding opportunity.

Oh how I love the Distance Derby
Whose given me an extra push 
to get my ass out the door.

Oh how I love the Distance Derby
That encourages my friends 
to ride ALOT more!

Oh how I love the Distance Derby
Whose loose measure makes me remember it ain't the hours or the miles it's the quality of 'em!

Oh how I love the Distance Derby
Whose trophy I will never win 
given I am a one horse recreational rider. Still it's Sunday calculations for the leader board encourage me to begin!

Oh how I love the Distance Derby
Because no matter what the final tally all those who have played will have progressed with their ponies, wearing more smiles and bragging about more miles where there were measurably less before!

March 24th Leaderboard Update

Here it is our March 24th Leaderboard and we have 2 people with over 300 miles!  Team 85 & Team 37.  Penny and Kerri even rode together today to get to those miles.  Love it when our teams rack up miles together :-)

On a different note, Team 106 posted today that she is out for awhile with a fractured arm :-(  So sorry to read that Bobbie Jo.  We will look forward to your return and hope you heal quickly.  Team 60 Montana Spots is still out with her broken ankle, but should be able to return soon, in time for spring riding we hope!

Breaking News for Cell Phone battery life!

Team 7 - Shoofly* wants everyone to see this :-)
Breaking news! I found the solution to the iphone getting sucked dry on rides when I use the GPS app: a device called "MyCharge". It's a portable rechargeable battery pack that can recharge a number of electronic devices, but most importantly my iphone! I was lamenting how to catch my miles if I rode more than 3 hours, and this is how! Yes, not cheap (runs from $60 to $100), but oh so worth it. Not just for DD, but for me exploring mountain trails where I could (may very likely) NEED a gps to avoid getting totally lost. Please pass this info on!  

Here is a link to one that I found on the internet.  I also found it at Amazon.com http://www.mychargepower.com/iphone-extended-batteries.html

I (Diane) also found an external battery for my Droid Razer M and I love it.  I was down to 50% charge on my phone when I started a ride and attached my external battery to it and when I got done with my ride 2 1/2 hours later, my phone was at 100% charged.  This was all while I was using Garmin Fit on my phone as my GPS tracking my miles for DD2013.

Just want to make sure everyone has a way to log their miles on every ride :-)

March 17th Leaderboard Update

Spring is just around the corner, the day's light is getting longer on the evening side, and I even see some green grass starting to grow!  Posted alot of rides this week especially on Friday when the weather was soooo nice.  Hope everyone got to spend a little time with their horses or even just outside on Friday.  More of those types of days coming, we just need to be a little more patient :-)  

Team 37 Gypsy Runner is now our forerunner on the board at the #1 spot with quite a few riders stomping at her heels!  Nine, count them, "9" riders over 200 miles YTD with 3 more just around the corner!  I know my spreadsheet logging will only get more here on out and I am looking forward to reading all your posts.  Happy Riding in the green!!!

March 10th Leaderboard Update

Here we are on the first day of Daylight Savings Time and we have a blizzard here in Nebraska! So I thought that not too many people would be riding to day but nnnnOOoooo :-)  Lot's of riders today, some even here in Nebraska!!

 Oh also it is Tammy's birthday today :-)  Happy B-Day Lady!

Let's all shake a rein for Team 84 - Slash Quarter Circle for being Rank # 1 this week with 246.91 miles YTD!  Way to ride Lady :-)

Top Ten Riders as of March 3rd

I didn't post an end-of-the-week Leaderboard last night because I just posted the February Month End Update on Friday.  I will do the regular update this coming Sunday around 10:00 pm, so get those ride miles posted before then to get them on the most current Leaderboard.

So.....I thought everyone would like to see our great TOP 10 Riders as of March 3, 2013!  We have 4 riders with over 200 miles now and 6 with-in spitting distance!  Awesome!

First 200 mile Rider!

