You may notice that I said that I "led" the ride......led being a misnomer as it is difficult to lead a ride when you are the slowest climber on a team. I think a more accurate description is that I "swept" the ride. We all know what the broom wagon and lanterne rouge is in cycling....some are more familiar with it than others......myself included.
It's hard not to be discouraged when you are the slowest rider on a group ride, but depending on the company we can all find ourselves there at anytime. Whether you are a cat 1, a cat 4 or a recreational rider, there is always someone out there who is faster than you. How you look at the "view from the back" is an individual choice. Life's battles don't always go to the strongest or fastest person, but sooner or
later the man who wins is the fellow who thinks he can.
I rely on teammates to keep my spirits up on climbing rides, and when I "lead" them I rely on my "pocket rocket", my husband John. I enlist his help when leading a ride since he is a strong climber and can stay at the front of a group and guide the way. If he is unavailable (ie in the doghouse.......all of you ladies can relate to that) then I rely on another teammate to help me keep the team on the right roads and safe. Is it fun to feel as if you are slowing a group down???......uh....no! But my teammates always encourage me and never make me feel less of a cyclist than they are. Often times different members of the team will drift back to keep me company as I climb, or help me bridge up when I fall off the back of a paceline. It makes the time pass quickly and seems to make the pain a little more bearable.
Not everyone can be good at everything, and we all need to find our strengths in cycling. While I can't climb, I can time trial and provide a nice draft for smaller teammates on the flats.
The next time you are on a group ride, spend a few moments vising with the "lanterne rouge". You can go back to the front at the next turn or regrouping...no one likes to ride the majority of a group ride alone, and you never know when that last person might be you.
5 comments:
Debi, once again thanks for organizing such a wonderful ride. I surely enjoyed myself and the view from jump off rock was one of a kind.
P.S. I did not think you were holding up the group at all. You might have that impression coming up a climb last, but usually the gap on a 4 mile climb might be less than a couple of minutes. So what are a couple of minutes, when we ride for 4 hours?
Sorry I missed this one. Looks like you guys had a great time!
I'm putting this ride on my Bucket list. Looks awesome.
A few years ago, I cracked big time on ride from Furman to the Bakery and back. About 10 people rode away from and I had to get a car ride in. The 10 people that rode away then could not have made this ride with the TEAM to Jumping Off Rock.
That says 2 things. One can improve quickly in this sport and we ride in fast crowd.
This conjures up memories. I got dropped in my first race, and the first time I went up Hogpen Gap with a group of friends from Athens, I was the "lanterne rouge". I guess I continued riding because I loved to do it.
Look at that view! You could have gotten there by car, but it's not the same. There's a lot to love about that.
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