[Az-Geocaching] Bicycles aren't "special" equipment: Reserve "5" only for truly difficult caches

[Tim Bremser]

A 5 is a 5 that is special equipment required.  I am
nearly 50 and overweight and thoroughly enjoy the
sport and COULD NEVER ride a bike again even if I
wanted to.  It is NOT fair to those of us that have
special needs and not list it as a special need.  It
does not matter what the terrain is what matters is
the equipment.  If not then we should be pushing
towards another rating on sites: Accessablity

Tim (team RR B's)
--- Ken Akerman <ken@highpointer.com> wrote:
> If they had used the rating system on the site when
> listing it, they would have had a much higher rating
> (I think a 5 for special equipment)
> 
> Unless the mountain biking trail is very difficult
> (like the Slickrock Trail near Moab), then there is
> no way that it should rank a "5".  The "5" rating
> should be reserved for only extremely difficult
> caches only, one that the majority of geocachers
> would not be able to get (even if they rented or
> borrowed the equipment needed).  Some caches may be
> in remote lands and you need a 4WD to drive to it,
> (hiking is possible, but the hike may be long), but
> most of us do not consider a 4WD vehicle to be
> special equipment, either. It's easier to ride a
> bike 17 miles on a smooth, flat trail than it is to
> hike a half-mile up a very steep, rocky, and brushy
> mountain without any trail (like my Granite Mountain
> cache in northeastern Scottsdale, a true "4"). 
> Therefore, why should the biking cache, with less
> difficult terrain, be rated higher than the mountain
> cache? The "5" rating should be assigned very
> infrequently.  The rating of "4" that I calculated
> still is pretty high, only one step !
> lower. Ken


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