route/ride leadership

so i think there needs to be some form of organisation on the sunday rides in regards to route choice and leadership.

i think right now it is a bit chaotic with several people wanting to go different directions.

every week, there should be one person that decides on the route, a ride leader, if you will, and their decisions on route will be final. if you don't like it , while, when it comes your turn , you can pick your route, but the authorita of the ride leader should not be disputed. this will avoid all the blank stares that we give to each other at major intersections. the ride leader has the responsibility of not getting lost, stopping at intersections where there might be wrong turns for people that are slower and making sure nothing screws up, as if anything screws up, it will be the ride leader's responsibility. ideally, the ride leader should be of good fitness as well because he will be in the middle or the front, leading people on, but at the same time, be sound enough to wait for people.

with great power comes great responsibility?

with that being said, somebody volunteer to lead next sunday as i will not be there, i will be out racing mtbikes!

Ok this sounds like a good idea.

It would be good if we had at least four ride leaders, who could commit to at least four Sundays in a row. I would be happy to be one of the four, however to avoid complaints it would be useful to rotate the ride routes.

As you know, my route knowledge is based around Essex, I would arrange rides in that area.
We could all post basic route details here on the calender.

So as to accommodate all abilities, I think the only solution is for the faster riders agreeing to stop occasionally, so others can rejoin. The other option would be to split the ride into two groups, but as yet, I don't think we have enough riders for this.

Jonathan wrote:
It would be good if we had at least four ride leaders, who could commit to at least four Sundays in a row. I would be happy to be one of the four, however to avoid complaints it would be useful to rotate the ride routes.

Four Sundays in a row is maybe a bit much, but between you, TWG Jon and Ciron we already have 3 fairly experienced ride leaders so I'm sure we won't struggle to make up the numbers on that side.

Jonathan wrote:
As you know, my route knowledge is based around Essex, I would arrange rides in that area.
We could all post basic route details here on the calender.

Yeah, sounds good.

Jonathan wrote:
So as to accommodate all abilities, I think the only solution is for the faster riders agreeing to stop occasionally, so others can rejoin.

There's always been an unspoken agreement about this and fortunately everybody's quite good-willed about it and others' need to ride at different speeds, so I'd also say it's the best solution for now. Two groups is a nice idea that should certainly be revisited.

It's a good suggestion, and I'm happy to do my part - a rotating roster rather than "4 in a row" would be my preference though.

I would like to thank and encourage TwoWheelsGood and the various Sunday ride leaders (Jonathan, Jon, Ciron, Mike, etc....) I had the pleasure to follow in recent months. Not all of us can join every week but, from my perspective, the casual format works out surprisingly well: friendly, challenging and fun. You can race ahead when you feel strong, or hang around in the back when less so.

Most people are helpful with keeping the group together (the people in the back are at least as important in that as the ones in front), and the others could be encouraged to do so. Perhaps an informal brief before start (approx. time and route and etiquette ...) would also be good for the newcomers.

Splitting in 2 groups may sometimes be practical, particularly with a big field. Perhaps after 1/3 or 1/2 of the route, so that people can see what their form and ambition is on the day.

I hope some of these thoughts help. George