Leaders......and followers......

Ahh.......the off-season. What a great time of year. My favorite part - the ON-season for cross! But, probably my least favorite part are.......group rides.

Group rides??? Rodney, what in the hell are you talking about???

See, this is the time of year - in my neck of the woods - where people get together and go on these so-called "No drop" LSD rides. Long.......Steady......Distance. Or, as some like to "think" of it.......Long Slow Distance. Now, if it were truly a LSD ride - strictly speaking - you would do them alone or with only a couple other folk. It's like Olaf would say - If you're riding alone, you're training.......if you are riding with a group, you're socializing! So, when you get a group of 20+ riders socializing together and trying to keep a LSD ride going........well........you know what can happen. Mr. Hammerfest pulls, goes a little fast up front during his pull.......Johnny Chaser wants to stay on his wheel.......the paceline tries to follow......riders are getting shelled off the back......and the next thing you know, it feels like the last lap of the Champs during the Tour! Ah.....the winter LSD rides - gotta love 'em.

So, yeah, not quite like what was advertised.....or thought. But here is the worst part about it........the complaints that inevitably come at the end.

Rider A went too fast during the ride......and Rider B followed........and Rider C got dropped. So, Rider C complains that Rider A went too fast - and Rider B didn't help matters much. And so now, Rider C doesn't want to ride with Rider A or Rider B or the group they both ride in. Okay, fine.

And this is where the Leaders/Followers thing comes into play. Rider C is not a Leader - he's a Follower. So, all he'll do is complain - he'll complain to whoever will listen: "Rider A and B's group rides too fast for LSD rides, so I won't ride with them anymore!" And......that's all. Rider C would not even bother to THINK of starting his own ride. I mean......that's too much work, too much responsibility, too much hassle. It's easier to complain about rides that others put on.

Well, my advice to Rider C is - Either get faster or ride by yourself or find a little group that rides around the same speed(until you're dropped.....at which point, the complaints will start again!) or start your own little group ride where the pace can be better managed........by you. But, fer chrissakes......quitcher bitchin'. The fact that you were even out on your bike yesterday should be a friggin' blessing - so, why are you complaining????

Oh - the pic - Yeah, that's Sean Yates in a 1981 10-mile TT in Great Britain. He's probably bitchin' too - about the gear he's pushin' on cobblestones into the wind!