09/10/2025
Well I can't sleep. It's around 1 AM now, so that means today is the beginning of the final madness of ride prep stuff. I can feel the excitement, adrenaline rush, high stress, and sleep deprivation kicking in already. But since I can't sleep, let me make a post that I'm overdue for making.
It takes a village. The phrase is way overused, but it's so true, especially for endurance rides. It takes so many dedicated volunteers doing important tasks before, during, and after the race to make it all happen. We have so many wonderful volunteers, I'll try to give proper credit to all of them. For right now though, I'm going to talk about one VERY important job. And that is the thankless job of ride secretary. This is a highly skilled position with many tasks, and it's an absolutely vital role in making an endurance ride a success. The ride manager often gets thanked and gets given credit for what they do, but I feel the ride secretary is often overlooked. Some RMs are on a level of cool that I am not at, and they can do both jobs of RM and RS. Those people are superhuman, I on the other hand, need all the help I can get.
When you put on an event, it's pretty typical that the unsuspecting victims of family and friends get roped into your crazy dream. Last year I persuaded my good friends Britteny and Loren to be my partners in crime. They were both amazing to put up with me and they worked their butts off to pull the ride off. They're helping again this year but in different roles. Britteny was secretary for our first year, but this year she didn't have time for it. Instead she'll be putting her incredible professional skills to work as our ride photographer. We are so lucky to have her. I can never thank her enough for all she did for me and the event last year, and again this year. Loren will be rushing around helping to keep things running smoothly. If you know Loren, you will know that she's a very hardworking woman with talents and knowledge I can only dream of having.
So now, after all that jabbering. Let me introduce to you our current ride secretary. A force to be reckoned with, the original child in a very large family. The one and only Emilie (Kreth) Simmons. You might have a BFF, but do you have a BBS? Big Bossy Sister. I once saw a T shirt that I almost bought for Emilie, it said "I'm not bossy, I just know what you should be doing" 😆 That's my big sis.
When I was looking for someone to take on this difficult job with no pay 🤣 I knew Emilie could handle it like a boss. For one thing she's been having to put up with me for like 18 years 🤔 it could be slightly more 😬 so she knows how to deal with me. She also has soooo many qualifications that make her a perfect fit for the job. She's a mom/wife, a teacher, a business woman, etc. Not to mention, being the oldest of 11 children pretty much means you have developed leadership skills that put global leaders to shame. Ok, do you get the point? She's pretty darn amazing.
So there you have it. Your introduction to the woman behind the scenes helping me run this circus. She and I, and all the other wonderful volunteers will see you very soon at our event. Thanks for reading all that 😄 Now to try and fall back asleep because today is the big day of moving into the valley to set up ride camp.
I couldn't find any recent pictures of Emilie and I together that either one of us would have approved for the internet. So here's an ancient one from our youth. Hanging out in a boat at a favorite lake, just on the other side of the mountain from ride camp. Emilie is on the right, that's me on the left, and the little one is our cousin Kelsha, you might meet her this weekend too.
-Amie 🥱😴
