I received an e-mail from Endo about a particular group ride in his neck of the woods.
Here is the description of the perfect group ride:
The route is a 35 mile loop through River Hills, Thiensville, and Bayside containing nine agreed-upon markers (mailboxes, stop-ahead signs, etc) for sprints. The point is to get an interval work-out, emphatically it is not to win signs. Risk-taking is much frowned upon and can be cause for exclusion from the ride. Safety comes even before the work-out objective, as does general charity toward each other. Feedback on other people's riding should be kind and constructive and focus on safety aspects. Some people may aim to hone their sprinting skills, others may enjoy leading the sprints out, others again are just happy to follow. You can even pick your sprints, if you absolutely have to. The pace is supposed to be very slow in between sprints (15-16 mph) to allow for recovery and for stragglers to catch up; the sprints are supposed to be fairly short and snappy (early "attacks" should be ignored by all); newcomers should be told of upcoming sprints, and of the all-important safety orientation; the yellow line rule is very much in force. After entering Lake Drive in Bayside, the group follows a rotation pattern at 22-25 mph, to simulate a race situation break away leading into the final sprint for the Whitefish Bay city limit sign (the wind direction determines which way the rotation rotates). Here, as throughout the ride, novices should pay attention to how more experienced riders do it, while the latter should be helping beginners--not admonish them. The ride is open to all, and is a ride unlike any other training ride with training and socializing opportunities for all.
I would hope one day our cycling community could adopt such a ride. At this point running stop signs, taking up a whole lane of traffic is absolutely ridiculous. I could only hope one day some of these rides/riders could pull their collective heads out of their ass's!
