Lunch Ride - Perspective

Strava:  https://app.strava.com/activities/286780181

Rather than go into how this lunch ride went, I thought I'd change it up a little and share some insight about our lunch  rides (or group rides in general) that my teammates hopefully find informational or at the very least, funny.

Here you go:

• If you're the first one back from a lunch ride, you don't win anything.  It's just a lunch ride.
• If you're up front leading a group and you go through an intersection where the light is about to turn red, stop it. You're going to feel horrible if someone behind you gets hurt trying to keep up.
• If you think beating someone who actually races in a segment or a sprint during a lunch ride means you don't need to race as you're already "fast," think again.  Your delusions of grandeur needs to be checked as racing is all together a different animal than a lunch ride.  Period.
• Riding is not binary.  I know most alpha males have only an on and off switch when it comes to riding, but you can still get some good training in without being "on" for the entire ride.  In fact, I'll bet you can get better results otherwise.
• Challenge yourself.  If you're strong on the hills or on the flats, work on your weakness rather than punish everyone based on your strength.  It'll make you more well-rounded.
• I've heard this more than once, but when some people break away, they claim to enjoy how they don't have to work as hard as when they're in a group.  If you want to get great training, however, think about how counter-intuitive that statement is.
• If you want to be good at sprinting, setting up the group so that you can sprint while those who challenge you are at their weakest just means you're being a tool.  I'm not going to say I've never been a tool, but it is what it is.
• There are claims that certain routes are unsafe to ride, especially in big groups.  Most likely, the danger is not with the route but the riders taking chances on the route.  Inherently, it's dangerous to ride ANYWHERE in a large group.  If you think it's dangerous, maybe consider backing it down a notch...or 3.
• If you're not racing and you're training like you're getting paid, cool.  To each his own, but it's also okay to realize that if you're not racing, maybe you don't have to subject  yourself to all the pain for nothing.  Maybe it's better to just enjoy the company with whom you ride instead.  Thanks for the reminder last Saturday, Hiroshi.
• When we wear our BRCM jerseys or kits, be mindful of how you'd like others to perceive the team.  A lot of trouble went towards getting them, and doing dumb things on the road while wearing them is...well...dumb.  If you want, I have a Sho-Air kit I can loan you, which would make it more understandable.

Disclaimer:  The author of the above is not perfect and the information above is just that...information.  If you do not agree and/or are upset by any of it, there's an X at the upper right hand corner of your browser you can use anytime you want to stop reading it.