Just a quick note to say congrats to Team 41 - Juanita!  First rider to get over 200 miles :-)

The Longest Month is Over - Leaderboard

Here is the Year-to-Date Leaderboard for February....which for alot of us has been the longest month of the year.  Snow, wind and mud made for a very difficult month for the Midwest.  However!!!  The End of Feb. Leaderboard tells a different story :-)

As a group we rode only about 200 less miles in February than January.  So some of ya'll are out there doing us proud!!!  Team 54 - Rolling Thunder rode the most miles with 123.40, Team 117 - Apple Treat rode the most days at 16 for 106.80 miles and only started the derby on Feb. 1st.  We also had 9 riders post miles for the first time this month.  So glad to see them posting.  We have 100 of the 129 riders with miles in the derby now.

So....on to the Month-End Leaderboard :-)  

I added the Feb. MTD so everyone can check my math and make sure we agree on milage.  Be sure to drop me an email if we have different totals.  

On to March the month of green and extra daylight at the end of the day.  I was going to say longer days, but my husband keeps telling me "the days are not longer"....I say...yeessss....we all know that, but to the DD riders, the days sure seem longer.  YES!!!

Have a great March everyone!

Abandon Ship!

 

 

 

When I turned the Distance Derby over to Diane this year, I didn’t expect it to go as smoothly as it did.  Not that I didn’t think Diane could handle it but she had to learn Blogger and my rinky-dink spreadsheet plus stay on top of all the rides.  I expected to feel needed but let me tell you, this is one of the easiest transitions I have ever done!  Thank you, Diane, for taking over with the same passion that I had about the Derby last year.   You are doing a great job with it.   

 

What the heck is wrong with me this year?  I’ve fallen to the second tier of numbers and can’t seem to get up!  But let me explain.  I chased the miles last year.  All Year Long.  First, to see if I could get 1,000.  When I hit that in September, it was then my goal to hit 1,200 miles.  Plus I wanted to keep my position in the top 10 and finish that way.  I chased the miles the last week of the year to see if I could keep my 7th place standing.  I didn’t, but that’s okay.  There wasn’t a trophy saddle for 7th or 8th place; and I completed the Derby in the top 10.  

 

And now?  I’m just plain tired!  At least that was the excuse I used the first week or two.  Then it got cold again.  And its always windy, not to mention a few days of snow.  Then mud.  And its still windy.  And February came along and it is historically my poorest riding month.  Why change it up?  Before I knew it, ol’ #8 here was now #44 and I haven’t even logged 40 miles!  My Windy is going to get fat and barn sour.  She’s been wearing her stable blanket for weeks!

 

While I haven’t been out and about, I have been watching all of you.  I’ve been reading your comments with interest and watching you (virtually) ride.  It is so exciting to see so many new riders – and very serious ones at that – join our Distance Derby.  I can tell Diane is having fun with it and I think you are, too. 

 

I just wanted to drop in and say hello and tell you all I haven’t abandoned the ship but have been resting along the shore.  I’ll be back in the saddle and riding with you soon.  Daylight Saving Time is about here.  ~Tammy – Team 1

 

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Feb. 26th Updated Leaderboard

Feb. 26th, 2013 Leaderboard.  Don't know where my mind was on Sunday, completely forgot to update the board.  Probably because I didn't ride this week :-(  I really enjoyed reading all the posts this week of everyone who did ride.  Thanks for Sharing. 

How many drivers do we have in DD2013?

Enquiring minds want to know :-)

Here is a post I recently got from Brenda T.  Team 33 - Blitz 

Diane-

I loved reading through all the bios and it is great to see so many people driving horses this year!  Do you know how many drivers we have out there this year?

Attaching pic of me and Dinky going through the cemetery this past weekend.  My husband was a bit freaked out and worried we were going to get in trouble for taking the horse and carriage through there….lol. 

Brenda

Team 33 Blitz

All you drivers out there, please drop a post on Brenda's page and let her know!