Hi Simon....I don't suppose you could encourage organisers to also 'do' route cards in the Tulip fashion, as done before by the MCC?
I found these a lot more useful than the written instructions, some of my passengers finding them easier to follow.
perhaps its because the tulip is less open to interpretation?
also, I have a young son who is an up-and-coming trials enthusiast....at least, as a passenger.
however, because he has a problem of an autistic nature, his reading may well be a bit.....open to interpretation? (he is, however, very rarely wrong..and could probably navigate me through the entire route of the past two edinburghs...)
a tulip on a roller would allow me to read the route whilst driving, much like the motorcyclists?
I don't agree with you Alistair. I don't like the Tulips half as much as the traditional route cards. This is "Classic" trialling and the old fashioned route cards have a charm that is entirely in keeping with the sport itself.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Peter..however,sometimes the way a direction is phrased can lead to misundertsandings.....and there isn't a common method of phrasing for the various turns, etc....some route cards use a multitude of descriptions for the same type of junction!! However, I post from the viewpoint of someone who might have a 'particular' problem.....and since tulips have been done before, I did wonder whether.....? also regarding the above, part of my job is to instruct military personages on the creation of route cards, and the reading of them......perhaps I may be a tad hypercritical?.
ReplyDeleteWe had a tulip card for last year's Edinburgh because Ian Bates' other half comes from the world of rallying, and therefore found a set of Tulips easy to draw. As Ian is no longer C of C, there is no one else with the experience to create these things even if the will to do so was there.
ReplyDeleteMy experience of Route Cards is that they are absolutely fine so long as the navigator reads them out to the driver verbatim. It is only those navigators that attempt to paraphrase the text that result in it all going pear shaped. (E&OE)
I appreciate that in Alistair's case this could be a problem, but if he is going to make himself a little roller to read it all himself then, armed with the electronic copy that should appear on the web at some stage, he can edit and paraphrase it to his hearts content Look at the Don Barrow website, and you can find a Tulip maker for Microsoft Excel which you can use to make you own routecard
I thoroughly agree. My 15 year old on his first trial had no problems woth tulip but give him a sentance to read and getting him to read EVERY word is a problem. I am sure there is computer siftware that will produce Tulips so iy would be easier for the organisers any way.
ReplyDeleteI must say that I find this correspondence extraordinary - don't you guys ever read John Aley's News of the Week? The Edinburgh suffers, and has suffered for years, from a complete lack of enthusiasm on the part of MCC members to provide any assistance whatsover - the organisation is forced to stumble on because no one wants to be Secretary/Clerk of the Course, and every year the event is short of marshals, ... and you lot want the non-existent organisers to provide even more paperwork. As Simon says, sort out your own "tulips" or, better still, do one for everyone and I'll post it on the MCC website. Andrew PS - Ditto anyone who's done the same for GPS systems.
ReplyDeleteon the contrary.....mine was a request, not a demand.....and if I dont have my car ready, or a passenger to bounce, then I'll help out..its happened before... Peter Mountain maintains that the event is a 'classic' trial, and should maintain the original methods and ethos? yet 'classic' trialling has had to move with the times in most respects...including having to 'make do' with ever decreasing numbers of volunteer officials....some thing that isn't new amongst the smaller clubs.. maybe a tulip system might prove easier to plot in the first instance, rather than the COC or whoever, laboriously writing out every turn and stumble? perhaps some liasing with the likes of the Ilkley club might prove useful...in respect of plotting routes, use of the computer, etc? (I quote them because they're relatively local to me, and they use this system for their trial...)
ReplyDeleteLook at the Don Barrow website, and you can find a Tulip maker for Microsoft Excel which you can use to make you own routecard just done that..now all I need is the route card, some maps, and a few sleepless nights!
ReplyDelete