Thanks all for a fun (and very wet) rip this morning! No mechanicals or crashes, consistently fun pace, very few foot-downs, new terrain, an unexpected river, and we made Shoal Point for 7:25—five minutes early!
Much gratitude to Claire for learning
every turn perfectly and leading a separate group. (Looking at the Flyby, you guys were much more faithful to my
plotaroute than we were!)
With 16 at the start, I still think splitting the groups was essential for flow—but I'm keen to hear what others think. It was understandably awkward when we tried to split at the gas station: nobody likes that feeling of "picking teams at recess", and there was intentionally no A/B split to help us self-seed. I know I'd always rather ride
with each of you, than split up! And I know some of you wanted to stay as one group.
But even if all riders in a big group are up for the pace, the front of the ride still needs to slow or stop and do occasional counts to avoid dropping anyone due to navigation or mechanical issues. In a group of 10 or 12+, this causes a ripple effect that screws up everyone's flow experience. (There's lots of interesting research on
phantom traffic jams, that may be applicable.)
So please post any thoughts you have about your experience this morning and about splitting in general.
